More Real Estate Coverage

  • February 29, 2024

    Veil Shouldn't Be Pierced To Decode Contracts, Panel Says

    The doctrine of piercing the corporate veil shouldn't be used to interpret disputed contract terms, a split Colorado appellate panel ruled Thursday, reversing a trial court's award of more than $600,000 in a real estate fight between two longtime friends.

  • February 29, 2024

    STB, CSX Tell Justices To Reject Norfolk Southern Appeal

    Norfolk Southern Railway Co. has taken its contentious battle to have itself declared immune to a rival's antitrust suit to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the competitor that's suing it and the regulator who declared it not exempt are both asking the justices to leave well enough alone.

  • February 29, 2024

    Munck Wilson Adds IP Lawyer From Wood Smith

    A former Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLP attorney has made the move to Munck Wilson Mandala LLP in Los Angeles, bringing with her a history of working on intellectual property litigation and other commercial matters.

  • February 28, 2024

    Fla. Judge OKs $43.5M Deutsche Bank Deal In Ch. 15 Case

    A Florida bankruptcy judge on Wednesday approved a $43.5 million settlement between Deutsche Bank AG and liquidators for a group of Caribbean-based companies to resolve claims against the bank for its alleged role in a real estate Ponzi scheme targeting rich South Americans.

  • February 28, 2024

    NY Judge In Trump Case Receives Suspicious White Powder

    A suspicious white powder spilled out of an envelope addressed to the judge who ruled against Donald Trump in his New York civil fraud case, prompting emergency personnel to flood the courthouse at 60 Centre St. in Manhattan on Wednesday.

  • February 27, 2024

    Mohawk Nation Rejects 1796 Land Agreement, Court Told

    The Mohawk Nation says it has numerous outstanding issues regarding a proposed settlement with the state of New York over 2,000 acres of land stemming from a 1796 treaty, arguing that its concerns have yet to be addressed or considered relevant by the court or its present counsel as negotiations continue.

  • February 27, 2024

    CARES Act Not For Violent Tenants, Court Says, Creating Split

    A Washington appellate panel said Monday that the CARES Act eviction notice only applies to tenants who are late on rent, not when landlords want to quickly oust violent tenants, in an opinion that differs from a recent ruling from another state appellate panel.

  • February 27, 2024

    PacifiCorp Faces $50M Ask In Latest Wildfire Trial

    Nine Oregonians and a summer camp for the disabled went to trial Tuesday in state court against PacifiCorp, asking a Portland jury to award at least $50 million after a cluster of 2020 wildfires left them with "nowhere to go, but nowhere to return to."

  • February 27, 2024

    Wash. Judge Asks If COVID 'Fire Sale' Should Impact Tax Plan

    A Seattle city attorney asked a Washington state appeals court on Tuesday to let the city keep a $160 million special property tax in place to fund waterfront improvements, as one judge questioned during oral arguments whether diminished property values post-pandemic should make the city recalculate the tax.

  • February 27, 2024

    States, Businesses Aim To Kill Feds' Revised Water Rule

    States and business groups have asked a North Dakota federal judge to force the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to revise regulations intended to define the scope of the federal government's authority under the Clean Water Act.

  • February 27, 2024

    Conn. Mortgage Biz Rips 'Maximalist' CFPB Licensing Stance

    Shuttered East Hartford mortgage company 1st Alliance Lending LLC and its co-owners have argued a Connecticut federal court should throw out the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's claims that they deceived borrowers by letting unlicensed consultants create and manage their loans, asserting that the agency's "maximalist position" goes beyond the law.

  • February 27, 2024

    Energy Co. Asks 8th Circ. To Revive Lease Termination Suit

    A Denver-based energy company has told the Eighth Circuit that a North Dakota federal judge was wrong to dismiss its lease termination suit and hold that it had not exhausted its administrative remedies when its appeal of the Bureau of Indian Affairs decision had dragged on for nine-plus years.

  • February 26, 2024

    Feds, Fla. Oppose Sharing Power In Clean Water Act Program

    The federal government and Florida are now fighting over how much power each should get after a D.C. federal judge struck down the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to approve the Sunshine State's bid to assume authority over a key Clean Water Act permitting program.

  • February 26, 2024

    Pastor And Ally Of NYC Mayor Was A Con Man, Jury Hears

    A well-known Brooklyn pastor with close ties to New York City Mayor Eric Adams is a con man, a Manhattan federal prosecutor told jurors Monday, one who lied to lenders, stole from an elderly parishioner and claimed his connections to City Hall could result in millions of dollars in profits from a real estate deal.

  • February 26, 2024

    Del. Justices Deny Second Chance For Texas Land Co. Suit

    Two investors in one of Texas' largest land holding companies lost a bid Monday for Delaware Supreme Court revival of a suit challenging a six-fold increase in company shares, upholding a Court of Chancery finding in December.

  • February 26, 2024

    Trump Calls Biz Bans 'Punitive' In $465M Civil Fraud Appeal

    Donald Trump, his adult sons, his companies and former officers moved to appeal the $464.6 million civil fraud judgment handed down by a New York state judge earlier this month, accusing the judge of overstepping his authority and issuing "punitive" relief.

