Residential

  • May 20, 2024

    High Interest Rates, Low Supply Keep Outlook Strong For SFR

    With the likely persistence of higher interest rates and a significant lack of housing supply keeping the cost of home-buying up, single-family rentals appear likely to maintain an important position in the real estate landscape for the foreseeable future, speakers said Monday as industry players gathered for a conference in Miami Beach, Florida.

  • May 20, 2024

    Atlanta Housing Authority Taps GC For Leadership Role

    The Atlanta Housing Authority announced Friday it has named general counsel Dwayne Vaughn as its new chief operating officer, saying the transition coincides with an authority-wide priority shift.

  • May 20, 2024

    HOA Pecks At Chickens-As-Pets Theory In NC Appeal

    A North Carolina couple's 60-plus chickens aren't household pets, a local homeowners association has told the state's top court in seeking to reinstate a $31,500 judgment in its favor that was upended last month by a three-judge panel in the lower appeals court.

  • May 20, 2024

    4th Circ. Says 'Gargantuan' NC Beach Home Meets Zoning Regs

    A 15,000-square-foot oceanfront vacation home with 24 bedrooms, 25 bathrooms and a swimming pool in North Carolina's Currituck County complies with state and county zoning requirements, the Fourth Circuit ruled in a published opinion.

  • May 20, 2024

    McKinsey Says Gains From Tenant Data Can Drive Growth

    To produce profits in a time of stagnant capital markets, landlords should take a page from the book of hospitality companies and retailers and collect more data on tenants and use it to retain and attract residents, according to a McKinsey & Co. report.

  • May 20, 2024

    Landlords Bring Another NY Rent Law Challenge To Top Court

    A coalition of landlords and advocacy groups brought yet another U.S. Supreme Court petition challenging 2019 changes to New York's rent stabilization laws, arguing that a Second Circuit's March decision in the state's favor misapplied several key high court decisions.

  • May 20, 2024

    NYC Real Estate Week In Review

    Davis Polk and Zegans Law were among the firms that handled the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, a slow period that saw only four deals at or above the $15 million mark.

  • May 20, 2024

    DC Says Vegas Hotels' Win Doesn't Negate RealPage Suit

    The District of Columbia has urged the D.C. Superior Court to not use a federal judge's recent decision in an antitrust case as the basis for dismissing its claims against two real estate companies embroiled in a larger price-fixing suit against software company RealPage Inc.

  • May 20, 2024

    Latham Adds Former Chief Legal Officer Of REIT In NY

    Latham & Watkins LLP announced Monday that the former chief legal officer for real estate investment trust Safehold Inc. has joined the firm's New York office as a partner in the real estate practice.

  • May 20, 2024

    McElroy Deutsch Says Ex-Exec's Guilt Boosts Home Claim

    McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP doubled down on its attempt to seize the home of two former firm executives following a guilty plea on criminal embezzlement charges earlier this month by one of them, the firm's former chief financial officer.

  • May 20, 2024

    Rocket Mortgage Agrees To Pay $3.5M To End OT Suit

    Rocket Mortgage agreed to pay out $3.5 million to end a collective suit in Arizona federal court accusing it of failing to pay mortgage brokers for the after-hours work they performed.

  • May 20, 2024

    Settlement Ends Insurer's Stormwater Coverage Suit

    An H.W. Kaufman Group insurer settled a lawsuit seeking a declaration that it owed no coverage to a home construction company or its owner in an underlying suit accusing the company of performing defective work that led to pooling stormwater, according to a notice filed in Georgia federal court.

  • May 17, 2024

    DC Circ. Affirms Ex-HUD Official's Conviction For False Docs

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday upheld the documents falsification conviction of a former high-ranking staffer within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of the Inspector General, rejecting his arguments that prosecutors had diverged at trial from the charges laid out in an indictment.

  • May 17, 2024

    Eagles Coach Didn't Fumble When He Flew Nest, Panel Says

    Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni and his wife were allowed to back out of buying a $2.3 million home in New Jersey because the sellers hadn't disclosed or obtained a waiver for a "right of first refusal" from a previous owner's children, a New Jersey state appeals court affirmed Friday.

  • May 17, 2024

    Feds Say Crypto Scammer Gave Nod To 'Seinfeld' Gag

    The lie that the character George Costanza told on "Seinfeld" appears to have inspired a New York City fraudster, as federal prosecutors announced Friday that a Brooklyn man admitted to running a million-dollar crypto and real estate scam in part through a phony company called Vandelay Contracting Corp.

  • May 17, 2024

    Fla. Appeals Court Nixes Condo Tax Sale After Address Mix-Up

    A Florida state appeals panel authored a split decision ordering a lower district court to reverse a tax deed sale after a property owner in Miami-Dade claimed the county's clerk of court failed to provide notice that his condo was being put up for sale due to a delinquent tax bill.

  • May 17, 2024

    T. Boone Pickens' Ranch Buyer Can Proceed With TM Suit

    The new owner of the late T. Boone Pickens' luxurious hunting estate in the Texas Panhandle can proceed with a lawsuit accusing a neighboring property owner of infringing the ranch's trademark rights by using them to advertise a land sale, a federal judge concluded Thursday.

  • May 17, 2024

    Short-Term Rental Owners Sue Colo. City Over Phase-Out Law

    A group of short-term rental property owners claimed in Colorado federal court that a local ordinance enacted late last year "effectively bans most existing short-term rentals."

  • May 17, 2024

    Ohio School Board Can't Appeal Property Value To Court

    An Ohio school board is prohibited from appealing a board of revision's valuation of a property that the school board didn't own to a court of common pleas, a state appeals court ruled.

