Residential

  • March 25, 2025

    State Farm Beats Suit Alleging Property Loss Undervaluation

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday tossed a proposed class action brought by homeowners accusing State Farm of limiting compensation by improperly employing a "new construction" setting in software when calculating property damage, finding their policy did not require the insurer to use a specific computation method for loss calculations.

  • March 25, 2025

    NJ Judge Upholds Mansion Tax On Sale Of Doomed House

    A New Jersey company that bought a property for $4.7 million after obtaining approval to demolish an uninhabitable farmhouse on the land and use the property for industrial purposes owes the state's so-called mansion tax on the purchase, the state Tax Court ruled Tuesday.

  • March 25, 2025

    Judge Orders HUD To Reinstate $30M In Housing Grants

    A Massachusetts federal judge temporarily revived $30 million in housing anti-discrimination grants slashed by the Trump administration, explaining that his hands are essentially tied by a First Circuit ruling in a separate case reinstating teacher training grants.

  • March 25, 2025

    Colo. Atty Gave $2M Mineral Rights To Other Client, Suit Says

    The special district for a Colorado residential community has sued its former lawyer and firms White Bear Ankele Tanaka & Waldron PC and Spencer Fane LLP for malpractice, claiming the attorney failed to secure its mineral rights, instead executing a deal that favored one of Spencer Fane's other clients.

  • March 25, 2025

    Miami Realtors Urge Creativity In Help For Condo Owners

    With talk of a Florida condo crisis garnering national headlines and commanding significant attention during the state legislature's annual session, leaders at the Miami Association of Realtors said they hope lawmakers will take a creative approach and look to initiatives Miami-Dade County has pursued to help owners navigate these rough waters.

  • March 24, 2025

    NC Urges Court To Rule Fla. Realty Co. Duped Homeowners

    The North Carolina Attorney General's Office has urged a state business court to find that a Florida real estate company targeted homeowners and tricked them into signing long-term predatory agreements in exchange for small cash advances, saying it is undisputed that the law was broken.

  • March 24, 2025

    PPR Capital Buys $87M Tenn. Build-To-Rent Community

    Private equity real estate investment firm PPR Capital Management and real estate investment firm and developer Center Creek Capital Group collaborated on an $87 million acquisition of a Knoxville, Tennessee, build-to-rent community, PPR announced Monday.

  • March 24, 2025

    Colo. Tenants Accuse Centerspace Of Neglect, Junk Fees

    Tenants at an apartment building in Denver, Colorado, have accused landlord Centerspace LP of neglecting the property, allowing refuse and safety violations to pile up even as it charged residents surprise junk fees, per a suit the landlord removed to Colorado federal court.

  • March 24, 2025

    NM House Requests Study Of Short-Term Rental Tax Policy

    New Mexico's House of Representatives unanimously approved legislation requesting a study on how the state's tax policies and regulatory framework affect short-term rentals.

  • March 24, 2025

    Texas High Court Revives Developer's Floodplain Takings Suit

    The Texas Supreme Court has said a developer can again argue at trial court that Houston's new floodplain system thwarted its planned community and amounted to a regulatory taking, even though the ordinance was a valid exercise of police power.

  • March 24, 2025

    NYC Real Estate Week In Review

    Hogan Lovells and Sidley Austin are among the law firms that landed work on the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, a group of transactions that included a pair of nine-figure Manhattan deals.

  • March 24, 2025

    Comparable Homes Don't Lower Mass. Property's $430K Value

    A Massachusetts home will remain valued at $429,500, a state tax panel said in a decision released Monday, rejecting the owner's arguments that the home valuation grew at a higher rate than that of comparable properties.

  • March 24, 2025

    No Evidence To Lower Home Value, Mass. Panel Says

    A Massachusetts panel declined to drop a condominium unit's valuation in a decision released Monday, rejecting the owner's argument that local assessors had increased home valuations in that particular area more than for other homes in the town.

  • March 21, 2025

    NJ AG Says Landlord Discriminated Against Low-Income Renters

    The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights has found probable cause that the owner of a Garden State apartment complex and its leasing agent allegedly discriminated against poor tenants through illegal minimum-income requirements, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced Friday.

  • March 21, 2025

    Property Plays: Data Centers, Extell, Deauville

    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.

  • March 21, 2025

    Hail Deductible Applicable In Colo. Townhomes' Storm Dispute

    A homeowners association's insurer correctly applied a hail deductible when it issued a roughly $1,600 payment despite the association's $3.5 million damage estimate, a Colorado federal court ruled Friday, rejecting the association's argument that the deductible became void once the insurer breached the policy by underpaying coverage.

  • March 21, 2025

    Loan Servicer Faces 'Zombie Mortgage' Truth In Lending Suit

    A mortgage loan servicer that allegedly tried to charge a North Carolina borrower $160,000 for a mortgage he discharged in bankruptcy during the Great Recession got hit with a proposed federal class action accusing it and a trust that purportedly attempted to foreclose his house of violating the Truth in Lending Act.

  • March 21, 2025

    Cole Schotz Guides Chetrit's $268M Loan For NYC Properties

    Developer The Chetrit Group LLC borrowed more than $268 million from real estate investment firm G4 Capital Partners for properties in New York's Upper East Side neighborhood, in a deal worked on by Cole Schotz PC, according to official property records.

  • March 21, 2025

    Seyfarth Shaw Guides $144M Brooklyn Project Financing

    Full-service real estate firm Watermark Capital Group borrowed more than $144 million from S3 Capital in a deal guided by Seyfarth Shaw LLP for a commercial real estate property that's the site of a major residential project located in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood, according to property records filed Friday.

