Residential
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July 29, 2024
Realtor.com Parent Fights Uphill For CoStar Injunction
A California federal judge appeared skeptical Monday of a preliminary injunction request from Realtor.com's parent company seeking to block rival CoStar from misappropriating trade secrets and unlawfully accessing its computers, saying the alleged theft doesn't appear to involve a secret "formula" but rather website content.
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July 29, 2024
NY City's Rent Regs Draw Legal Challenge
The Hudson Valley Property Owners Association made good on its promise to challenge Poughkeepsie, New York's, move to adopt rent stabilization citywide, alleging in New York state court that the underlying vacancy rate the city used to opt in was miscalculated.
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July 29, 2024
Mich. Justices Uphold Power To Pause Pandemic Deadlines
The Michigan Supreme Court affirmed Monday that it had the power to suspend case filing deadlines for three months at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, ruling the temporary measure was not an overreach of the judiciary's authority.
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July 29, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Romer Debbas and Marcus Attorneys are among the law firms that steered the largest New York City deeds that hit public records last week, a slow period that saw only five transactions north of $15 million become public.
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July 29, 2024
Workspace To Sell Residential Development For £13M
Flexible workspace provider Workspace Group PLC said Monday that it has agreed to sell a residential redevelopment site in the southeastern English town of Woking for £13 million ($16.7 million).
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July 26, 2024
CFIUS Report Says More On Real Estate Than Meets The Eye
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' latest report to Congress shows no significant change in the number of real estate-related cases the committee reviewed in 2023, but that does not mean properties weren't on the government's radar, attorneys say.
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July 26, 2024
Property Plays: Pretium, United Center, 830 Brickell
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.
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July 26, 2024
Short-Term Rental Group Defends Colo. City Ordinance Suit
A group of short-term rental owners in Colorado urged a federal court on Thursday to reject a city's bid to dismiss their suit, which claims a 2023 ordinance that regulates where short-term rentals can operate "effectively bans most existing short-term rentals."
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July 26, 2024
Calif. Community Org Opposes FCC Bulk Billing Clampdown
A technology-focused community group in California has joined a chorus of advocates calling for the Federal Communications Commission to hit the brakes on a proposal to tighten rules for bulk billing in multitenant environments.
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July 26, 2024
Weyerhaeuser CEO Expects Single-Family Sector To 'Hold Up'
Weyerhaeuser Co. is confident the single-family market will hold up in the third quarter despite slumping sales as high mortgage rates persist, the lumber real estate investment trust said on its quarterly earnings call Friday.
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July 26, 2024
Chubb Unit Asks 11th Circ. To Undo $13.8M Appraisal Award
A Chubb unit asked the Eleventh Circuit on Friday to reverse the approval of a Florida condominium association's $13.8 million appraisal award for hurricane damage sustained in 2017, arguing that a lower court erred in finding that one of the appraisers was partial to the association.
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July 26, 2024
Insurers See Losses Amid Migration To Severe Weather States
Population migration into parts of the U.S. with more severe weather is one factor driving the worst U.S. homeowner's insurance underwriting results since at least 2000, according to a report on the insurance industry from AM Best.
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July 25, 2024
Newsom Cites High Court In Ordering Encampments Cleared
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered state agencies to start removing homeless encampments on state property while providing outreach services to homeless residents following a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gave governments broader authority to ban camping in public.
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July 25, 2024
Mr. Cooper Picks Up Flagstar Resi Mortgage Unit For $1.4B
Flagstar Bank NA announced Thursday that it has inked a $1.4 billion deal to sell its residential mortgage servicing business to nonbank mortgage originator Mr. Cooper, as Flagstar and parent New York Community Bancorp eye a turnaround.
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July 25, 2024
Munck Wilson Adds Barnes & Thornburg Litigator In Dallas
Munck Wilson Mandala LLP is growing its litigation team, announcing Wednesday that it is bringing in a Barnes & Thornburg LLP commercial litigator in its Dallas office.
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July 25, 2024
IRS, Zaxby's Co-Founder To Settle $43M Easement Suit
The Internal Revenue Service agreed to settle a $43 million valuation dispute over a conservation easement donated by the co-founder of the Zaxby's restaurant chain and his wife, prompting a Georgia federal court Thursday to cancel next month's anticipated jury trial.
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July 25, 2024
Ore. Court Won't Toss Law Capping Taxable Home Values
A homeowner's attempt to lower the taxable value of his property was denied by the Oregon Tax Court, which said it did not have the authority to determine whether a law capping annual taxable value increases for some properties was unconstitutional.
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July 24, 2024
How Hinckley Allen Took On Rhode Island Beach-Access Law
A Rhode Island judge this month sided with beachfront property owners, represented by Hinckley Allen & Snyder LLP, ruling that a 2023 law that shifts the public access line landward amounts to a taking.
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July 24, 2024
Top Texas Real Estate News In 2024 So Far
Catch up on the hottest real estate news out of Texas so far this year, from data center construction and roadblocks in a major rail project to a Texas landowner's win in a takings suit and the U.S. Department of Justice's first predatory mortgage suit.
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July 24, 2024
Section 8 Landlords Face Trial In False Claims Act Suit
Tenants who receive Section 8 housing vouchers are staking out their arguments in a False Claims Act suit as landlords and property managers do the same ahead of the class action's trial next week in California federal court.
