Residential
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November 15, 2024
Wash. Judge Says Junk Text Suit Must Lose Autodialer Claims
Consumers who were peppered with hundreds of unwanted text messages from a home improvement platform can move forward with their $400 million lawsuit accusing the company of ignoring the Do Not Call Registry, but will lose their autodialer claims, a Washington federal judge has ruled.
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November 15, 2024
Pa. Top Court Snapshot: Silent Partners, Skill Games In Nov.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's November argument schedule will task the justices with determining whether a property owner's absentee partner is an "indispensable party," whether CBD oil is reimbursable under workers' comp, and whether operating legally gray "skill games" should disqualify someone from getting a gaming license.
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November 15, 2024
Denver Voters Reject Sales Tax Hike For Affordable Housing
Denver voters narrowly rejected a ballot measure that would have increased the city's sales and use tax by 0.5 percentage points and dedicated the anticipated $100 million in revenue to the city's affordable housing efforts.
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November 15, 2024
Mass. Home's Value Should Be Lowered, Board Rules
A Massachusetts home in a flood plain should be granted a tax abatement of $860 and have its value lowered based on comparable sales in the area, the state Appellate Tax Board said in an opinion released Friday.
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November 15, 2024
Property Plays: Franchise Group, Kushner, Astrodome
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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November 15, 2024
Ga. Panel Says Homeowners Must Arbitrate Boundary Spat
The Georgia Court of Appeals on Friday ordered a property line spat between a construction company and a homeowner sent to arbitration, reversing a trial court's ruling that the issue fell outside the bounds of an arbitration provision within the original sale contract.
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November 15, 2024
Mass. Court Refuses To Set Defective Condo's Value At Zero
The owner of a Massachusetts condominium unit that he claimed was uninhabitable and worth nothing was lawfully denied the valuation abatement he sought, a state appeals court said Friday, upholding a tax board decision.
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November 15, 2024
Florida To Aid Condo Hurricane Upgrades With $30M Effort
Florida state officials launched a pilot program to help condominium associations prepare their properties for hurricanes with free inspections and grants for updates that could lower wind insurance costs.
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November 15, 2024
Ex-McElroy Deutsch Exec Says Firm Has No Claim On House
The former McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP business development director whose husband pled guilty to stealing millions from the firm has argued that the time has come for the court to toss an attempt by the firm to put her house in a constructive trust.
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November 15, 2024
NY Real Estate Lender Bravo Names New GC And COO
New York City-based real estate lender Bravo Property Trust announced Friday it has brought on a new general counsel and chief operating officer with 20 years of experience and a deep network of industry connections, as the company looks to grow.
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November 15, 2024
HOA's Insurer Says Pool Chemical Injury Suits Aren't Covered
A homeowners association's insurer told a Virginia federal court it needn't cover underlying lawsuits alleging a lifeguard employed by the association's contractor allowed hazardous chemicals to spread and hurt pool patrons, arguing that its commercial general liability policy excluded bodily injury as a result of pollutants.
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November 15, 2024
KKR Leader Says The Real Estate Downturn Is Ending
The two-year real estate slump appears to be passing and the investment environment now looks like one of the most attractive that KKR & Co. Inc. has ever seen, a managing director for the private equity shop's real estate group said.
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November 14, 2024
LuLaRoe Hit With $164M Verdict In Contract, Fraud Trial
Troubled multilevel marketing company LuLaRoe has been saddled with a $164 million jury verdict in California state court for breaching its contract with a clothing supplier and fraudulently hiding assets in real estate ownership entities and a race car company to avoid paying up.
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November 14, 2024
NY Nursing Homes Ink $45M Deal To End AG's Fraud Suit
Four New York nursing homes have agreed to a $45 million deal that will end a civil lawsuit brought by the state accusing them of neglecting residents and defrauding Medicare and Medicaid, according to a Friday announcement by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
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November 14, 2024
Legal Aid Groups Accuse NYC Of Payment Delays
The nonprofits that provide legal aid to low-income tenants and immigrants in New York City say that due to city delays, they haven't been able to submit invoices for five months, threatening the groups' ability to pay workers and continue operating.
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November 14, 2024
Judge Slams Gov't For Resisting LA Campus Housing Orders
A California federal judge has told the federal government that it can't "resist accountability," rejecting a bid to stay court-ordered construction of housing for military veterans on a Los Angeles campus.
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November 14, 2024
Judge Pondering 3rd-Party Releases In LaVie Ch. 11 Plan
A Georgia bankruptcy judge on Thursday said he will have to consider arguments on whether third-party claim releases in skilled nursing facility operator LaVie Care Centers' Chapter 11 plan are truly consensual before he allows the restructuring to go forward.
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November 14, 2024
DC Council Issues Housing Tax Break Emergency Resolution
The District of Columbia Council approved an emergency resolution to enact legislation to implement a competitive process for the provision of tax abatements for housing developments while a recently passed measure to permanently authorize that process faces congressional review before it becomes law.
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November 14, 2024
Conn. Atty Must Pay $282K Default In Estate's Home Sale Suit
A Connecticut attorney must pay a $282,000 default judgment for distributing real estate proceeds to at least one "unknown party" and writing a bad check to a trust beneficiary after a $1.2 million home sale, a state trial court judge has ruled.
