Residential
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July 17, 2024
U. Miami Climate Leader Sees Chance For Innovation
With Miami often called the "ground zero" of the climate change crisis, the University of Miami in 2022 launched a Climate Resilience Academy to coordinate an interdisciplinary response. Nearly a year into his tenure, its leader reflects on the opportunity for midsize city innovation in infrastructure in the face of climate challenges.
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July 17, 2024
Arizona Evictions Judge: Invitation Homes Should Apologize
As the largest owner of single-family rental properties in the Phoenix area, Invitation Homes continues to outpace the county average on eviction filings. In one case, a judge admonished the Wall Street landlord and said it should apologize for the “sleepless nights” it had caused two of its tenants.
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July 17, 2024
Phoenix Developers Nab $51M For Build-To-Rent Construction
Tower Capital arranged $51 million in construction financing for a 190-unit rental community under development in Phoenix's West Valley, after the developer received final approval for a requested rezoning from the city's Planning Commission.
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July 17, 2024
Do Real Estate Attorneys Ever Take Vacations?
Real estate attorneys looking to take a vacation must do a lot of legwork to ensure that their deals or cases sail smoothly in their absence. But things don't always go as planned.
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July 17, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Fried Frank and Tarter Krinsky are among the law firms that guided the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, a period that saw three transactions north of the $100 million mark become public.
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July 17, 2024
Woman Can't Escape Suit Over Partner's $1.1M FBAR Debt
A woman whose late romantic partner owed $1.1 million in reporting penalties on hidden financial accounts in France and Switzerland can't stop the government from pursuing a suit against her for half the value of her home, a New York federal court ruled.
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July 16, 2024
Rocket Cos. Investors Drop CEO Retweet Claims From Suit
Investors in mortgage lender Rocket Companies have dropped certain proposed class action claims against the company's CEO, telling a Michigan federal judge that they would no longer accuse the executive of securities fraud over a March 2021 retweet.
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July 16, 2024
Cox Castle Guides $300M Gowanus Development Financing
Cox Castle & Nicholson LLP advised on $300 million in construction financing from Kennedy Wilson Capital, Affinius Capital and TYKO Capital for Tavros Capital's and Charney Cos.' major residential development in Brooklyn, New York, per county property records and a statement from the parties.
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July 16, 2024
'Excuse Me?': Judge Vexed By Defamation Claim In Ch. 7 Row
A Connecticut bankruptcy judge on Tuesday appeared skeptical of defamation and tortious interference claims New York-based real estate investor EasyKnock Inc. filed against a trustee handling the Chapter 7 estate of a onetime homeowner, forcing company attorneys to at times to admit they cited no authority to support their case.
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July 16, 2024
White House Proposes Rent Caps For Corporate Landlords
President Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled a slate of proposals intended to lower housing costs, chief among them being a push for Congress to pass legislation capping corporate landlords' ability to raise rents by more than 5%.
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July 16, 2024
Florida Developer Pays $14M For Land For Gated Community
Florida-based developer and homebuilder 13th Floor Homes bought 270 acres of land in Tamarac, Florida, for $14 million and plans on building a 335-home, single-family luxury gated community, the company announced.
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July 16, 2024
Biden Admin. Awards $325M To Redevelop 'Distressed' Homes
The Biden administration awarded multiple public housing authorities, cities and Miami-Dade County with more than $325 million in grant funding that will be used to "redevelop distressed housing with high-quality mixed-income options," the administration and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced Tuesday.
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July 16, 2024
REIT Defends Financials After Reports Of Probe Emerge
Arbor Realty Trust said that it's standing by its accounting practices after a news outlet reported the company is under investigation in the wake of numerous short-seller reports alleging fraud in its books.
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July 16, 2024
County Says Pittsburgh Schools Can't Force Reassessment
As one taxing body out of many in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, the School District of Pittsburgh lacks standing in its lawsuit seeking to force a countywide reassessment of property values, the county said in its preliminary objections to the suit.
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July 16, 2024
The 2024 Diversity Snapshot: What You Need To Know
Law firms' ongoing initiatives to address diversity challenges have driven another year of progress, with the representation of minority attorneys continuing to improve across the board, albeit at a slower pace than in previous years. Here's our data dive into minority representation at law firms in 2023.
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July 16, 2024
These Firms Have The Most Diverse Equity Partnerships
Law360’s law firm survey shows that firms' efforts to diversify their equity partner ranks are lagging. But some have embraced a broader talent pool at the equity partner level. Here are the ones that stood out.
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July 16, 2024
Ex-Philly Charter School Exec Gets 7 Years For Embezzlement
Abdur Rahim Islam, who ran famed R&B producer Kenny Gamble's Philadelphia-based housing and education nonprofit, was sentenced Tuesday to seven years in prison for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the organization and using the ill-gotten gains for Caribbean vacations.
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July 15, 2024
Investor Sues To Block Co-Founder Takeover At Startup Redy
Colorado investor Deer Park Road Management Co. argues a non-celebrity co-founder of real estate marketplace Redy.com took money from the startup to fund his lifestyle and cover an $875,000 civil defamation settlement as he tries to complete a takeover of the company's board.
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July 15, 2024
Bulk Billing Regs Could Hurt Lower-Income Tenants, FCC Told
Tighter regulations on bulk billing in multitenant environments could make it harder for seniors, low-income households and students to afford high-speed internet service, industry representatives told the Federal Communications Commission.
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July 15, 2024
VA Campus' Income Limits Are Discriminatory, Judge Finds
A California federal judge sided with a class of homeless, disabled military veterans on some of their claims in a lawsuit accusing the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development of discrimination for failing to build permanent supportive housing for them in Los Angeles.
