Residential
-
June 14, 2024
Zillow Settles Antitrust Case Against ShowingTime Rival
Zillow has reached a settlement ending its case in Arizona federal court accusing a pair of multiple listing services of blocking members from using its ShowingTime tool in order to protect a rival tool that allows real estate agents and others to manage property showings.
-
June 14, 2024
Colo. Town Says It Took Resort Co.'s Land To Protect Sheep
A Colorado town has told a state appeals court it was justified in condemning and taking over local land that was owned by The Vail Corp. because the town needed to preserve wildlife space for a bighorn sheep herd.
-
June 14, 2024
Miami Tower Takes $668M In Fla.'s Biggest Construction Loan
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP and Saul Ewing LLP advised developer Property Markets Group on taking out a $668 million construction loan — the largest in state history — for its Waldorf Astoria Hotel and Residences Miami.
-
June 14, 2024
Political Speech Groups Challenge NJ Judicial Privacy Case
Two voting-integrity groups moved Friday to dismiss federal claims brought against them under New Jersey's Daniel's Law on the grounds that their business of publishing voter registration information is political speech protected by the First Amendment and federal voting rights laws.
-
June 14, 2024
Polsinelli Adds Ex-Withers Real Estate Atty In NY
Polsinelli PC has hired a commercial real estate attorney from Withers as a shareholder in New York.
-
June 13, 2024
CRE Expert Joins Emmet Marvin's Real Estate Finance Group
Emmet Marvin & Martin LLP announced that the firm has added a partner to its real estate finance group, bringing with her the commercial real estate expertise she gained from Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP.
-
June 13, 2024
NexPoint Asks Investors To Shake Up REIT After Ponzi Case
In a letter to shareholders June 13, an investor accused four incumbent trustees of repeatedly acting against their fiduciary duties in overseeing United Development Funding, a Texas-based firm controlled by four executives now serving time for running a Ponzi scheme.
-
June 13, 2024
Mich. Bill Seeks Income Tax Credit For Home Down Payments
Michigan would create an income tax credit for homebuyers who purchase a single-family residence that would equal a portion of the down payment amount as part of a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives.
-
June 13, 2024
Fla. Developer Inks $50M Capital Stack for Affordable Complex
Developer and construction company Pinnacle announced that it has secured $49.9 million in financing from various sources, which will allow the company to begin construction on a 120-unit expansion of an affordable housing community in unincorporated Miami-Dade County.
-
June 13, 2024
Blackstone's $10B AIR Buy Gets Nod From Top 2 Proxy Firms
Denver-based Apartment Income REIT Corp.'s shareholders have recommendations from the two leading proxy advisory firms to approve an agreement to sell off the real estate investment trust to private equity giant Blackstone for $10 billion, the company announced June 13.
-
June 13, 2024
Thompson Thrift Closes $250M Multifamily Development Fund
Thompson Thrift announced that the national real estate firm raised more than $250 million for its latest multifamily development fund, which will enable work on seven housing communities in suburban markets across the nation.
-
June 13, 2024
Ohio Senate OKs Requiring Tax Payments For Property Splits
Ohio would require delinquent property taxes to be paid before a real parcel was subdivided or transferred and would prohibit tax-delinquent property owners from buying tax-foreclosed property under a bill passed by the state Senate.
-
June 13, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Willkie, Latham and Milbank were among the law firms that handled the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, a period that saw three deals north of $100 million hit records.
-
June 12, 2024
NY Court Axes Landlords' Challenge To Rent Law Tweak
A New York federal judge dismissed landlords' suit challenging a December law that raised the stakes for property owners that fail to cooperate with municipalities attempting to enact rent stabilization, finding again that their Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment claims fall short.
-
June 12, 2024
Oversupply Drags On Sun Belt Multifamily Sector
More than a fifth of multifamily collateralized loan obligations were categorized as concerning in April, with markets in the West and Southwest seeing the most concern, according to a recent report from KBRA Analytics.
-
June 12, 2024
The Loan Discrimination Suits Notching Through Fed. Courts
Lawsuits over loan discrimination and the fallout faced by minority borrowers are being litigated in federal courts across the country, with banks, developers and the federal government facing claims.
-
June 12, 2024
Calif. Pension System Invests $100M In Nuveen Housing Fund
The California Public Employees' Retirement System has provided $100 million for global investment manager Nuveen's affordable housing fund, Nuveen announced Wednesday.
-
June 12, 2024
NYC Broker Bill Roils Agents, Who Say Landlords Won't Help
Scores of brokers rallied Wednesday on the steps of New York City Hall to oppose a bill before the New York City Council that would put the onus on landlords, rather than tenants, to pay broker fees.
-
June 12, 2024
Mass. Tax Board Says No To Decrease In Parcel Values
The owner of a pair of Massachusetts land parcels failed to show they were overvalued by local assessors, a state tax board ruled in a decision released Wednesday, saying the owner sought relief beyond the board's authority on several issues.
-
June 12, 2024
NJ Judicial Privacy Law Hit With Constitutional Challenge
Companies accused of violating Daniel's Law hit back in New Jersey federal court this week, calling the judicial data privacy protection measure unconstitutionally vague, harsh and riddled with loopholes, and arguing it is being "cynically" misused by the plaintiff, a data privacy company.
-
June 12, 2024
Saul Ewing, Atty Allowed 'Unconscionable' Lease, Suit Says
A former Saul Ewing LLP client who is considered a vulnerable adult is suing the firm and one of its partners, claiming the lawyer failed to negotiate the "unconscionable terms" of a lease that required the client to take out a $400,000 loan and allowed his stepbrother tenant to pay rent one-seventieth the property's market value.