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November 14, 2024
JLL Forecasts End To 'Peak Waiting' For Construction Work
Commercial broker JLL expects moderating interest rates and building costs that have held mostly flat in 2024 to help lay the foundation for growth in the industry next year after a recent downturn in new project starts.
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November 14, 2024
NY Contractor Cops To Aiding Theft In Commercial Bribe Case
A New York contractor pled guilty on Thursday in the Manhattan district attorney's commercial bribery case alleging dozens of construction industry defendants conspired to steal from developers in a sprawling kickback scheme involving $100 million in contracts.
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November 13, 2024
Flash Points In Early Months Of NY's Good Cause Eviction Law
With more than six months of good cause eviction protections for New Yorkers in the rearview mirror, early disputes over the state law are bubbling up in housing court as a steady flow of cities opt in to the tenant-friendly framework.
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November 13, 2024
Meet The Atty, Developer Who'll Be Middle East Special Envoy
President-elect Donald Trump has named Witkoff Group CEO and former real estate lawyer Steven Witkoff as special envoy to the Middle East, a move that could portend an infrastructure-focused, pro-Israel policy stance as the war in Gaza persists.
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November 13, 2024
NYC Bans Broker Fees For Tenants On Veto-Proof Vote
The New York City Council on Wednesday approved a bill that would prevent landlords from passing on their own broker fees to tenants, in a step ending the practice that's mostly exclusive to New York and Boston.
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November 13, 2024
Insurer Says Condo That Prevented Hunting Has No Coverage
The insurer for a homeowners association asked a South Carolina federal court Wednesday to determine that a dispute over the organization's attempt to ban residents from hunting deer on their property was not owed coverage under its policy's provisions.
Expert Analysis
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In The CFPB Playbook: No Lazy, Hazy Days Of Summer
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is headed for a brisk fall season, on the heels of a heated summer, which included the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that the CFPB funding structure is constitutional, and in advance of the November election, says Eamonn Moran at Holland & Knight.
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Basel Endgame Rules: A Change Is Coming
The Federal Reserve Board's recently announced recalibration of the Basel endgame proposal begins a critical chapter in the evolution of not only the safety and soundness of U.S. banks, but also of banks' abilities to lend and support American businesses and consumers, say attorneys at Davis Wright.
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Round-Canopy Parachuting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Similar to the practice of law, jumping from an in-flight airplane with nothing but training and a few yards of parachute silk is a demanding and stressful endeavor, and the experience has bolstered my legal practice by enhancing my focus, teamwork skills and sense of perspective, says Thomas Salerno at Stinson.
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Reassessing Lease Provisions To Account For ESG Initiatives
As companies seek to build ESG considerations into their businesses, it's crucial to understand how such initiatives can quickly become significant enough to compel reassessment of lease agreement provisions, and how best to modify leases accordingly, say Julian Freeman and Gabe Pitassi at Cox Castle.
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Avoid Getting Burned By Agencies' Solar Financing Spotlight
Recently coordinated reports and advisories from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission maximize the spotlight on the consumer solar financing market and highlight pitfalls for lenders to avoid in this burgeoning field, says Mercedes Tunstall at Cadwalader.
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Assessing Algorithmic Versus Generative AI Pricing Tools
A comparison of traditional algorithmic pricing models and those powered by generative artificial intelligence can help regulators and practitioners weigh the pros and cons of relying on large language models to price products or services, say Maxime Cohen at McGill University, and Tim Spittle and Jimmy Royer at Analysis Group.
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Navigating A Potpourri Of Possible Transparency Act Pitfalls
Despite the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's continued release of guidance for complying with the Corporate Transparency Act, its interpretation remains in flux, making it important for companies to understand potentially problematic areas of ambiguity in the practical application of the law, say attorneys at Sidley.
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DOJ Must Overcome Hurdles In RealPage Antitrust Case
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent claims that RealPage's pricing software violates the Sherman Act mark a creative, and apparently contradictory, shift in the agency's approach to algorithmic price-fixing that will face several key challenges, say attorneys at Clifford Chance.
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What To Know About CFPB Stance On Confidentiality Terms
A recent circular from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau represents a growing effort across government agencies to address overbroad confidentiality agreements, and gives employers insight into the bureau's perspective on the issue as it relates to the Consumer Financial Protection Act, say Holly Williamson and Elizabeth King at Hunton.
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What's Next For Federal Preemption In Financial Services
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's review of its preemption interpretations and growing pressure from state regulators signal potential changes ahead for preemption in U.S. financial services, and the path forward will likely involve a reevaluation of the entire framework, say attorneys at Clark Hill.
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Increased Scrutiny Raises Int'l Real Estate Transaction Risks
Recently proposed regulations expanding the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' oversight, a White House divestment order and state-level legislative efforts signal increasing scrutiny of real estate transactions that may trigger national security concerns, say Luciano Racco and Aleksis Fernández Caballero at Foley Hoag.
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Financial Incentives May Alleviate Affordable Housing Crisis
There is a wide array of financial incentives and assistance that the government can provide to both real estate developers and individuals to chip away at the housing affordability problem from multiple angles, say Eric DeBear and Madeline Williams at Cozen.
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Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.