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July 24, 2024
Real Estate Buyer Says Developer Can't Arbitrate His Claims
A Miami-based venture capitalist has told a New York federal judge that real estate firm Desarrolladora La Ribera can't simultaneously invoke and reject arbitration clauses in a defamation suit against him and another homebuyer in a luxury Four Seasons-branded development in Los Cabos, Mexico.
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July 24, 2024
Connecticut Justices Won't Certify 'Slum' Tenant Class
A Connecticut state court judge was under no obligation to redefine a proposed class of low-income tenants in order to help them meet the certification requirements in a fraud and unfair trade practices lawsuit against their corporate landlord and property manager, the state Supreme Court hs ruled.
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July 24, 2024
NJ Atty Suspended For Using Client Funds From RICO Cases
The New Jersey Supreme Court this week issued a three-year suspension against an attorney accused of misusing client funds from a racketeering case to buy a new computer system and pay his wife for paralegal services.
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July 24, 2024
Ex-McElroy Deutsch Exec Says Ch. 11 Doesn't Pause Claims
A former McElroy Deutsch executive told a New Jersey state court that just because her husband — former McElroy Deutsch chief financial officer John Dunlea — has filed for bankruptcy does not mean she needs to pause her claims against the firm for discrimination and retaliation.
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July 24, 2024
3 Takeaways On CFIUS' Bid To Expand Real Estate Coverage
Real estate practitioners should not overlook the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' plan to bring 59 more military sites under its jurisdiction for reviewing land deals, even if the proposal comes as no surprise, attorneys said.
Expert Analysis
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Takeaways From FDIC's Spring Supervisory Highlights
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s spring 2024 consumer compliance supervisory report found that relatively few institutions had significant consumer compliance issues last year, but the common thread among those that did were inadequacies or failures in disclosures to consumers, says Matthew Hanaghan at Nutter.
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Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
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What Calif. Eviction Ruling Means For Defaulting Borrowers
A California appellate court's recent decision in Homeward Opportunities v. Taptelis found that a defaulting borrower could not delay foreclosure with an improperly served notice of pendency of action, but leaves open a possibility for borrowers to delay eviction proceedings merely by filing lawsuits, say Anne Beehler and Krystal Anderson at Holland & Knight.
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How 3D Printing And Prefab Are Changing Construction
The growing popularity of trends like 3D printing technology and prefabrication in the construction industry have positive ramifications ranging from reducing risks at project sites to streamlining construction schedules, say Josephine Bahn and Jeffery Mullen at Cozen O'Connor.
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Wave Of Final Rules Reflects Race Against CRA Deadline
The flurry of final rules now leaping off the Federal Register press — some of which will affect entire industries and millions of Americans — shows President Joe Biden's determination to protect his regulatory legacy from reversal by the next Congress, given the impending statutory look-back period under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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A Deep Dive Into High Court's Permit Fee Ruling
David Robinson and Daniel Golub at Holland & Knight explore the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that a local traffic impact fee charged to a California property owner may be a Fifth Amendment taking — and where it leaves localities and real estate developers.
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The Case For Overturning Florida Foreclosure Ruling
A Florida appellate court's recent decision in Desbrunes v. U.S. Bank National Association will potentially put foreclosure cases across the state in jeopardy, and unless it is reconsidered, foreclosing plaintiffs will need to choose between frustrating and uncertain options in the new legal landscape, say Sara Accardi and Paige Knight at Bradley.
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Bracing For The CFPB's War On Mortgage Fees
As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau homes in on the legality of certain residential mortgage fees, the industry should consult the bureau's steady stream of consumer lending guidance for hints on its priorities, say Nanci Weissgold and Melissa Malpass at Alston & Bird.
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DOJ Consent Orders Chart Road Map For Lending Compliance
Two recent consent orders issued by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of its efforts to fight mortgage lending discrimination highlight issues that pose fair lending compliance risks, and should be carefully studied by banks to avoid enforcement actions, says Memrie Fortenberry at Jones Walker.
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Reverse Veil-Piercing Ruling Will Help Judgment Creditors
A New York federal court’s recent decision in Citibank v. Aralpa Holdings, finding two corporate entities liable for a judgment issued against a Mexican businessman, shows the value of reverse veil piercing as a remedy for judgment creditors to go after sophisticated debtors who squirrel away assets, says Gabe Bluestone at Omni Bridgeway.
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Calif. Housing Overhaul May Increase Pressure On Landlords
Two recently enacted California laws signal new protections and legal benefits for tenants, but also elevate landlords' financial exposure at a time when they are already facing multiple other hardships, says Laya Dogmetchi at Much Shelist.
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New Proposal Signals Sharper Enforcement Focus At CFIUS
Last week's proposed rule aimed at broadening the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' enforcement authority over foreign investments and increasing penalties for violations signals that CFIUS intends to continue expanding its aggressive monitoring of national security issues, say attorneys at Kirkland.
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Climate Disclosure Mandates Demand A Big-Picture Approach
As carbon emissions disclosure requirements from the European Union, California and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission take effect, the best practice for companies is not targeted compliance with a given reporting regime, but rather a comprehensive approach to systems assessment and management, says David Smith at Manatt.