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  • January 13, 2025

    BMO Unit To Pay SEC $40M Over Bond Desk Supervision

    BMO Capital Markets has agreed to pay $40 million to end a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into the broker-dealer's supervision of its mortgage-back bonds salespeople, with the SEC saying Monday that the brokerage firm failed to stop employees from providing inaccurate information about the bonds.

  • January 13, 2025

    Justices Won't Hear Bid To Quash Antitrust Probe Of Realtors

    The Supreme Court refused on Monday to review the National Association of Realtors' bid to block a reopened U.S. Department of Justice antitrust investigation of the trade group's rules.

  • January 10, 2025

    DOJ Sues Airbnb After Host Denied Rental To Mom With Kids

    The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday accused Airbnb of violating the Fair Housing Act over allegations that one of the company's hosts refused to rent an apartment in Alabama to a mother because she had three school-aged children.

  • January 10, 2025

    NJ Justices Say Private Lienholders Can Be State Actors

    The Garden State's highest court has ruled that a previous version of the New Jersey Tax Sale Law is unconstitutional, pointing to U.S. Supreme Court precedent in concluding that private lienholders are not entitled to surplus equity in property that exceeds the debt owed.

  • January 10, 2025

    NC Co. Sues State, Duke Energy Over Lake Bed Compensation

    A North Carolina company is suing the state and Duke Energy Carolinas LLC in North Carolina federal court for compensation, after a state high court took away its lake bed parcel following a land dispute with the energy company and other parties.

  • January 10, 2025

    Fair Housing Group Accuses Landlord Of Disability Bias

    An Ohio-based fair housing organization filed a federal suit against a rental owner and operator in a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, on Friday, alleging a fair housing tester posing as a renter had been told they would have to pay an additional fee for a service animal.

  • January 10, 2025

    Ga. Solar Farm Damages Fight Settles Ahead Of April Trial

    A Georgia couple has reached a settlement with the owners and developers of a neighboring solar farm and their contractor just two months after a judge ordered that a second trial was needed to determine damages in the multimillion-dollar case.

  • January 10, 2025

    Property Plays: Palladius, Tishman Speyer, Stockdale

    Property Plays is a weekly roundup of the latest loans, leases, sales and projects around the country. Send your tips — all confidential — to realestate@law360.com.

  • January 10, 2025

    LA Fire Insured Damages Could Top $20B, JP Morgan Says

    Insured losses from wildfires still blazing through Los Angeles could exceed $20 billion, J.P. Morgan analysts said in client notes, a steep increase from the more than $12 billion California insurers incurred from the next costliest spate of wildfires in 2018.

  • January 10, 2025

    Sidley Austin Guides $244.3M Financing For Two Trees Tower

    Two Trees Management secured $244.3 million in financing for its doughnut-shaped luxury tower at 325 Kent Ave. that's part of its Domino Sugars development in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, in a transaction advised by Sidley Austin LLP.

  • January 10, 2025

    Feds Say Rocket Mortgage Can't Avoid Race Bias Suit

    The federal government has pushed back against Rocket Mortgage LLC's motion to dismiss a racial discrimination suit accusing the company and other parties of undervaluing a Black woman's Denver duplex after she applied for refinancing.

  • January 09, 2025

    Surprise NC Downzoning Ban Hamstrings Local Gov. Control

    An unassuming provision tacked onto the end of a hodgepodge year-end bill in North Carolina has had a chilling effect on real estate development across the state amid fears for its sweeping consequences.

  • January 09, 2025

    Zillow Brings 'Goldman' Debate Over Class Cert. To 9th Circ.

    Zillow Group Inc. is asking the Ninth Circuit to issue its first ruling on the correct application of a U.S. Supreme Court's Goldman decision to investor class certification bids, saying a lower court was wrong to certify a class of shareholders who alleged that the company misled them about the robustness of its now defunct home-flipping business.

  • January 09, 2025

    Fla. Condos Tied To Sanctioned Russians Transferred To Feds

    The U.S. government has taken ownership of two Florida luxury condominiums allegedly tied to Russians sanctioned for their roles in the annexation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea in 2014 and for their involvement in the properties being used to launder rental proceeds.

  • January 09, 2025

    Calif. Reinsurance Plan Spurs Mixed Feelings As Fires Spread

    One week before the Los Angeles wildfires began, California's insurance regulator said insurers would soon be required to increase coverage in areas deemed high-risk for wildfires, leaving experts split over whether the regulation is an overdue update or an opportunity to pass costs onto policyholders.

  • January 09, 2025

    Top Climate Stories For Insurance Attys To Watch In 2025

    Climate change is fueling a national insurance crisis that is threatening housing markets, municipal tax revenues and the ability to adapt to extreme weather events. Here, Law360 examines the top climate stories attorneys should watch in 2025.

  • January 09, 2025

    DOJ Wants Time At 9th Circ. In Zillow, NAR Antitrust Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice has asked the Ninth Circuit for permission to appear at oral arguments in an appeal looking to revive antitrust claims from a defunct brokerage platform against Zillow and the National Association of Realtors.

  • January 09, 2025

    Ind. Senate Bill Would End Annual Assessment Adjustments

    Indiana would eliminate annual adjustments to the assessed value of some real property to reflect changing values under legislation introduced in the state Senate.

  • January 09, 2025

    Indiana House Bill Would Abolish Property Taxes

    Indiana would disallow the assessment of tangible property beginning in 2026 and end the imposition of property taxes beginning in 2027 under a bill introduced Thursday in the state House of Representatives. 

