Residential

  • June 07, 2024

    Miami Official Can't Shake Zoning Abuse Claims

    A Miami commissioner can't escape allegations that he and other city officials conspired to sabotage local businesses with zoning and safety laws after a pair of business owners backed the commissioner's opponent in a 2017 election, a Florida federal judge ruled.

  • June 07, 2024

    6th Circ. Finds Ethical Lapses Justify Bar On Firm's Outreach

    The Sixth Circuit said Thursday a Michigan federal judge shouldn't have faulted a law firm for attacking a proposed tax foreclosure class-action settlement in solicitation letters, but nevertheless upheld the judge's order barring contact with certain class members because of the firm's actual ethical lapses.

  • June 07, 2024

    Calif. Developer Seeks $5M Excess Coverage For Defect Suits

    A California developer is seeking coverage under a $5 million excess policy for an underlying settlement stemming from construction defect claims, telling a federal court that its excess insurer wrongfully refused to cooperate in the dispute resolution and that the policy expressly provided coverage.

  • June 06, 2024

    Calif. Justices OK UC Berkeley People's Park Housing Plan

    The University of California, Berkeley, can move ahead with its plans to build a housing project in the historic People's Park, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday, saying a new state law wipes out opponents' claims that the university's environmental impact study failed to look at potential student noise pollution.

  • June 06, 2024

    Insurers' Climate Exposure Poses Risk To US Housing Market

    Climate risks to already strained insurance markets could significantly disrupt the U.S. housing market and the broader financial system, according to insurance, banking and housing experts, as well as a growing body of academic research leveraging new risk data.

  • June 06, 2024

    Fintech Lender Ran 'Bait & Switch' With Borrowers, Suit Says

    Fintech company Figure Lending LLC faces a proposed class action alleging its home equity lines of credit are actually intentionally mislabeled home equity loans with higher interest rates and fees.

  • June 06, 2024

    NYC Passes Economic Opportunity Rezoning, With Tweaks

    The New York City Council voted Thursday to approve a slate of zoning reforms intended to promote small business growth and update decades-old regulations, after making several tweaks to the plan in response to community concerns.

  • June 06, 2024

    Colorado To Study Simplification Of Local Lodging Taxes

    Colorado will expand the scope of a task force responsible for simplifying the state's sales and use tax regime to improve the local lodging tax system as part of a bill signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis.

  • June 06, 2024

    Jeffrey Zwick Advises On $147M NYC Portfolio Refinancing

    A Namdar Realty Group affiliate has closed on a $147.1 million refinancing of a group of 18 New York City apartment buildings and commercial properties in a transaction advised by Jeffrey Zwick & Associates.

  • June 06, 2024

    Mass. AG Asks State High Court To Affirm Housing Law

    Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell told the state's highest court this week that her office has the authority to seek enforcement of what she says is a mandatory state housing initiative requiring more than half the state's communities to allow multifamily housing development.

  • June 06, 2024

    Hinshaw Adds Financial Services Partner In NY

    Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP has added a consumer financial services partner in its New York City office from creditors rights firm LOGS Legal Group.

  • June 06, 2024

    Ex-Real Estate Firm GC Joins Federman Steifman As Partner

    Federman Steifman LLP hired the former general counsel of real estate investment and development firm SomeraRoad as a partner for its New York City office, the law firm announced.

  • June 06, 2024

    Bell Nunnally Adds Ex-Munsch Hardt Real Estate Ace In Dallas

    Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP has strengthened its real estate practice with a partner in Dallas who came aboard from Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr PC.

  • June 05, 2024

    Property Plays: WP Carey, Tribeca, Tower Capital

    W.P. Carey inked $258 million worth of investments, largely in industrials; a total of $21.5 million was loaned for the acquisition and conversion of an eight-story Tribeca building; Tower Capital lined up $47.4 million for a build-to-rent community in Texas.

  • June 05, 2024

    CohnReznick Scores Quick Exit In Tax Scheme Suit

    A New York federal judge agreed to toss a housing partnership's suit accusing accounting firm CohnReznick LLP of professional negligence and fraud, finding that the district court doesn't have jurisdiction over the dispute.

  • June 05, 2024

    Denver Landlord Sued Over Allegedly Unlawful Late Fees

    A Denver landlord and its property manager were accused in a proposed class action of charging tenants with unlawfully excessive late fees for owed rent and launching eviction proceedings against them for not paying the late fees and owed rent.

  • June 05, 2024

    Miami Developer Maintains Pioneering Touch In Latest Moves

    Miami-area developer Masoud Shojaee spoke with Law360 Real Estate Authority about his project strategy and how it has led to longevity for his firm Shoma Group and given him confidence in helping to address a housing crisis and various challenges in the market.

  • June 05, 2024

    PennyMac Sued Over 'Release Costs' For Payoff Docs

    PennyMac Loan Services LLC violated federal and Florida law by wrongfully charging "release costs" for its mortgage payoff statements that showed how much borrowers still owed, according to a proposed consumer class action filed in Florida federal court.

  • June 05, 2024

    Colo. To Exempt Modular Homes From Sales Tax

    Colorado will exempt new modular home sales from state tax under a bill signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis.

  • June 05, 2024

    'Le Penthouse' Owner Files For Ch. 11 With $66M In Debt

    The owner of "Le Penthouse," known as one of the most expensive New York City condominiums, filed for Chapter 11 protection in Manhattan bankruptcy court with $66.5 million in debt and a plan to sell off its properties including the penthouse.

  • June 04, 2024

    Judge Frets Nursing Home Co. LaVie $20M DIP Too Low

    A Georgia bankruptcy judge on Tuesday gave interim approval to customary first-day motions and a $20 million debtor-in-possession loan for bankrupt nursing home operator LaVie Care Centers LLC.

  • June 04, 2024

    Miami Board Opposes Tower Amid Land Use Law Concerns

    The design review committee for Miami's Wynwood neighborhood voted Tuesday against a 48-story mixed-use development proposed in the area, pushing back on the application, which makes use of a sweeping new Florida land use law for workforce housing.

  • June 04, 2024

    HUD Kicks Off Manufactured Housing Financing Program

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development launched a federally insured financing option for buying, revitalizing and refinancing manufactured housing communities in order to provide an alternative that doesn't involve private equity funds purchasing those communities, HUD announced Tuesday.

  • June 04, 2024

    Meet The Attorneys Guiding Nursing Home Co. LaVie's Ch. 11

    A team of attorneys from McDermott Will & Emery LLP is guiding nursing home operator LaVie Care Centers LLC through its Chapter 11 case in Georgia.

  • June 04, 2024

    Albany Passes Good Cause Eviction, Again

    The Albany Common Council has voted to opt New York's capital city in to the state's good cause eviction law, after the city's earlier attempt was struck down by a state judge.

Expert Analysis

  • What CRA Deadline Means For Biden Admin. Rulemaking

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    With the 2024 election rapidly approaching, the Biden administration must race to finalize proposed agency actions within the next few weeks, or be exposed to the chance that the following Congress will overturn the rules under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Covington.

  • How New Rule Would Change CFIUS Enforcement Powers

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.