Residential
-
September 25, 2024
Seattle Suburb Settles Biz Group's Suit Over Pro-Tenant Rules
A business group agreed to drop a lawsuit after a Seattle suburb backed off a pair of recently passed rules setting up just cause eviction protections and banning "abusive and deceptive" practices among landlords, even as the city kept other policies favoring tenants in effect.
-
September 25, 2024
Julie Chrisley Gets No Slack In Resentencing From Ga. Judge
Julie Chrisley, the former real estate mogul and reality TV star who was convicted of running a yearslong bank fraud scheme with her husband, Todd, was resentenced Wednesday by a Georgia federal judge to the same seven-year prison term she first received nearly two years ago.
-
September 25, 2024
NJ Bill Would Hike Threshold For Tax On Property Transfers
New Jersey would raise the threshold for the imposition of a controlling interest transfer tax or an additional fee on transfers of various kinds of real property under a bill introduced in the state Assembly.
-
September 24, 2024
Invitation Homes Agrees To $48M Settlement With FTC
The Federal Trade Commission said it has struck a $48 million agreement with Invitation Homes Inc. to settle claims against the nation's largest single-family home landlord, including that it deceived people about leasing costs and junk fees, failed to inspect and repair homes as promised, and unfairly held on to security deposits.
-
September 24, 2024
NJ Apartment Owner, Operator Fight DACA Bias Suit
An apartment complex's owner and its operator have urged a New Jersey federal court to toss a Guatemalan immigrant's claims that her housing application was denied due to her Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status, saying she failed to provide proof of legal residence.
-
September 24, 2024
Real Estate Cos. Accuse Partner Of Mucking Up $21M Deal
Two real estate companies and other parties have told a North Carolina federal court that their business partner must be forced to sign off on the more than $21 million sale of a North Carolina apartment complex or their businesses will suffer financially.
-
September 24, 2024
'The Predators Are Back,' Mich. Tax Foreclosure Attys Warn
Lawyers for a proposed class accusing Michigan counties of unlawfully keeping proceeds of their tax-foreclosed home sales urged a federal judge Monday to bar a third-party claims firm and a "conspiring" Michigan attorney from trying to snatch away class members using tactics they called abusive and illegal.
-
September 24, 2024
NYC Condo Building's Ch. 11 Plan Sent Back For Revisions
A New York bankruptcy judge asked the owner of a Manhattan condominium complex to make changes to its Chapter 11 plan after raising several concerns with details in the planned restructuring that would hand unsold residential units over to its main lender.
-
September 24, 2024
NY Energy Tax Break Available For Apt. Buildings, Dept. Says
Gas and electricity used in a landlord's New York state apartment buildings, including common areas, are eligible for a sales tax exemption for residential energy sales, the state tax department said in an opinion released Tuesday.
-
September 24, 2024
7 Attys In M&A, Real Estate Join Jones Walker In New Orleans
Jones Walker LLP announced that seven attorneys focused on mergers and acquisitions and real estate law from New Orleans firm Fishman Haygood LLP joined the firm's corporate practice.
-
September 24, 2024
Calif. Panel Frees Insurer From $7.5M Dog Attack Judgment
A California appeals court panel affirmed an insurer didn't owe any part of a $7.5 million judgment for a dog attack, finding a homeowner's policy excluding coverage for injuries caused by a pit bull clearly applied to the homeowner's sister's dog, Bugzy.
-
September 24, 2024
Fla. Student Housing Turned Multifamily Lands $45M Loan
Mortgage lender Ease Capital announced that it has provided the owner of a newly renovated multifamily property in Temple Terrace, Florida, with a $45.5 million loan as the owner finishes lease-up at the property.
-
September 23, 2024
Va. Co. Raises $65M For Opportunity Zone Residential Project
Capital Square announced Monday that the Virginia-based real estate firm raised $65 million for its latest opportunity zone fund offering, which will pay for construction of a 352-unit multifamily development in Richmond, Virginia.
-
September 23, 2024
NJ Justices Probe State's Role In Tax Sale Foreclosures
The New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday probed whether the state's Tax Sale Law still holds up in the wake of a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the government cannot profit from a property seizure, pondering the state's role in tax sale foreclosures and if a private, third-party lienholder could be considered a state actor.
-
September 23, 2024
Court Sinks Antitrust Claims Against Suns Owner
A Florida federal court adopted the recommendations of a magistrate judge and tossed a mortgage broker's antitrust case against the owner of the NBA's Phoenix Suns and his company, United Wholesale Mortgage, over an alleged boycott.
-
September 23, 2024
Brockovich, Attys Warn Of PFAS Dangers At Ga. Town Halls
More than 400 people gathered in northwest Georgia over the weekend to attend two town hall meetings hosted by a group of law firms and paralegal-turned-environmental advocate Erin Brockovich concerning claims of local water and environmental contamination allegedly caused by chemical giant 3M Co., as well as the potential health risks associated with so-called forever chemicals.
-
September 23, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Jeffrey Zwick & Associates and Rosenbaum & Associates are among the law firms that scored work on the largest real estate deals that hit New York City public records last week, with transactions in three boroughs landing on the list of the week's biggest matters.
-
September 23, 2024
Minn. Court Won't Slash Home's $189K Tax Valuation
A Minnesota homeowner's attempt to cut the tax valuation of his home by nearly one-third was rejected by the state tax court, which said his use of comparable sales fell short of the evidence needed to overturn the assessment.
-
September 23, 2024
Real Estate Financier Raises More Than $1B In Its 1st Year
CV3 Financial Services brought in over $1 billion worth of private loans in less than a year after the real estate financier provided funds for its first loan, the company announced Monday.