  • May 17, 2024

    Wash. Energy Codes Challenged Again After 9th Circ. Decision

    In the wake of a Ninth Circuit ruling that forced Washington officials to revisit regulations on natural gas appliances used in new construction, a group of natural gas companies, homeowners and construction interests are claiming the state's apparent fix is again out of step with federal law.

  • May 17, 2024

    House Advances Pro-Development Zoning Report Bill

    Members of the House Financial Services Committee sent to the House floor a bipartisan bill that would require municipal recipients of federal development grants to provide information about progress toward adopting pro-development land use policies.

  • May 16, 2024

    No Double Jeopardy In Philly Execs' Embezzlement Case

    Two former Philadelphia nonprofit executives convicted for an embezzlement scheme weren't subject to double jeopardy when a judge rescheduled trial after several jurors left, the Third Circuit ruled Thursday, reasoning that the court had no other choice.

  • May 16, 2024

    NJ Lets Some School Districts Hike Property Taxes Above Cap

    New Jersey will allow school districts that experienced cuts in state school aid to request increases in local property tax levies above previously permitted amounts without voter approval under a bill signed by Gov. Phil Murphy.

  • May 16, 2024

    Oversight Hearing Adds Pressure On Calif. Insurance Chief

    Under growing pressure from Gov. Gavin Newsom and the insurance industry, California’s top insurance regulator defended its process of implementing proposals to stabilize the Golden State’s faltering homeowners insurance market.

  • May 16, 2024

    Apt. Complex Must Face Insurer's Mold Death Coverage Suit

    A Georgia federal judge has refused to toss an insurer's suit seeking to evade coverage of an apartment complex accused of failing to stop a mold infestation that killed a tenant, finding the insurer has plausibly alleged it does not have a duty to defend under the prevailing insurance policy.

Expert Analysis

  • Key Limited Partnership Provisions During Market Downturns

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    With a recession potentially on the horizon, fund managers should carefully examine their funds' limited partnership agreements for items that may be affected by economic downturns, and assess whether modifications may be appropriate, says Matthew Posthuma at Ropes & Gray.

  • Firm Tips For Helping New Lawyers Succeed Post-Pandemic

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    Ten steps can help firms significantly enhance the experience of attorneys who started their careers in the coronavirus pandemic era, including facilitating opportunities for cross-firm connection, which can ultimately help build momentum for business development, says Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners.

  • Fla. Foreign Real Estate Law Brings Broad Investment Risks

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    Last month, Florida became the latest state to enact legislation prohibiting Chinese investors from acquiring certain interests in real property, introducing significant legal uncertainty and consequences for real estate stakeholders and the private equity industry, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Prepping Your Business Ahead Of Affirmative Action Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming ruling on whether race should play a role in college admissions could potentially end affirmative action, and companies will need a considered approach to these circumstances that protects their brand power and future profits, and be prepared to answer tough questions, say Nadine Blackburn at United Minds and Eric Blankenbaker at Weber Shandwick.

  • Tackling Judge-Shopping Concerns While Honoring Localism

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    As the debate continues over judge-shopping and case assignments in federal court, policymakers should look to a hybrid model that preserves the benefits of localism for those cases that warrant it, while preventing the appearance of judge-shopping for cases of a more national or widespread character, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • How Attorneys Can Help Combat Anti-Asian Hate

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    Amid an exponential increase in violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, unique obstacles stand in the way of accountability and justice — but lawyers can effect powerful change by raising awareness, offering legal representation, advocating for victims’ rights and more, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Congress Needs To Enact A Federal Anti-SLAPP Statute

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    Although many states have passed statutes meant to prevent individuals or entities from filing strategic lawsuits against public participation, other states have not, so it's time for Congress to enact a federal statute to ensure that free speech and petitioning rights are uniformly protected nationwide in federal court, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Banking Tips For Lending To Calif. Homeowners Associations

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    With current financial markets and recent changes to California law putting a brighter spotlight on lending, banks should understand the special considerations involved in lending to homeowners associations and the various possible remedies in the event of a default, says Alex Grigorians at Hanson Bridgett.

  • Some Client Speculations On AI And The Law Firm Biz Model

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    Generative artificial intelligence technologies will put pressure on the business of law as it is structured currently, but clients may end up with more price certainty for legal services, and lawyers may spend more time being lawyers, says Jonathan Cole at Melody Capital.

  • How Rent Proposals May Affect Most Populous Md. County

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    Of the various legislative changes concerning rent controls and property taxes that are being considered in Montgomery County, Maryland, comparatively milder controls are likely to prevail, but even these lenient measures may make it more difficult for the county to fulfill its needs for new housing, says Michael Murray at Greysteel.

  • A Lawyer's Guide To Approaching Digital Assets In Discovery

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    The booming growth of cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens has made digital assets relevant in many legal disputes but also poses several challenges for discovery, so lawyers must garner an understanding of the technology behind these assets, the way they function, and how they're held, says Brett Sager at Ehrenstein Sager.

  • High Court's Ethics Statement Places Justices Above The Law

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    The U.S. Supreme Court justices' disappointing statement on the court's ethics principles and practices reveals that not only are they satisfied with a status quo in which they are bound by fewer ethics rules than other federal judges, but also that they've twisted the few rules that do apply to them, says David Janovsky at the Project on Government Oversight.

  • Texas Justices' PNC Opinion Clarifies Subrogation Questions

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    Thanks to the sorely needed clarification provided by the Texas Supreme Court in PNC Mortgage v. Howard, a home equity lender now has a better understanding of what it can do when its own lien is constitutionally invalid but is either equitably or contractually subrogated to a prior lien, say Daron Janis and Dave Foster at Locke Lord.