Residential
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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June 04, 2024
LA Landfill Owner Faces Suits Over Foul Fumes, Runoff
Some 800 people near a waste dump in Los Angeles County sued its operator for damages, alleging the company is liable for a smoldering underground fire at the site — the county's second-largest landfill — that has spewed toxic gas into the air for the last year, as well as geyser-like eruptions of polluted water from the ground.
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June 04, 2024
CFPB Cautions Firms Against Contractual 'Fine Print Tactic'
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday warned banks and other financial services firms against trying to "trick" consumers with unenforceable waivers in their customer contracts, saying their use of certain contractual terms and conditions can open them up to supervisory or enforcement action.
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June 04, 2024
Property Company Must Face Ex-Manager's Race Bias Suit
A Pennsylvania federal judge denied a real estate firm's effort to take an early win over a discrimination and retaliation suit brought by one of its Black former property managers, ruling that there are still too many open questions about the worker's treatment as she oversaw a problem-ridden Ohio apartment complex.
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June 04, 2024
Developer, Buyer Settle $10M Miami Condo Dispute
A German citizen and a developer have settled their dispute over a $9.6 million deal to buy a highly customized duplex condominium unit in a new Miami high rise, according to a notice filed in Florida federal court Monday.
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June 04, 2024
Troutman Real Estate Ace Rejoins Morris Manning In Atlanta
Morris Manning & Martin LLP announced Tuesday that an attorney who left the firm as an associate for Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP a little over a year ago has rejoined the firm in Atlanta as a partner in its real estate practice.
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June 04, 2024
Simpson Reps Frontdoor On $585M Home Warranty Co. Buy
Simpson Thacher is representing Frontdoor Inc. on a newly inked deal to buy fellow home warranties provider 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty, guided by Ropes & Gray, for $585 million in cash, according to a statement Tuesday.
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June 04, 2024
11th Circ. Affirms Nix Of IRS Easement Disclosure Guidance
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Tuesday that an Internal Revenue Service notice imposing reporting requirements on potentially abusive conservation easements was invalid because the agency failed to solicit the public feedback required by administrative law.
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June 04, 2024
Colo. Orders Disclosure Of Info On Local Property Tax Levies
Local jurisdictions in Colorado will be required to provide certain information about their property tax levies under legislation signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis.
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June 03, 2024
PacifiCorp To Pay $178M To 400 Oregonians Over Fires
PacifiCorp has agreed to pay $178 million to more than 400 Oregon residents affected by a cluster of wildfires that burned more than a million acres of land on Labor Day 2020 amid dangerously dry and windy weather conditions, the utility announced Monday.
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June 03, 2024
Treasury Aims To Salvage Corp. Transparency Act At 11th Circ.
The Corporate Transparency Act is a valid exercise of congressional authority to curb money laundering under the commerce clause and the necessary and proper clause in the Constitution, the U.S. Treasury Department told the Eleventh Circuit on Monday in a bid to restore the law's reporting requirements.
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June 03, 2024
Corcoran Settles Nonprofit's Housing Voucher Bias Suit
A housing rights nonprofit has agreed to drop its housing voucher bias claims against real estate company Corcoran Group, which was accused in New York state court of discriminating against prospective tenants who use federal Housing Choice vouchers.
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June 03, 2024
Title Insurer Says Ga. Firm Must Repay $158K For Deed Error
A title insurance company said a Georgia law firm must reimburse it $158,000 for negligently issuing a title insurance policy on a real estate closing, telling a Georgia federal court that it is entitled to contractual and common law indemnity for its losses.
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June 03, 2024
'Luxury' Wasn't Part Of Mansion Deal, 3rd Circ. Told
An attorney for a luxury home-building company asked the Third Circuit on Monday to throw out a six-figure judgment against the company for allegedly falling short on its promise to construct a high-end house for two Western Pennsylvania homeowners, arguing the customers' suit was not based on promises made in the contract but on vague marketing statements.
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June 03, 2024
RI Panel OKs Providence Unrestricted Property Tax Rates
Rhode Island would allow the city of Providence to adopt a classification system that allows for unrestricted tax rates for the city's property classes under a bill moved to the Senate floor for consideration.
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June 03, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Dylan Chan Law Firm and Kevin Kerveng Tung were among the law firms that guided the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, a period that saw six transactions above the $15 million mark become public.
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June 03, 2024
Conn. City Settles Suits Over Fatal Rooming House Fire
The city of New Haven, Connecticut, has settled lawsuits by the families of two tenants who died attempting to rescue others from a 2019 house fire after officials failed to inspect and vacate the two-story house where 20 people were living, the estates' attorneys have confirmed.
