Residential

  • July 02, 2024

    Mass. Mobile Parks Residents Say Co. Overcharged Rents

    A manufactured housing company took advantage of its Massachusetts mobile home park tenants "for illicit financial gain" by charging them illegally excessive rents, not providing renewing residents with required five-year lease proposals and lying about lease offers, a putative class claimed Tuesday in Massachusetts state court.

  • July 02, 2024

    Distress Darkens Conversion Plans At Brookfield Malls

    Financial challenges have shaken some of Brookfield's plans to redevelop a batch of malls it acquired six years ago into mixed-use centers, and two of the real estate company's indoor shopping complexes slumped into loan distress last month, KBRA said on Tuesday.

  • July 02, 2024

    Colo. City Housing Authority Says Board Can't Be Fired At Will

    A Colorado city's ordinance violates state law because it gives the mayor the power to replace the commissioners of the city's housing authority without just cause, the housing authority has claimed in Colorado state court.

  • July 02, 2024

    Gov. Says Ky. Tower's Sale Didn't Cancel Ties To Laundering

    Prosecutors and a pair of Miami businessmen have traded briefs over preserving the government's case in Florida federal court to seize $9.1 million from the sale of a Louisville, Kentucky, tower over alleged ties to a Ukrainian money laundering operation.

  • July 02, 2024

    Kelley Kronenberg Launches Florida Homebuying Practice

    Kelley Kronenberg announced Friday the launch of a resident real estate practice focused on providing financial services on behalf of prospective home buyers in Florida.

  • July 02, 2024

    PE Firm Buys Texas Apartment Portfolio In 'Pricing Correction'

    Real estate private equity firm Hamilton Point Investments said Tuesday it has acquired a portfolio of Houston apartment properties with a combined 1,174 units for $195 million as Texas undergoes a "significant multifamily pricing correction."

  • July 02, 2024

    The Residential Real Estate Q&A's You Can't Miss

    Check out Law360 Real Estate Authority's hottest residential real estate Q&A's from the first half of 2024.

  • July 01, 2024

    W.Va. Homeowner's Depreciation Suit Survives Dismissal

    A West Virginia federal court declined to toss a homeowner's lawsuit accusing an insurer, broker and loss adjuster of unlawfully depreciating the value of his home after a flood, determining that the homeowner met the pleading standards to defeat dismissal.

  • July 01, 2024

    Ill. Tax Applies To Re-Renters Of Hotel Rooms, Dept. Says

    Illinois will impose an occupation tax on people who re-rent hotel rooms in the state as part of recently enacted omnibus legislation, the state Department of Revenue said.

  • July 01, 2024

    Morgan Properties Nabs 11 Apartment Properties In Pa.

    Multifamily owner Morgan Properties announced Monday that it has bought 11 apartment developments across Pennsylvania from DePaul Management Co., adding that it has plans to renovate and upgrade the newly acquired properties.

  • July 01, 2024

    Calif. Ballot Measure Seeks Nix Of Tax Hike Threshold Change

    California would scrap part of a ballot initiative that would have reduced the threshold needed for local governments to pass special taxes for public infrastructure and affordable housing projects under another ballot measure passed by legislators.

  • July 01, 2024

    Tenants Say Omaha Housing Authority Flouted Appeal Rights

    A proposed class of Omaha Housing Authority tenants have filed suit against the public housing entity, telling a Nebraska federal court the agency overcharged extremely low-income tenants and thwarted their right to appeal rent increases.

  • July 01, 2024

    Petersen Health Gets OK For $118M Initial Bid On Facilities

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Monday gave bankrupt senior living chain Petersen Health Care permission to accept a $118 million bid as the floor for an auction of its 82 facilities to be held on Tuesday.

  • June 28, 2024

    Chevron's End Is Just The Start For Energized Agency Foes

    By knocking down a powerful precedent that has towered over administrative law for 40 years, the U.S. Supreme Court's right wing Friday gave a crowning achievement to anti-agency attorneys. But for those attorneys, the achievement is merely a means to an end, and experts expect a litigation blitzkrieg to materialize quickly in the aftermath.

  • June 28, 2024

    In Chevron Case, Justices Trade One Unknown For Another

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overrule a decades-old judicial deference doctrine may cause the "eternal fog of uncertainty" surrounding federal agency actions to dissipate and level the playing field in challenges of government policies, but lawyers warn it raises new questions over what rules courts must follow and how judges will implement them.

  • June 28, 2024

    Home Point Investor Attys Get $1.5M Fee As Judge OKs Deal

    A Michigan federal judge on Friday granted final approval to a $5 million deal resolving investor allegations that mortgage lender Home Point exaggerated its ability to keep costs low ahead of its initial public offering, giving class counsel a $1.5 million cut of the deal.

  • June 28, 2024

    Property Plays: Goldman, WaFD, The Alamo

    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.

  • June 28, 2024

    Homeless Advocates Balk As High Court OKs Anti-Camping Ban

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday that an Oregon city's anti-camping ban doesn't amount to cruel and unusual punishment amid a challenge brought by a class of homeless residents, a move that residents' counsel says paves the way for municipalities to criminalize homelessness.

  • June 28, 2024

    NC Justices Revive Black Property Owners' Bias Suit

    The North Carolina Supreme Court vacated a lower court's dismissal of discrimination claims brought by Black property owners against the city of Kinston alleging that the city targeted Black-owned buildings for condemnation while preserving white-owned buildings as historical, ruling Friday that the lower court applied the wrong legal standard.

