Residential
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October 23, 2024
CFPB, Chicago-Area Lender Say Redlining Suit Deal Is 'Likely'
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and a Chicago-area mortgage lender have said in a filing that they could be close to settling claims that the lender illegally disparaged majority-Black neighborhoods.
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October 23, 2024
Investor Tied To Texas AG Seeks Investigation Info From Feds
Real estate investor Nate Paul is looking to get more information from federal prosecutors about their investigation into federal fraud charges he's facing — topics that featured prominently during the failed impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton — according to court filings from U.S. Attorney's Office employees.
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October 23, 2024
9th Circ. Judge Suggests Equity Pact Counts As Wash. Loan
A Ninth Circuit judge said Wednesday he was "struggling with" a company's stance that its equity-sharing agreement with two homeowners in Washington state doesn't amount to a loan covered by state laws regulating reverse mortgages, saying the arrangement appears to check the boxes of the statutory definition.
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October 23, 2024
NJ City Permitted Bigger Project To End Suit, Opponent Says
A property owner's nonprofit has brought a new lawsuit claiming that the city of Hoboken, New Jersey, gave a developer more than $50 million in project benefits in a settlement that could nearly double the scope of a pair of mixed-use developments along the scenic Palisades cliffs.
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October 23, 2024
Securities Claim Cut From Fraud Suit Against Calif. Developer
A California federal judge trimmed a securities claim from a Sonoma resident's suit against a real estate company embroiled in a fraud scandal and recommended that the rest of the claims be brought in state court.
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October 23, 2024
Hunton Real Estate Leader Eyes Deal Volume Uptick In 2025
Real estate investors are closely monitoring the Federal Reserve's next moves, and with the belief that more rate cuts are coming, deal volume will likely pick up next year, one of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP's real estate leaders told Law360 in a recent interview.
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October 23, 2024
Jones Day Brings Back RE Ace In Dallas From Winstead
Jones Day announced Wednesday that it is boosting its real estate offerings in Dallas with a returning attorney whose regional knowledge and industry experience will be a "real asset" to clients and who previously practiced in the area with Winstead PC.
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October 23, 2024
Ga. Firm Owner Denies SEC Ponzi Scheme Allegations
The owner of an Atlanta-area firm accused of running a multimillion-dollar "classic Ponzi scheme" has denied all wrongdoing, telling a Georgia federal judge he merely acted in reasonable reliance on others' advice and experience.
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October 23, 2024
Gibson Dunn, Seyfarth Guide $235M Brooklyn Condo Deal
An entity connected to Jenel Real Estate sold a Brooklyn condominium building to an entity affiliated with a KKR & Co. and Dalan Real Estate joint venture in a $235.4 million deal guided by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Seyfarth Shaw LLP, according to official property records.
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October 23, 2024
2nd Circ. Backs Early Wells Fargo Win In $100M RMBS Case
The Second Circuit on Wednesday approved an early win for Wells Fargo in a lawsuit brought by Commerzbank AG alleging it lost $100 million investing in residential mortgage-backed securities, saying the German lender didn't have standing to sue.
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October 22, 2024
NY Judge Trims HOA's Nuisance Suit Against Queens Stadium
A New York state court judge has pared a Forest Hills, Queens, homeowners association's nuisance suit against a local stadium owner accused of disturbing the neighborhood with lots of noise, traffic and crowds.
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October 22, 2024
Blank Rome, Goodwin Law Guide $105M NYC Apartment Deal
PGIM Real Estate has sold a New York City apartment building for $104.5 million, a notable loss clocking in at nearly $20 million below PGIM's original 2015 purchase price, per county property records.
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October 22, 2024
Building Permits, Construction Starts Dip In September
The number of building permits issued and construction starts fell in September, even as the total number of housing units completed nationwide continues to rise, a delayed marker of previous months' stronger permitting activity, per data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau.