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July 15, 2024
Broker Guides $57M Sale Of Fla. Multifamily Community
A Florida-based real estate company purchased a 296-unit multifamily Fort Myers, Florida, community in a $57 million deal brokered by JBM Institutional Multifamily Advisors, the broker announced Monday.
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July 15, 2024
Conn. Mixed-Use Project Moves Ahead With $165M Financing
Four firms and one solo practitioner guided Barings and Counterpointe Sustainable Real Estate's provision of a combined $165.3 million for the second phase of Baywater Properties' mixed-use development in Darien, Connecticut, according to a Monday statement from Barings.
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July 15, 2024
Pa. Extends Tax Breaks To Longtime Pittsburgh Homeowners
Pennsylvania will expand a property tax relief program to allow longtime homeowners in Pittsburgh to claim tax breaks related to rising real estate taxes under a bill signed by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro.
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July 15, 2024
DC Circ. Won't Rethink Revived DOJ Realtor Antitrust Probe
The D.C. Circuit won't reconsider a ruling that allowed the U.S. Department of Justice to reopen an investigation into certain rules and policies of the National Association of Realtors, rejecting the trade group's request that the court correct "far-reaching and exceptionally important" legal errors.
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July 15, 2024
McElroy Deutsch Fights 'Malicious' Claim In Exec Fraud Case
McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP and its former business development director, who is accused of stealing millions from the firm partially via fraudulent credit card use, are at odds over whether the firm's ex-employee should be allowed to bring a malicious prosecution counterclaim in New Jersey state court.
Expert Analysis
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How New Lawyers Can Leverage Feedback For Growth
Embracing constructive criticism as a tool for success can help new lawyers accelerate their professional growth and law firms build a culture of continuous improvement, says Katie Aldrich at Fringe Professional Development.
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9 Consumer Finance Issues To Note From CFPB Report
A recent report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlights abusive consumer finance tactics that the agency uncovered during supervisory examinations over the last year — among the most significant issues identified: deceptive practices in automotive loan servicing, and consumer reporting and debt collection compliance failures, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Twitter Legal Fees Suit Offers Crash Course In Billing Ethics
X Corp.'s suit alleging that Wachtell grossly inflated its fees in the final days of Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition provides a case study in how firms should protect their reputations by hewing to ethical billing practices and the high standards for professional conduct that govern attorney-client relationships, says Lourdes Fuentes at Karta Legal.
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Transaction Risks In Residential Mortgage M&A Due Diligence
As the residential mortgage market continues to consolidate due to interest rate increases and low housing volume, buyers and sellers should pay attention to a number of compliance considerations ranging from fair lending laws to employee classification, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Ore. Warranty Ruling Complicates Insurance Classification
The Oregon Court of Appeals' recent TruNorth v. Department of Consumer and Business Services holding that a service contract — commonly referred to as an extended warranty — covering commercial property is subject to the state's consumer service contract laws raises regulatory questions for contract obligors, sellers and administrators, say attorneys at Locke Lord.
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ABA's Money-Laundering Resolution Is A Balancing Act
While the American Bar Association’s recently passed resolution recognizes a lawyer's duty to discontinue representation that could facilitate money laundering and other fraudulent activity, it preserves, at least for now, the delicate balance of judicial, state-based regulation of the legal profession and the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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FCRA Legislation To Watch For The Remainder Of 2023
If enacted, pending federal and state legislation may result in significant changes for the Fair Credit Reporting Act landscape and thus require regulated entities and practitioners to pivot their compliance strategies, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Regulators Must Get Creative To Keep Groundwater Flowing
Even as populations have boomed in Sun Belt states like Arizona, California and Texas, groundwater levels have diminished due to drought and overuse — so regulators must explore options including pumping limits, groundwater replenishment and wastewater reuse to ensure future supplies for residential and commercial needs, says Jeffrey Davis at Integral Consulting.
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Law Firm Professional Development Steps To Thrive In AI Era
As generative artificial intelligence tools rapidly evolve, professional development leaders are instrumental in preparing law firms for the paradigm shifts ahead, and should consider three strategies to help empower legal talent with the skills required to succeed in an increasingly complex technological landscape, say Steve Gluckman and Anusia Gillespie at SkillBurst Interactive.
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What Upholding Of Short-Term Rental Law Means For NYC
A New York state judge's dismissal of Airbnb's challenge against the Short-Term Rental Registration Law will benefit the city's hospitality industry and exert downward pressure on apartment rents, and potentially provide a model for other local governments around the U.S. to curb short-term apartment rentals, says Alexander Lycoyannis at Holland & Knight.
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Key Provisions In Florida's New Insurer Accountability Act
Florida's recent bipartisan Insurer Accountability Act introduces a range of new obligations for insurance companies and regulatory bodies to strengthen consumer protection, and other states may follow suit should it prove successful at ensuring a reliable insurance market, say Jan Larson and Benjamin Malings at Jenner & Block.
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Fair Lending Activity: Calm On The Surface, Churning Below
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recently released annual fair lending report to Congress confirms that despite the paucity of public fair lending enforcement actions in 2022, the CFPB and prudential banking agencies are engaged in significant nonpublic oversight, examination and enforcement activities, say attorneys at Cooley.
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The Basics Of Being A Knowledge Management Attorney
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Michael Lehet at Ogletree Deakins discusses the role of knowledge management attorneys at law firms, the common tasks they perform and practical tips for lawyers who may be considering becoming one.