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June 03, 2024
Quarles & Brady Adds Real Estate Atty In Naples, Fla.
Quarles & Brady said it has added a senior counsel in its real estate practice group to its Naples office from Kilinski Van Wyk.
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June 03, 2024
Allen Matkins Lands 5-Atty Goodwin Real Estate Team In Calif.
Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP announced Monday that it has picked up a real estate transaction team from Goodwin Procter LLP in California with three partners, a senior counsel and an associate attorney.
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June 03, 2024
NYC Condo Board Blames Damages On Seyfarth Atty
The board of managers for a condominium building in Manhattan wants more than $1 million in damages from its former Seyfarth Shaw LLP attorney, who the board argues hurt it in litigation with the owner of a building unit by presenting "frivolous" and "bad faith" arguments.
Expert Analysis
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Harsh 11th Circ. Rebuke Should Inspire Changes At CFPB
The Eleventh Circuit's recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Brown decision, which found the CFPB's conduct had been egregious in a debt collection enforcement action, should encourage some reflection at the bureau regarding its level of attention to the reasonable due process concerns of regulated institutions, says Eric Mogilnicki at Covington.
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Tales From The Trenches Of Remote Depositions
As practitioners continue to conduct depositions remotely in the post-pandemic world, these virtual environments are rife with opportunities for improper behavior such as witness coaching, scripted testimony and a general lack of civility — but there are methods to prevent and combat these behaviors, say Jennifer Gibbs and Bennett Moss at Zelle.
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3 Alternatives To CRE Collateralized Loan Obligations
With current commercial real estate market conditions pushing issuers away from collateralized loan obligations, several Freddie Mac offerings should be considered as alternative exit strategies for mortgage loans secured by multifamily properties, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Fla. Banking Brief: All The Notable Compliance Updates In Q2
Florida financial institutions must now navigate minimum interest rates for attorney trust accounts, restrictions on property sales to prohibited foreigners, and a ban on weighing environmental, social and governance factors to determine a customer's creditworthiness — changes that will add to banks' compliance pressures, says Patricia Hernandez at Avila Rodriguez.
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NY Court Sends Mixed Signals On Contested Foreclosure Law
Although New York's Appellate Division, Second Department, has avoided addressing the constitutionality and retroactive application of the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act, its conflicting pattern of applying FAPA to existing cases is creating confusion regarding the future of the law, say Christopher Gorman and John Muldoon at Abrams Fensterman and litigation support analyst Robert Marx.
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Expect CFPB Scrutiny On AI In Lending
As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau prioritizes regulatory oversight of the financial services industry's use of automated systems and artificial technology, it will need to balance regulation and innovation, and companies should prepare to mitigate any potential for bias or unfair, deceptive or abusive acts and practices, say attorneys at Goodwin.
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Level Up Lawyers' Business Development With Gamification
With employee engagement at a 10-year low in the U.S., there are several gamification techniques marketing and business development teams at law firms can use to make generating new clients and matters more appealing to lawyers, says Heather McCullough at Society 54.
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Texas Construction Statute Of Repose Leaves Open Questions
Texas' new significantly shorter statute of repose barring certain suits against construction contractors contains some ambiguous wording that will likely raise questions to be decided by courts, says Mason Hester at Munsch Hardt.
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5 Ways Firms Can Rethink Office Design In A Hybrid World
As workplaces across the country adapt to flexible work, law firms must prioritize individuality, amenities and technology in office design, says Kristin Cerutti at Nelson Worldwide.
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In The CFPB Playbook: Abuse Policy, PACE, Payment Apps
From defining "abusive" conduct to implementing green energy financing to policing payment apps, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was busy last quarter. Akerman's Nora Rigby discusses all this and more in the first installment of bureau activity recaps by former CFPB personnel.
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How To Avoid Flopping When Flipping Fla. Real Estate
As land prices rise, Florida real estate developers are increasingly contracting to flip property to other purchasers for a profit, and they should carefully consider the unique risks and issues associated with the different forms that the process can take, says Gary Kaleita at Lowndes.
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Ghosting In BigLaw: How To Come Back From Lack Of Feedback
Junior associates can feel powerless when senior colleagues cut off contact instead of providing useful feedback, but young attorneys can get back on track by focusing on practical professional development and reexamining their career priorities, says Rachel Patterson at Orrick.
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States Must Fight Predatory Real Estate Listing Agreements
As momentum against long-term real estate listing agreements continues to grow, states should take action to render existing agreements unenforceable and discourage future unfair and deceptive trade practices in real estate, says Elizabeth Blosser at the American Land Title Association.