  • February 23, 2024

    Wildlife, Paddling Groups Want To Join Clean Water Act Fight

    The National Wildlife Federation and American Whitewater are asking a Louisiana federal judge to let them join litigation over an updated Clean Water Act rule that expanded states' and tribes' ability to block projects such as pipelines and dams over water quality concerns, to ensure their interests are considered.

  • February 23, 2024

    Tribal Biz Atty Must Meet Calif. DA Over Greenhouse Wreckage

    A California federal judge has ordered the lawyer for a business owned by a tribal conglomerate to attend a hearing with San Bernardino County's district attorney, saying the lawyer must explain why he forced the DA to file a unilateral status report about the destruction of illegal cannabis greenhouses.

  • February 23, 2024

    1st Circ. Told Wind Farm's Approval Should've Been A Breeze

    A wind farm developer has asked the First Circuit to reject fishing groups' challenge to the U.S. Department of the Interior's approval of a proposed project off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, saying the effort to sink the plan can't survive because the agency did things by the book.

  • February 22, 2024

    Wildlife Group Sinks USDA Agricultural Wetlands Rule

    A D.C. federal judge on Thursday ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture inappropriately altered its program designed to stop the development of wetlands on farmland and struck down those regulations.

  • February 22, 2024

    Coldwell Banker Wins Trade Secrets Fight On Directed Verdict

    A California state judge issued a directed verdict for Coldwell Banker's Orange County division in a case where a rival real estate company accused it of poaching employees and stealing trade secrets.

  • February 22, 2024

    Ex-HFZ Capital Chief Denies $86M Real Estate Fraud Charges

    The former head of troubled real estate firm HFZ Capital Group has pled not guilty in New York state court to dozens of criminal charges alleging he spearheaded a series of theft and tax fraud schemes that netted more than $86 million in total.

  • February 22, 2024

    3 Firms Steer Stonepeak's $3B Wind Farm Stake Deal

    Stonepeak plans to buy a 50% noncontrolling stake in Dominion Energy's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project for $3 billion and split construction costs with the electricity giant in a deal powered by three law firms, the companies announced.

  • February 21, 2024

    Justices Urged To Turn Away $285M Panama Canal Award Suit

    The operator of the Panama Canal on Tuesday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to turn away a case in which $285 million in arbitral awards are being challenged over an arbitrator's "evident partiality," saying close relationships between arbitrators are so "ubiquitous" in international arbitration that they are unremarkable.

  • February 21, 2024

    Biogas Investment Tax Credit Still Needs Tweaks, IRS Told

    While the IRS clarified that the clean energy investment tax credit would cover eligible upgrading equipment integral to biogas properties, the industry could get a boost if final rules allow separate ownership of the equipment, stakeholders told the agency Wednesday.

Expert Analysis

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

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    Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence

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    Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • 1st Tax Easement Convictions Will Likely Embolden DOJ, IRS

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    After recent convictions in the first criminal tax fraud trial over allegedly abusive syndicated conservation easements, the IRS and U.S. Department of Justice will likely pursue other promoters for similar alleged conspiracies — though one acquittal may help attorneys better evaluate their clients' exposure, say Bill Curtis and Lauren DeSantis-Then at Polsinelli.

  • ESG Around The World: The UK

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    Following Brexit, the U.K. has adopted a different approach to regulating environmental, social and governance factors from the European Union — an approach that focuses on climate disclosures by U.K.-regulated entities, while steering clear of the more ambitious objectives pursued by the EU, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes

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    Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.

  • Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys

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    Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.

  • Rebuilding The Construction Industry With AI

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    Artificial intelligence in the construction industry will usher in a new era of innovation and efficiency, leading to cheaper, safer and more environmentally conscious building practices, but it will also bring concerns related to data security, workforce training and job displacement, say Josephine Bahn and Jeffery Mullen at Cozen O'Connor.

  • The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'

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    The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.

  • What Panama Canal Award Ruling Means For Int'l Arbitration

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    As the prevalence of international arbitration grows, the Eighth Circuit’s recent decision in Grupo Unidos v. Canal de Panama may change how practitioners decide what remedies to seek and where to raise them if claims are rejected, says Jerry Roth at FedArb.

  • Newman Suspension Shows Need For Judicial Reform

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    The recent suspension of U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman following her alleged refusal to participate in a disability inquiry reveals the need for judicial misconduct reforms to ensure that judges step down when they can no longer serve effectively, says Aliza Shatzman at The Legal Accountability Project.

  • ESG Around The World: Japan

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    Japan is witnessing rapid developments in environmental, social and corporate governance policies by making efforts to adopt a soft law approach, which has been effective in encouraging companies to embrace ESG practices and address the diversity of boards of directors, say Akira Karasawa and Landry Guesdon at Iwata Godo.

  • How And Why Your Firm Should Implement Fixed-Fee Billing

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    Amid rising burnout in the legal industry and client efforts to curtail spending, pivoting to a fixed-fee billing model may improve client-attorney relationships and offer lawyers financial, logistical and stress relief — while still maintaining profit margins, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

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