More Real Estate Coverage
-
March 19, 2024
Fishers Angle For Justices' Attention With New Monument Suit
Two fishermen are challenging a 5,000-square-mile offshore national monument in a lawsuit that sets up a fight over the extent of presidential power under the Antiquities Act, an issue that has already drawn the attention of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
-
March 18, 2024
Philly Nonprofit Execs Lived Large On Co. Money, Jury Told
Jurors should not believe arguments from two nonprofit executives who are former associates of City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson who said they simply made bookkeeping mistakes and didn't concoct an alleged scheme to spend company money on things like huge bonuses, lavish vacations and bribing a Milwaukee school official, federal prosecutors said Monday.
-
March 15, 2024
U. Of Wash. Opposes Question Cert. In COVID Coverage Suit
The University of Washington's board of regents urged a state court to reject a Liberty Mutual unit's motion to certify COVID-19 coverage questions to a state appeals court, pointing to the Washington Supreme Court's previous rejection of such a move in a separate case that similarly involved pleadings-stage coverage claims.
-
March 13, 2024
EPA Designates First Navajo Nation Superfund Site
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is adding the Lukachukai Mountains Mining District in northeastern Arizona to its National Priorities List, with the district's uranium mining waste piles marking the first designated Superfund site on the Navajo Nation.
-
March 13, 2024
Subpoenas Can't Skirt USPTO Discovery Rules, 4th Circ. Says
In a precedential ruling, the Fourth Circuit said Wednesday that companies can't use the subpoena power of the courts to go beyond the limits of discovery that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office puts on deposing employees in foreign countries.
-
March 13, 2024
NC City Asks State Justices To Review Homebuilders' $5M Win
The North Carolina city of Greensboro urged the state's high court to review the $5.25 million judgment won by D.R. Horton Inc. and True Homes LLC in the homebuilders' class action accusing the city of charging illegal preservice water fees.
-
March 13, 2024
Tower Taxes To Partly Fund $10B Midtown NYC Bus Terminal
Tax revenue from up to three private towers would help pay for a $10 billion replacement of the aging Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, under a deal approved by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
-
March 13, 2024
House Passes Bill To Streamline Federal Office Usage
The U.S. House of Representatives has voted in favor of a bill that would require federal agencies to track occupancy of office space and trim or consolidate underutilized space, months after a government watchdog report uncovered notably low occupancy rates at agency headquarters.
-
March 13, 2024
Cozen O'Connor's Lobbying Arm Adds Land Use Expert In NY
The former chair of New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission and the Board of Standards and Appeals has joined Cozen O'Connor Public Strategies, an affiliate of the international law firm Cozen O'Connor, as a senior principal.
-
March 13, 2024
EB-5 Suit Says Hotel Project Tricked Non-English Speakers
A real estate investment company is facing a proposed class action in California federal court alleging it took advantage of immigrant investors' limited English by fraudulently making them agree that the company and an Embassy Suites project could keep their investments indefinitely.
-
March 12, 2024
Committee Approves Bill Aimed At Blocking New Mining Rule
The House Committee on Natural Resources voted Tuesday to approve a bill aimed at blocking a proposed rule amendment by the Biden administration that would tighten the permitting process for mining projects deemed critical by the federal government despite concerns from Democrats over impacts to the environment and Native American sacred sites.
-
March 12, 2024
Judge Questions If Citibank Can Avoid Escrow Theft Burden
A Washington appellate judge questioned Tuesday if Citibank and a loan servicer could escape liability after a rogue escrow agent stole nearly $1 million from a real estate company's refinancing deals, suggesting during oral arguments that the bank gets loan payments as successor lender and should bear some burden.
-
March 12, 2024
La. Property Owners, Insurers Settle $5M Hurricane Ida Fight
Lloyd's of London and other insurers and underwriters have agreed to settle claims by a group of New Orleans-area property owners who allege the insurers wrongly denied more than $5.1 million in claims from Hurricane Ida damage after the insurers demanded the dispute be resolved in arbitration.
-
March 11, 2024
Corps Says Groups Can't Show Dredging Permit Was Flawed
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and an Enbridge Inc. unit told the Fifth Circuit that several groups challenging a permit issued for dredging and construction for the expansion of a major oil terminal on Texas's Gulf Coast may want a different outcome but can't show any permitting decisions were flawed.
-
March 08, 2024
NY AG And Judge In Trump Case Receive Death Threats
New York Attorney General Letitia James and the judge who oversaw her civil fraud case against former President Donald Trump each received death threats inside powder-laced envelopes that triggered a massive security response late last month, according to police and court officials.
-
March 08, 2024
SEC's Scaled-Back Climate Regs Still Pose Major RE Burdens
Public real estate companies won't have to track the emissions of tenants under a dialed-down climate rule adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, yet new regulations still create a significant volume of disclosure requirements.
-
March 07, 2024
$285M Panama Canal Case Must Be Reviewed, Justices Told
A contractor enlisted on a multibillion-dollar project to widen the Panama Canal is urging the U.S. Supreme Court not to ignore an "open conflict" among lower courts over the vacatur standard for evident partiality, as the justices get ready to issue a certiorari decision that will likely come later this month.
-
March 07, 2024
Feds Designate 1.1M Acres Of Habitat For Imperiled Fla. Bat
In a move conservation groups characterized as much welcomed and long delayed, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has designated about 1.1 million acres in southern and central Florida as critical habitat for the endangered Florida bonneted bat.