-
September 23, 2024
Mich. Township Scores Partial Win In Suit Over Bike Path Law
A Michigan federal judge ruled that Jamestown Charter Township's ordinance allowing authorities to require developers to fund bike path construction is not facially unconstitutional, despite finding the municipality's recent tweaks to the law to be "suspicious."
-
September 23, 2024
Saul Ewing Atty Says Fed Interest Rate Cut Creates Optimism
Saul Ewing LLP's real estate practice vice chair and partner Damon Juha said in an interview with Law360 Real Estate Authority that the Federal Reserve's half-point rate cut is creating much-needed optimism in the world of real estate lending.
-
September 23, 2024
Hawaii Judge Says Tenants Must Arbitrate Water Pollution Suit
The named plaintiffs in a proposed class of Hawaii tenants must arbitrate the individual claims in their water contamination case against a landlord while their other claims are paused, an Aloha State federal judge has ruled.
-
September 23, 2024
Julie Chrisley Fights For Sentence Cut After 11th Circ. Ruling
Former reality TV star Julie Chrisley asked a Georgia federal judge on Friday to resentence her to no more than five years for her role in a $36 million tax evasion and fraud scheme, arguing against prosecutors' insistence that the seven-year sentence she was previously given be kept intact.
-
September 20, 2024
Eviction Law Firm Says Tenant's Fee Class Action Untimely
An eviction law firm pushed a Colorado federal court to toss a proposed class action filed by tenants who claim the firm illegally charged them attorney fees before their eviction proceedings were resolved.
-
September 20, 2024
Property Plays: Ares, Crossroads Hospice, Fifth Ave. Condo
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.
Expert Analysis
-
How New Rule Would Change CFIUS Enforcement Powers
Before the May 15 comment deadline, companies may want to weigh in on proposed regulatory changes to enforcement and mitigation tools at the disposal of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, including broadened subpoena powers, difficult new mitigation timelines and higher maximum penalties, say attorneys at Venable.
-
2nd Circ. Eminent Domain Ruling Empowers Municipalities
The Second Circuit's recent decision in Brinkmann v. Town of Southold, finding that a pretextual taking does not violate the Fifth Amendment's takings clause, gives municipalities a powerful tool with which to block unwanted development projects, even in bad faith, say James O'Connor and Benjamin Sugarman at Phillips Lytle.
-
SEC Should Be Allowed To Equip Investors With Climate Info
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new rule to require more climate-related disclosures will provide investors with much-needed clarity, despite opponents' attempts to challenge the rule with misused legal arguments, say Sarah Goetz at Democracy Forward and Cynthia Hanawalt at Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change.
-
8 Fla. Statutes That Construction Cos. Should Prepare For
In this article, Jason Lambert at Hill Ward discusses a number of recent bills out of the Florida Legislature targeting construction companies in the Sunshine State that have been sent to the governor for signature, at least some of which will have broad impacts that affected companies should prepare for ahead of the July 1 effective date.
-
Time To Fix NYC's Broken Property Assessment System
A New York appellate court's decision to revive Tax Equity Now New York v. City of New York may force the city to revamp its outdated and unfair real estate tax assessment system, which could be fixed with a couple of simple changes, says Seth Feldman at Romer Debbas.
-
Understanding The IRC's Excessive Refund Claim Penalty
Taxpayers considering protective refund claims pending resolution of major questions in tax cases like Moore v. U.S., which is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, should understand how doing so may also leave them vulnerable to an excessive refund claim penalty under Internal Revenue Code Section 6676, say attorneys at McDermott.
-
Bankruptcy Ruling Shifts Lease Rejection Claim Calculation
A New York federal court’s recent ruling in In re: Cortlandt provides guidance on how to calculate a landlord's damages claim when a bankruptcy debtor rejects a lease, changing from an approach that considers the remaining rent due under the lease to one that considers the remaining time, say Bethany Simmons and Noah Weingarten at Loeb & Loeb.
-
Do Not Overstate Fla. Condo Termination Ruling's Impact
A close look at the unique language at issue in Avila v. Biscayne, in which a Florida appellate court deemed a condo termination to be invalid, shows that the case is unlikely to significantly affect other potential terminations, say Barry Lapides and Edward Baker at Berger Singerman.
-
Takeaways From FDIC's Spring Supervisory Highlights
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s spring 2024 consumer compliance supervisory report found that relatively few institutions had significant consumer compliance issues last year, but the common thread among those that did were inadequacies or failures in disclosures to consumers, says Matthew Hanaghan at Nutter.
-
Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
-
What Calif. Eviction Ruling Means For Defaulting Borrowers
A California appellate court's recent decision in Homeward Opportunities v. Taptelis found that a defaulting borrower could not delay foreclosure with an improperly served notice of pendency of action, but leaves open a possibility for borrowers to delay eviction proceedings merely by filing lawsuits, say Anne Beehler and Krystal Anderson at Holland & Knight.
-
How 3D Printing And Prefab Are Changing Construction
The growing popularity of trends like 3D printing technology and prefabrication in the construction industry have positive ramifications ranging from reducing risks at project sites to streamlining construction schedules, say Josephine Bahn and Jeffery Mullen at Cozen O'Connor.
-
Wave Of Final Rules Reflects Race Against CRA Deadline
The flurry of final rules now leaping off the Federal Register press — some of which will affect entire industries and millions of Americans — shows President Joe Biden's determination to protect his regulatory legacy from reversal by the next Congress, given the impending statutory look-back period under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.