Residential

Expert Analysis

• Enviro Exemption For NYC Housing Looks Legally Dubious

  

  New York City Mayor Eric Adams' recently announced plan to exempt smaller residential developments from state environmental review may be a laudable attempt to expand the housing supply, but a review of applicable statutes suggests that the mayor lacks the authority to create this exemption, says Richard Leland at Akerman.

• What COVID Home Equity Repayment Plan Means For Lenders

  

  Mortgage servicers need to note expanded borrower protections established by the Federal Housing Administration's recent COVID-19 home equity repayment plan, which balances the FHA's goal of protecting its insurance interests while helping borrowers hold onto their homes, say Jay Wright and Britney Crawford at Bradley.

• CFPB's Reading Of Lending Act May Affect Home Equity Plans

  

  ​​​​​​​If the Fourth Circuit adopts the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's arguments in Lyons v. PNC Bank, it would remove one tool issuers of home equity line of credit loans currently have to ensure repayment of outstanding debt on their customers' legacy HELOC accounts, say Ralph Mazzeo and Edward Southgate at Dechert.

• Justices Leave Questions Open On Dual-Purpose Atty Advice

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent dismissal of In re: Grand Jury on grounds that certiorari was improvidently granted leaves unresolved a circuit split over the proper test for deciding when attorney-client privilege protects a lawyer's advice that has multiple purposes, say Susan Combs and Richard Kiely at Holland & Hart.

• High Court Bankruptcy Ruling Is Unintended Gift To The SEC

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Bartenwerfer v. Buckley on the Bankruptcy Code's fraud exception to dischargeability may have indirectly boosted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's authority to collect monetary judgments arising out of its enforcement actions, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

• When It Comes To CFPB Agenda, Expect The Unexpected

  

  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's regulatory agenda identifies some key issues for financial institutions, but it is by no means a complete list, as the agency may continue to make extensive use of circulars, advisory opinions, amicus briefs and other means of setting out regulatory positions, says Michael Flynn at Buchalter.

• Townstone Ruling Rocks The Boat On Equal Credit Law Reach

  

  While an Illinois federal court's recent decision in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Townstone has disturbed the use of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to address discrimination in preapplication activities, lenders must still continue to monitor how they interact with prospective applicants to mitigate fair lending risk, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

• Don't Assume AI Is Smart Enough To Avoid Unintended Bias

  

  As companies increasingly incorporate artificial intelligence decision models into their business practices, they should consider using statistical and qualitative analyses to evaluate and reduce inadvertent discrimination, or disparate impact, induced by AI, say Christine Polek and Shastri Sandy at The Brattle Group.

• Steps Lawyers Can Take Following Involuntary Terminations

  

  Though lawyers can struggle to recover from involuntary terminations, it's critical that they be able to step back, review any feedback given and look for opportunities for growth, say Jessica Hernandez at JLH Coaching & Consulting and Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub.

• NY Law Alters Foreclosure Timeliness Framework Post-Engel

  

  New York's recently passed Foreclosure Abuse and Prevention Act aims to prevent lender manipulation of foreclosure statutes of limitations following the Court of Appeals' 2021 decision in Freedom Mortgage v. Engel, and should cause lenders to work with mortgagees to resolve defaults, say attorneys at Abrams Fensterman.

• High Court Ax Of Atty-Client Privilege Case Deepens Split

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent dismissal of In re: Grand Jury as improvidently granted maintains a three-way circuit split on the application of attorney-client privilege to multipurpose communications, although the justices have at least shown a desire to address it, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.

• CFPB Brings RESPA Reminder To Mortgage Comparison Sites

  

  In light of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent advisory opinion on the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, anyone who, in a compensated arrangement, operates or participates in a digital comparison-shopping platform for real estate settlement services should revisit RESPA and related regulatory risk, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

• 3 Job Satisfaction Questions For Partners Considering Moves

  

  The post-pandemic rise in legal turnover may cause partners to ask themselves what they really want from their workplace, how they plan to grow their practice and when it's time to make a move, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.