-
June 12, 2024
Ore. Tax Court Affirms No Retroactive Fix To Home Value
The tax valuation of an Oregon residence erroneously assessed at a larger square footage cannot be retroactively reduced, the Oregon Tax Court said, upholding the state tax department's rejection of the request.
-
June 12, 2024
First 'Survivor' Winner Wants $3M Tax Case Tossed
The winner of the first season of the TV series "Survivor" asked a Rhode Island federal court to toss the government's case against him seeking nearly $3.3 million in unpaid taxes, saying the liabilities stem from his flawed criminal conviction for tax evasion nearly 20 years ago.
-
June 11, 2024
2nd Circ. Cites Macquarie In Booting Suit Over Go-Private Deal
The Second Circuit refused to revive a proposed class action accusing a real estate services provider of artificially depressing share prices, applying apparently for the first time the U.S. Supreme Court's Macquarie decision on alleged failures to disclose certain information.
-
June 11, 2024
Listing Co. Urges Court To Ignore DOJ's Broker Deal Issues
A multiple listing service that has struck a $3 million settlement over broker commission rules told a Massachusetts federal court the changes proposed by the U.S. Department of Justice go far beyond what's required and would create an antitrust problem in the real estate industry.
Expert Analysis
-
Assessing The Reach Of 9th Circuit's Natural Gas Ruling
The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in California Restaurant Association v. Berkeley, affirming that the Energy Policy and Conservation Act preempts certain state and local natural gas bans, may chill other efforts to limit usage of natural gas and raises important questions for utility companies, natural gas consumers and policymakers to consider, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.
-
Time For Law Schools To Rethink Unsung Role Of Adjuncts
As law schools prepare for the fall 2023 semester, administrators should reevaluate the role of the underappreciated, indispensable adjunct, and consider 16 concrete actions to improve the adjuncts' teaching experience, overall happiness and feeling of belonging, say T. Markus Funk at Perkins Coie, Andrew Boutros at Dechert and Eugene Volokh at UCLA.
-
Ch. 13 Ruling Issues Warning To Mortgage Servicers
The Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel’s recent ruling in Orlansky, which held that the mortgage servicer violated the automatic stay in its post-petition communication to debtors, suggests that circuit bankruptcy courts may more closely scrutinize how certain fees are presented in monthly statements, say Justin Paget and Jennifer Wuebker at Hunton.
-
Using Synthetic Securitization In Residential Mortgage Loans
In light of a recent Federal Reserve report emphasizing the importance of maintaining sufficient capital positions, banking organizations should consider using synthetic securitization to help mitigate capital charge associated with residential mortgage loan portfolios, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
-
Tips For In-House Legal Leaders In A Challenging Economy
Amid today's economic and geopolitical uncertainty, in-house legal teams are running lean and facing increased scrutiny and unique issues, but can step up and find innovative ways to manage outcomes and capitalize on good business opportunities, says Tim Parilla at LinkSquares.
-
How Cities Can Tackle Post-Pandemic Budgeting Dilemmas
Due to increasing office vacancies around the country, cities may consider politically unpopular actions to avoid bankruptcy, but they could also look to the capital markets to ride out the current real estate crisis and achieve debt service savings to help balance their budgets, say attorneys at Cadwalader.
-
What Associates Need To Know Before Switching Law Firms
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
The days of staying at the same firm for the duration of one's career are mostly a thing of the past as lateral moves by lawyers are commonplace, but there are several obstacles that associates should consider before making a move, say attorneys at HWG.
-
FHFA Plans Forecast The Year Ahead In Affordable Housing
This year attorneys in the affordable housing sector can expect to see developers utilizing the financing tools included in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae's updated equitable housing finance plans, including various sponsor-elected programs and Freddie's forward commitment initiative, say Evan Blau and Beth Budnick at Cassin & Cassin.
-
A Case For Sharing Mediation Statements With Counterparties
In light of a potential growing mediation trend of only submitting statements to the mediator, litigants should think critically about the pros and cons of exchanging statements with opposing parties as it could boost the chances of reaching a settlement, says Arthur Eidelhoch at Eidelhoch Mediation.
-
How To Determine Best Format For Annual Building Meetings
As hundreds of New York City co-ops and condominiums conduct their annual meetings over the next few weeks, they should keep both legal and practical considerations in mind when deciding between virtual and in-person formats, says Robert Braverman at Braverman Greenspun.
-
EB-5 Reform Continues To Weigh Heavily On Participants
Recent U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services guidance helps clarify aspects of the 2022 EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act, which increased oversight of EB-5 regional centers, but does not end the industry's continuing state of uncertainty, says Robert Divine at Baker Donelson.
-
Colo. Bankruptcy Ruling Clarifies Debt Collection Rules
The Colorado Supreme Court’s recent ruling in U.S. Bank v. Silvernagel provides necessary clarification on the state's debt collection statute of limitations commencement rules and gives lenders breathing room to pursue foreclosure after their borrowers receive a bankruptcy discharge, say Erin Edwards and Justin Balser at Troutman Pepper.
-
Preparing For Legal Scrutiny Of Data Retention Policies
Two recent cases involving Google and Meta should serve as a call to action for companies to ensure their data retention policies are updated and properly implemented to the degree of being able to withstand judicial scrutiny, especially as more data is generated by emerging technologies, say Jack Kallus and Labeed Choudhry at Kaufman Dolowich.