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October 22, 2024
Housing Biz Engaged In 'Rent-To-Own' Fraud, Renters Say
A proposed class of renters has accused homeownership company Landis Technologies Inc., its affiliates and multiple investment firms in Pennsylvania federal court of running a fraudulent rent-to-own scheme.
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October 22, 2024
The 2024 Prestige Leaders
Check out our Prestige Leaders ranking, analysis and interactive graphics to see which firms stand out for their financial performance, attractiveness to attorneys and law students, ability to secure accolades and positive legal news media representation.
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October 22, 2024
How Law Firms Get And Keep Elite Status
For decades, a handful of New York-based law firms thoroughly dominated the national consciousness when it came to power, profitability and prestige. But in today's legal market, increased movement of partners and clients from one firm to the next has begun to shake things up and create opportunities for go-getters to ascend the ranks.
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October 21, 2024
Rocket Mortgage Faces DOJ Suit Alleging Refi Race Bias
The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday sued Rocket Mortgage and two appraisal companies in Colorado federal court for allegedly undervaluing a woman's Denver home because she was Black, asserting that the mortgage company then canceled her refinancing application when she reported the alleged discrimination.
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October 21, 2024
Colo. Tenants Facing Eviction Are Entitled To Jury Trials
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Monday that tenants in the state have a right to jury trials in eviction actions filed by their landlords if factual disputes exist in the case.
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October 21, 2024
US, Land Donor Settle Fight Over $1.9M Cut To Deduction
The federal government settled a suit brought by a Louisiana partnership that accused the IRS of using a flawed appraisal to drive down its tax deduction for a land donation by nearly $1.9 million, according to Louisiana federal court filings.
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October 21, 2024
Baha Mar Developer Wins $1.6B Verdict Over Delays
A New York state judge has handed the developer of the Bahamian resort Baha Mar a $1.6 billion verdict against a Chinese state-owned construction firm that was accused of concealing its massive delays in building the project and then sabotaging the development entirely when it realized catching up was hopeless.
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October 21, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Greenberg Traurig and Fried Frank were among the law firms that handled the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, a period headlined by a nearly $160 million Manhattan deal.
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October 21, 2024
North Carolina Hits Vacation Rental Co. With Robocall Lawsuit
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein filed suit against timeshare company Club Exploria LLC in North Carolina federal court, accusing the company of illegally spamming residents across the state with robocalls that sought to sell timeshares and vacation rentals.
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October 21, 2024
Judge Upholds Ginnie Mae's Authority To Vacate Bank's Lien
A Texas federal judge ruled that the Government National Mortgage Association didn't overstep its authority when it vacated a bank's lien on a loan worth tens of millions of dollars, rejecting Texas Capital Bank's bid for partial summary judgment.
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October 21, 2024
Justices Won't Review IRS' Additions To Developer's $2M Deal
The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it wouldn't review an Eleventh Circuit decision allowing the Internal Revenue Service to back out of a deal to settle an Alabama real estate developer's tax debt for $2 million.
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October 18, 2024
Law360 MVP Awards Go To Top Attys From 74 Firms
The attorneys chosen as Law360's 2024 MVPs have distinguished themselves from their peers by securing hard-earned successes in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters and record-breaking deals.
Where Harris, Trump Stand On Housing, Wall Street Landlords
In the run-up to the November presidential election, Kamala Harris has made housing one of the keystones of her campaign platform as she seeks to take on Wall Street landlords and tackle a nationwide housing affordability crisis, while Donald Trump believes illegal immigration is largely to blame for rising home prices.
DC Tenant Atty Says There's No Evidence Of ERAP Fraud
Washington, D.C., officials recently changed the city's Emergency Rental Assistance Program to address what they called a crisis stemming from some tenants misusing the initiative, but the district hasn't shown evidence of misuse and the updates will likely cause more harm than good, a Legal Aid DC attorney told Law360 Real Estate Authority in an interview.
How Built Environment Interacts With Climate Risk
As worsening disasters result in skyrocketing property insurance rates, CoreLogic data shows that construction decisions can cause significant variations in climate risk, even in neighboring counties.