  • January 09, 2025

    Calif. Insurance Chief Blocks Policy Cancellation In Fire Zones

    Insurance companies can't cancel or refuse to renew homeowners coverage for policyholders in the immediate vicinity of the Los Angeles wildfires for one year, the California Department of Insurance announced as fires continue to ravage Southern California.

  • January 09, 2025

    McGuireWoods Adds Commercial Litigator Amid Hiring Spree

    A commercial litigator specializing in complex construction disputes has moved his practice to McGuireWoods LLP's Washington, D.C., office after more than 19 years at Jones Day, amid a flurry of new partner hires at the firm, it announced Jan. 9.

  • January 09, 2025

    Hochul Floats Curbing Tax Breaks For PE Home Investments

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday that she is seeking to curtail certain tax breaks for private equity firms that invest in certain residential properties, saying the policy would make more of the state's housing stock available to individual homebuyers.

  • January 08, 2025

    Whistleblower Attys Get $8.7M In Academy Mortgage FCA Suit

    Counsel representing a whistleblower will receive $8.7 million in fees and expenses — less than requested — for their role in reaching a $38.5 million deal with Academy Mortgage in a suit accusing the company of submitting false claims, according to a newly public order.

  • January 08, 2025

    Mortgage Firm Reaches $1.8M Redlining Settlement With Feds

    A Florida-based mortgage company has agreed to pay $1.75 million to resolve U.S. Department of Justice lending discrimination allegations, making it the third nondepository institution to strike such a deal, the government has announced.

  • January 08, 2025

    Convicted Ex-Nomura Trader To Settle SEC's RMBS Action

    Ex-Nomura Securities International Inc. trader Michael Gramins, who was convicted in 2017 of scheming to trick mortgage bond buyers, has reached a tentative agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to settle follow-on civil claims, according to an agency filing on Wednesday.

Expert Analysis

  • Harsh 11th Circ. Rebuke Should Inspire Changes At CFPB

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    The Eleventh Circuit's recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Brown decision, which found the CFPB's conduct had been egregious in a debt collection enforcement action, should encourage some reflection at the bureau regarding its level of attention to the reasonable due process concerns of regulated institutions, says Eric Mogilnicki at Covington.

  • 3 Alternatives To CRE Collateralized Loan Obligations

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    With current commercial real estate market conditions pushing issuers away from collateralized loan obligations, several Freddie Mac offerings should be considered as alternative exit strategies for mortgage loans secured by multifamily properties, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • Fla. Banking Brief: All The Notable Compliance Updates In Q2

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    Florida financial institutions must now navigate minimum interest rates for attorney trust accounts, restrictions on property sales to prohibited foreigners, and a ban on weighing environmental, social and governance factors to determine a customer's creditworthiness — changes that will add to banks' compliance pressures, says Patricia Hernandez at Avila Rodriguez.

  • NY Court Sends Mixed Signals On Contested Foreclosure Law

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    Although New York's Appellate Division, Second Department, has avoided addressing the constitutionality and retroactive application of the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act, its conflicting pattern of applying FAPA to existing cases is creating confusion regarding the future of the law, say Christopher Gorman and John Muldoon at Abrams Fensterman and litigation support analyst Robert Marx.

  • Expect CFPB Scrutiny On AI In Lending

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    As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau prioritizes regulatory oversight of the financial services industry's use of automated systems and artificial technology, it will need to balance regulation and innovation, and companies should prepare to mitigate any potential for bias or unfair, deceptive or abusive acts and practices, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Texas Construction Statute Of Repose Leaves Open Questions

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    Texas' new significantly shorter statute of repose barring certain suits against construction contractors contains some ambiguous wording that will likely raise questions to be decided by courts, says Mason Hester at Munsch Hardt.

  • In The CFPB Playbook: Abuse Policy, PACE, Payment Apps

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    From defining "abusive" conduct to implementing green energy financing to policing payment apps, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was busy last quarter. Akerman's Nora Rigby discusses all this and more in the first installment of bureau activity recaps by former CFPB personnel.

  • How To Avoid Flopping When Flipping Fla. Real Estate

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    As land prices rise, Florida real estate developers are increasingly contracting to flip property to other purchasers for a profit, and they should carefully consider the unique risks and issues associated with the different forms that the process can take, says Gary Kaleita at Lowndes.

  • States Must Fight Predatory Real Estate Listing Agreements

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    As momentum against long-term real estate listing agreements continues to grow, states should take action to render existing agreements unenforceable and discourage future unfair and deceptive trade practices in real estate, says Elizabeth Blosser at the American Land Title Association.

  • Steps To Success For Senior Associates

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Adriana Paris at Rissman Barrett discusses the increased responsibilities and opportunities that becoming a senior associate brings and what attorneys in this role should prioritize to flourish in this stressful but rewarding next level in their careers.

  • Ohio Tax Talk: Building On Federal Affordable Housing Credit

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    Ohio's soon-to-be-implemented low-income housing tax credit could significantly affect the state's affordable housing landscape and influence tax-credit deal financing for these projects, though Senate changes may have dampened the new credit's immense potential, say Raghav Agnihotri and Rachael Chamberlain at Frost Brown.

  • LA's High-Value Real Estate Transfer Tax Should Be Scrapped

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    Los Angeles’ recently implemented high-value property transfer tax has chilled the real estate market, is failing to meet revenue expectations and raises significant constitutional concerns, making it a flawed piece of legislation that should be invalidated, says attorney Paul Weinberg.

  • Foreign Investment In Real Estate Is Getting More Complicated

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    Increasing federal scrutiny and a proliferation of new state laws targeting foreign investment in real estate may complicate or prevent transactions even by U.S. companies or funds that have shareholders or limited partners from China and other countries of concern, say attorneys at Akin.