  • March 21, 2025

    Miami Beach Gives Deauville, Towers Project Early OK

    The Miami Beach Commission voted in favor of requested land-use changes that would allow the owners of the historic Deauville Beach Resort to rebuild the hotel and add two large residential towers to the property, a project almost universally lauded in the meeting.

  • March 21, 2025

    Mich. Judge Dismisses $217M Dam Repair Tax Challenge

    A Michigan federal judge has dismissed a pair of lawsuits alleging a $217 million special assessment to fund the reconstruction of dams destroyed in 2020 floods was unfairly levied on certain properties, finding homeowners had the opportunity to oppose the assessment and litigate their claims in state court.

  • March 21, 2025

    3rd Circ. Takes On NJ Judicial Privacy Law's Constitutionality

    The Third Circuit has granted requests by several data brokers to review a lower court judge's ruling that New Jersey's judicial privacy and security measure, known as Daniel's Law, is constitutional.

  • March 21, 2025

    Taxation With Representation: Cravath, Paul Weiss, Cooley

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, Google acquires Wiz, QXO Inc. acquires Beacon Roofing Supply, and the Boston Celtics are bought by a group led by private equity firm co-founder William Chisholm.

  • March 20, 2025

    State Farm's Calif. Rate Request Exemplifies Long Negotiation

    California regulators' provisional approval of State Farm's premium increase request following the Los Angeles fires is another step forward in an insurance reform process that insurance pros view as a negotiation that has been protracted to the detriment of consumers.

  • March 20, 2025

    LA Hit With Sanctions Request In Encampment Sweep Lawsuit

    Homeless residents accused the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office of hiding documents they requested in their suit challenging the constitutionality of encampment sweeps, asking a California federal court for case-ending sanctions for the second time in two weeks.

Expert Analysis

  • How Congress Can Stem Consumer Finance Law Uncertainty

    Author Photo

    In the face of rising uncertainty about consumer finance laws that are based largely on fluctuating administrative rules, Congress should cement certain existing laws into statute and clarify federal agencies' delegations of authority, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

  • Illuminating The Trend Of Florida's Unpaid Hurricane Claims

    Author Photo

    The sheer number of insurance claims closed without payment for damage caused by Hurricanes Milton and Helene reveals a systemic problem within Florida's insurance industry exacerbated by complex issues, including climate change and state regulators' resource limitations, say attorneys at Farah & Farah.

  • Insurance Considerations For LA Wildfire Recovery

    Author Photo

    Businesses and homeowners affected by the destructive Southern California wildfires must act swiftly and strategically to navigate the complexities of the insurance recovery process, including by identifying all applicable policies, documenting damage thoroughly and keeping abreast of relevant state law, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • LA Wildfires' Effect On Calif. Insurer Of Last Resort

    Author Photo

    Attorneys at Willkie discuss the background of California's insurer of last resort — known as the Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan — and examine the process of assessing member insurers and relevant recent property insurance market developments in light of the destruction from the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires.

  • Algorithm Price-Fixing Ruling May Lower Antitrust Claims Bar

    Author Photo

    A Washington federal court's refusal to dismiss Duffy v. Yardi Systems, an antitrust case over rent prices allegedly inflated by revenue management software, creates an apparent split in the lower courts over how to assess such claims, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • California's New Homeowner Law Could Hamper Foreclosures

    Author Photo

    While A.B. 2424, which took effect this month in California, gives homeowners in default additional protections, it also provides loopholes that can be used to delay foreclosure auctions, and the cost of these delays will likely be passed on to the borrower, says Stephen Britt at Severson & Werson.

  • Small Biz Caught In Corporate Transparency Act Crossfire

    Author Photo

    Despite compliance being put on hold due to a nationwide preliminary injunction, small businesses have been caught in the middle of the legal battle over the Corporate Transparency Act — and confusion over the law's requirements could result in major penalties, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • What's Ahead As Transparency Act Comes To A Crossroads

    Author Photo

    Synthesizing the contrasting federal district and appellate court rulings on the Corporate Transparency Act’s validity reveals several main areas of debate that will likely remain at issue as challenges to the law continue winding through the courts, say attorneys at Farella Braun.

  • Ohio Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4

    Author Photo

    Ohio's banking and financial services sector saw several significant developments in the fourth quarter of 2024, including a landmark Uniform Commercial Code ruling, adjustments to the state's Homebuyer Plus Program and the launch of the state's first women-led bank, says attorney Alex Durst.

  • In The CFPB Playbook: A Sprint To The Finish Line

    Author Photo

    The fourth quarter of 2024 was an impressive demonstration of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ability to regulate, enforce and supervise, even on borrowed time following the election results, and we should expect the current bureau to run nonstop until Jan. 20, say attorneys at Covington.

  • The 6 Most Significant FCRA Litigation Developments Of 2024

    Author Photo

    From a key sovereign immunity decision at the U.S. Supreme Court to a ruling on creditworthiness out of the Seventh Circuit, several important Fair Credit Reporting Act cases wound their way through the courts in 2024, each offering takeaways for both plaintiffs and defendants, say attorneys at Shipkevich.

  • 10 Noteworthy CFPB Developments From 2024

    Author Photo

    In a banner year for consumer finance regulation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau made significant strides in its efforts to rein in Big Tech and nonbank financial firms, including via rules regarding open banking, credit card late fees, and buy now, pay later products, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • The Story Of 2024's Biggest Bank Regs, And Their Fate In 2025

    Author Photo

    U.S. federal bank regulators were very active in 2024 with initiatives ranging from antitrust and capital to proposals regarding controlling shareholders and incentive-based compensation, but many regulations face an uncertain future under the new administration, say attorneys at Latham.