Expert Analysis
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Home Canning Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Making my own pickles and jams requires seeing a process through from start to finish, as does representing clients from the start of a dispute at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board through any appeals to the Federal Circuit, says attorney Kevin McNish.
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Rental Price-Fixing Suit Against RealPage Doesn't Add Up
Recent government antitrust litigation against RealPage, alleging that the software company's algorithm for setting rental prices amounts to price-fixing, has failed to allege an actual conspiracy, and is an example of regulatory overreach that should be reined in, says Andrew Ketterer at Ketterer & Ketterer.
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Navigating FEMA Grant Program For Slope Fixes After Storms
In the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, it is critical for governments, businesses and individuals to understand the legal requirements of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's grant programs to obtain funding for crucial repairs — including restoration of damaged infrastructure caused by landslides and slope failures, says Charles Schexnaildre at Baker Donelson.
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Colorful Lessons From NYC's Emotional Support Parrot Suit
A recently settled lawsuit in New York federal court concerning housing discrimination claims from a resident who had emotional support parrots highlights the importance of housing providers treating accomodation questions seriously even if they may appear unusual or questionable, say attorneys at Seyfarth.
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Recent Securities Cases Highlight Risks In AI Disclosures
Increasing public disclosure about the use and risks of artificial intelligence, and related litigation asserting that such disclosures are false or misleading, suggest that issuers need to exercise great care with respect to how they describe the benefits of AI, say Richard Zelichov and Danny Tobey at DLA Piper.
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Consider Best Legal Practices For Commissioning Public Art
Commissioning public art for real estate projects can provide many benefits to real estate developers and the public, but it's important to understand the unique legal and contracting aspects of the process to ensure that projects are completed on time and on budget, says Sarah Conley Odenkirk at ArtConverge.
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Playing Diplomacy Makes Us Better Lawyers
Similar to the practice of law, the rules of Diplomacy — a strategic board game set in pre-World War I Europe — are neither concise nor without ambiguity, and weekly gameplay with our colleagues has revealed the game's practical applications to our work as attorneys, say Jason Osborn and Ben Bevilacqua at Winston & Strawn.
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Proposed Mortgage Assistance Rule: Tips For Servicers
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent proposal to alter Regulation X mortgage servicing procedures to broadly construe requests for assistance, and stay foreclosure proceedings during loss mitigation review, will, if finalized, require mortgage servicers to make notable procedural changes to comply, says Louis Manetti at Locke Lord.
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How Multifamily Property Owners Can Plan For The EV Future
As the electric vehicle market expands, and federal and state incentives and mandates intended to promote EV use come into effect, owners and operators of multifamily residential properties should be prepared to meet the growing demand for onsite EV charging infrastructure, say Sydney Tucker and Andreas Wokutch at Frost Brown.
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Fla. Insurer-Breach Cases Split On Unrepaired Property Issue
A Florida appellate court's recent decision in Universal v. Qureshi is directly at odds with a 2020 decision from another Florida appellate court, and raises important questions for policyholders and insurers about the proper measure of damages in breach claims involving unrepaired property, say Andrea DeField and Yaniel Abreu at Hunton.
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Collecting Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The therapeutic aspects of appreciating and collecting art improve my legal practice by enhancing my observation skills, empathy, creativity and cultural awareness, says attorney Michael McCready.
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Colorado Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3
In the third quarter of 2024, Colorado's banking and financial services sector faced both regulatory updates and changes to state law due to recent federal court decisions — with consequences for local governments, mortgage lenders, state-chartered trust companies and federally chartered lenders serving Colorado consumers, says Sarah Auchterlonie at Brownstein Hyatt.
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In The CFPB Playbook: No Lazy, Hazy Days Of Summer
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is headed for a brisk fall season, on the heels of a heated summer, which included the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that the CFPB funding structure is constitutional, and in advance of the November election, says Eamonn Moran at Holland & Knight.