-
March 07, 2024
Caribbean Resort Developer Says Partner Undermined Project
An Aspen, Colorado, developer of a Caribbean golf resort has accused one of his partners in Colorado state court of violating a non-compete provision by working on similar projects that were located too close to the luxury development.
-
March 06, 2024
Federal Lawmakers Want To Protect 172 Acres For Calif. Tribe
Legislation introduced by two U.S. senators would place 172 acres into trust for a California tribe in an effort to bring its members back to its reservation where they can develop a permanent home.
-
March 06, 2024
PacifiCorp Must Pay $42.4M To Oregon Fire Victims, Jury Says
A Portland jury said Tuesday that electric power company PacifiCorp must pay $42.4 million to compensate another 10 victims of devastating Labor Day fires that burned in Oregon in 2020, with thousands more class members awaiting potential trials.
-
March 06, 2024
Colo. Panel OKs Conservation Easement Tax Credit Extension
Colorado would extend its conservation easement income tax credit program through 2032 and increase the statewide caps on the credit under legislation approved by a Senate committee.
-
March 06, 2024
Wash. Court Says Landlord Must Face Tenant's Bias Defense
A Washington appeals court has ruled that a lower court failed to address a woman's disability discrimination defense during a hearing in her landlord's eviction suit and told the lower court to consider her defense on remand.
-
March 05, 2024
Court Has No Cause To Deny Casino Land Request, Tribe Says
A Michigan tribe urged the D.C. Circuit to reverse a lower court's ruling blocking it from acquiring land for two casino developments, arguing there's no dispute it bought the land to generate gaming revenue and that the Supreme Court and Congress have recognized its endeavor.
-
March 05, 2024
Utah Sues Feds To Reopen 195 Road Miles In San Rafael Desert
Utah is suing the U.S. government in a bid to toss a Bureau of Land Management decision to close 195 miles of roads in a San Rafael Desert area known as the Red Rock Wilderness, arguing that the closures don't align with an earlier BLM plan.
Expert Analysis
-
C-PACE Laws Offer Boost For Sustainable Development
As more emphasis is placed on energy-efficient infrastructure and sustainability projects, state laws establishing property assessed clean energy financing — known as C-PACE in the commercial context — have become increasingly relevant to project developers' capital stacks, say attorneys at Frost Brown.
-
RICO Ruling Makes US More Attractive Foreign Creditor Forum
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Yegiazaryan v. Smagin, allowing a foreign plaintiff to use the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act to enforce a foreign arbitral award, will make judgment creditors more likely to seek out U.S. courts to remedy efforts to frustrate the enforcement of international arbitration awards, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.
-
IRS Guidance Powers Up Energy Tax Credit Transfers
Recent IRS guidance on the monetization of energy tax credits provides sufficient clarity for parties to start negotiating transfer agreements, but it is unclear when the registration process required for credits to change hands will be up and running, say attorneys at Shearman.
-
LA's High-Value Real Estate Transfer Tax Should Be Scrapped
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.
-
Sackett's US Waters Redefinition Is A Boon For Developers
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent landmark ruling in Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should reduce real estate project delays, development costs and potential legal exposures — but developers must remain mindful of how new federal and state regulations governing wetlands could affect their plans, say attorneys at Morris Manning.
-
SEC Form PF Amendments Show Private Fund Adviser Focus
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted amendments to Form PF that will establish new event-reporting requirements for private equity and large hedge fund advisers, reflecting the SEC's increased attention on the private markets also seen in its stated examination priorities and latest rule proposals, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
-
What Tax-Exempt Orgs. Need From Energy Credit Guidance
Guidance clarifying the Inflation Reduction Act’s credit regime, expected from the U.S. Department of the Treasury this summer, should help tax-exempt organizations determine the benefits of clean energy projects and integrate alternative energy investments into their activities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
-
As Sackett Trims Feds' Wetlands Role, States May Step Up
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency extinguishes federal authority over many currently regulated wetlands — meaning that federal permits will no longer be required to discharge pollutants in affected areas, but also that state regulators may take a more active role, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.
-
How Fla. Tort Reform Will Shift Construction Defect Suits
Recent modifications to Florida's private statutory action rules for building code violations and to the statute of limitations and repose for defect claims significantly clarify ambiguity that had existed under previous rules, and both claimants and defendants should consider new legal arguments that may become possible, say Ryan Soohoo and George Truitt at Cole Scott.
-
The Nuts And Bolts Of IRS Domestic Content Tax Credit
Recent IRS guidance provides specifics on how renewable energy projects can qualify for bonus tax credits by meeting U.S. domestic content rules, but also creates a qualification framework that will be complicated for project developers to navigate, say Scott Cockerham and Wolfram Pohl at Orrick.
-
Biden's Enviro Justice Focus Brings New Business Risks
A recent executive order from President Joe Biden continues the administration's whole-of-government approach toward environmental justice, and its focus on transparency may increase the risk of permit challenges, enforcement actions and citizen suits, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
-
Attorneys Should Have An Ethical Duty To Advance DEI
National and state bar associations are encouraging attorneys to apply diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the legal profession and beyond, and these associations should take it one step further by formally recognizing ethical duties for attorneys to promote DEI, which could better the legal profession and society, says Elena Mitchell at Moore & Van Allen.
-
EV Chargers Can Bring Benefits For Calif. Property Owners
California property developers and owners face growing pressure to provide electric vehicle charging infrastructure — but this can be a unique opportunity to add value to real estate assets, and can be accomplished in multiple ways, say Riley Cutner-Orrantia and Eurie Hwang at Crosbie Gliner.