  • June 28, 2024

    Judge Rejects Collusion Claim In Contested Foreclosure Deal

    A Michigan federal judge approved on Thursday a class settlement between 43 Michigan counties and people who lost their homes in tax foreclosure, putting to bed accusations of collusion between the settling lawyers.

  • June 28, 2024

    Condo Seeks Bar On Enforcement Of Corp. Transparency Act

    A Boston condominium association has asked a federal judge to shield it and other Massachusetts condo boards from enforcement of an anti-money laundering measure, saying the requirement to submit personal information to a government database creates an undue and unnecessary burden on volunteer organizations.

  • June 28, 2024

    Colombia Fends Off Real Estate Project Seizure Claim

    Colombia has claimed an "unprecedented" victory in an arbitration initiated by a group of U.S. investors seeking hundreds of millions of dollars after their real estate development project was seized over allegations that the project had connections with illegal activity.

  • June 28, 2024

    NYC Realty Co. Defeats Most Of Building Super's Wage Claims

    A New York realty group secured early wins on all but one of a building superintendent's wage claims, with a New York federal judge ruling Friday the worker had provided scant evidence in support, but the group must face claims related to wage deficits caused by a time clock malfunction.

  • June 28, 2024

    Final Rules Exempt REITs From Stock Buyback Tax

    Real estate investment trusts and regulated investment companies may be able to avoid the stock buyback tax but would still be required to keep records under final regulations on reporting and paying the tax released by Treasury and the IRS Friday.

  • June 28, 2024

    Mass. Senate OKs $5B Housing Bill Without Local-Option Tax

    Massachusetts would authorize about $5 billion in bonding authority to promote housing under legislation passed by the state Senate that leaves out a local-option real estate transfer fee sought by Democratic Gov. Maura Healey.

Expert Analysis

  • What Upholding Of Short-Term Rental Law Means For NYC

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    A New York state judge's dismissal of Airbnb's challenge against the Short-Term Rental Registration Law will benefit the city's hospitality industry and exert downward pressure on apartment rents, and potentially provide a model for other local governments around the U.S. to curb short-term apartment rentals, says Alexander Lycoyannis at Holland & Knight.

  • Key Provisions In Florida's New Insurer Accountability Act

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    Florida's recent bipartisan Insurer Accountability Act introduces a range of new obligations for insurance companies and regulatory bodies to strengthen consumer protection, and other states may follow suit should it prove successful at ensuring a reliable insurance market, say Jan Larson and Benjamin Malings at Jenner & Block.

  • Fair Lending Activity: Calm On The Surface, Churning Below

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recently released annual fair lending report to Congress confirms that despite the paucity of public fair lending enforcement actions in 2022, the CFPB and prudential banking agencies are engaged in significant nonpublic oversight, examination and enforcement activities, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • The Basics Of Being A Knowledge Management Attorney

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    Michael Lehet at Ogletree Deakins discusses the role of knowledge management attorneys at law firms, the common tasks they perform and practical tips for lawyers who may be considering becoming one.

  • To Hire And Keep Top Talent, Think Beyond Compensation

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    Firms seeking to appeal to sophisticated clients and top-level partners should promote mentorship, ensure that attorneys from diverse backgrounds feel valued, and clarify policies about at-home work, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.

  • Negotiating Material Escalation In Construction Contracts

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    As material price escalation clauses have remained popular in construction contracts despite an easing of recent supply chain issues, attorneys representing owners should understand key considerations for negotiating such clauses, and strategies to mitigate potential exploitation by contractors, says H. Arthur Black II at Brooks Pierce.

  • Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure

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    Growing interest and controversy in litigation financing raise several salient concerns, but exploring recent compelled disclosure trends from courts around the country can help practitioners further their clients' interests, say Sean Callagy and Samuel Sokolsky at Arnold & Porter.

  • Key Drivers Behind Widespread Adoption Of NAV Financing

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    While net asset value-based lending has existed for years, NAV lending has only started to move into the mainstream recently — likely due to difficult market conditions faced by sponsors including persistent inflation, high interest rates and a lack of exit opportunities, say Matthew Kerfoot and Jinyoung Joo at Proskauer.

  • The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'

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    Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.

  • Beware Unique Compliance Risks In Home Equity Lending

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    As borrowers increasingly look to junior-lien mortgages and home equity lines of credit instead of first-lien mortgages, regulators will pay increased attention in turn and lenders will have to watch for a number of legal and regulatory pitfalls as they rush to meet this newfound demand, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • 4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Introverted lawyers can build client bases to rival their extroverted peers’ by adapting time-tested strategies for business development that can work for any personality — such as claiming a niche, networking for maximum impact, drawing on existing contacts and more, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • New AI Lending Tech Could Exacerbate Old Bias Risks

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    As credit and mortgage lending businesses increasingly utilize artificial intelligence technology to help make decisions, they must be aware of the legal risks that may arise under familiar anti-discrimination laws, say Kali Bracey and Grace Wallack at Jenner & Block.

  • Caregiver Flexibility Is Crucial For Atty Engagement, Retention

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    As the battle for top talent continues post-pandemic, many firms are attempting to attract employees with progressive hybrid working environments — and supporting caregivers before, during and after an extended leave is a critically important way to retain top talent, says Manar Morales at The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.