Residential
-
June 06, 2024
NYC Passes Economic Opportunity Rezoning, With Tweaks
The New York City Council voted June 6 to approve a slate of zoning reforms intended to promote small business growth and update decades-old regulations, after making several tweaks to the plan in response to community concerns.
-
June 06, 2024
Colorado To Study Simplification Of Local Lodging Taxes
Colorado will expand the scope of a task force responsible for simplifying the state's sales and use tax regime to improve the local lodging tax system as part of a bill signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis.
-
June 06, 2024
Jeffrey Zwick Advises On $147M NYC Portfolio Refinancing
A Namdar Realty Group affiliate has closed on a $147.1 million refinancing of a group of 18 New York City apartment buildings and commercial properties in a transaction advised by Jeffrey Zwick & Associates.
-
June 06, 2024
Mass. AG Asks State High Court To Affirm Housing Law
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell told the state's highest court this week that her office has the authority to seek enforcement of what she says is a mandatory state housing initiative requiring more than half the state's communities to allow multifamily housing development.
-
June 06, 2024
Hinshaw Adds Financial Services Partner In NY
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP has added a consumer financial services partner in its New York City office from creditors rights firm LOGS Legal Group.
-
June 06, 2024
Ex-Real Estate Firm GC Joins Federman Steifman As Partner
Federman Steifman LLP hired the former general counsel of real estate investment and development firm SomeraRoad as a partner for its New York City office, the law firm announced.
-
June 06, 2024
Bell Nunnally Adds Ex-Munsch Hardt Real Estate Ace In Dallas
Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP has strengthened its real estate practice with a partner in Dallas who came aboard from Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr PC.
-
June 05, 2024
Property Plays: WP Carey, Tribeca, Tower Capital
W.P. Carey inked $258 million worth of investments, largely in industrials; a total of $21.5 million was loaned for the acquisition and conversion of an eight-story Tribeca building; Tower Capital lined up $47.4 million for a build-to-rent community in Texas.
-
June 05, 2024
CohnReznick Scores Quick Exit In Tax Scheme Suit
A New York federal judge agreed to toss a housing partnership's suit accusing accounting firm CohnReznick LLP of professional negligence and fraud, finding that the district court doesn't have jurisdiction over the dispute.
-
June 05, 2024
Denver Landlord Sued Over Allegedly Unlawful Late Fees
A Denver landlord and its property manager were accused in a proposed class action of charging tenants with unlawfully excessive late fees for owed rent and launching eviction proceedings against them for not paying the late fees and owed rent.
-
June 05, 2024
Miami Developer Maintains Pioneering Touch In Latest Moves
Miami-area developer Masoud Shojaee spoke with Law360 Real Estate Authority about his project strategy and how it has led to longevity for his firm Shoma Group and given him confidence in helping to address a housing crisis and various challenges in the market.
-
June 05, 2024
PennyMac Sued Over 'Release Costs' For Payoff Docs
PennyMac Loan Services LLC violated federal and Florida law by wrongfully charging "release costs" for its mortgage payoff statements that showed how much borrowers still owed, according to a proposed consumer class action filed in Florida federal court.
-
June 05, 2024
Colo. To Exempt Modular Homes From Sales Tax
Colorado will exempt new modular home sales from state tax under a bill signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis.
-
June 05, 2024
'Le Penthouse' Owner Files For Ch. 11 With $66M In Debt
The owner of "Le Penthouse," known as one of the most expensive New York City condominiums, filed for Chapter 11 protection in Manhattan bankruptcy court with $66.5 million in debt and a plan to sell off its properties including the penthouse.
-
June 04, 2024
Judge Frets Nursing Home Co. LaVie $20M DIP Too Low
A Georgia bankruptcy judge on Tuesday gave interim approval to customary first-day motions and a $20 million debtor-in-possession loan for bankrupt nursing home operator LaVie Care Centers LLC.
-
June 04, 2024
Miami Board Opposes Tower Amid Land Use Law Concerns
The design review committee for Miami's Wynwood neighborhood voted Tuesday against a 48-story mixed-use development proposed in the area, pushing back on the application, which makes use of a sweeping new Florida land use law for workforce housing.
-
June 04, 2024
HUD Kicks Off Manufactured Housing Financing Program
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development launched a federally insured financing option for buying, revitalizing and refinancing manufactured housing communities in order to provide an alternative that doesn't involve private equity funds purchasing those communities, HUD announced Tuesday.
-
June 04, 2024
Meet The Attorneys Guiding Nursing Home Co. LaVie's Ch. 11
A team of attorneys from McDermott Will & Emery LLP is guiding nursing home operator LaVie Care Centers LLC through its Chapter 11 case in Georgia.
-
June 04, 2024
Albany Passes Good Cause Eviction, Again
The Albany Common Council has voted to opt New York's capital city in to the state's good cause eviction law, after the city's earlier attempt was struck down by a state judge.
-
June 04, 2024
LA Landfill Owner Faces Suits Over Foul Fumes, Runoff
Some 800 people near a waste dump in Los Angeles County sued its operator for damages, alleging the company is liable for a smoldering underground fire at the site — the county's second-largest landfill — that has spewed toxic gas into the air for the last year, as well as geyser-like eruptions of polluted water from the ground.
-
June 04, 2024
CFPB Cautions Firms Against Contractual 'Fine Print Tactic'
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday warned banks and other financial services firms against trying to "trick" consumers with unenforceable waivers in their customer contracts, saying their use of certain contractual terms and conditions can open them up to supervisory or enforcement action.
-
June 04, 2024
Property Company Must Face Ex-Manager's Race Bias Suit
A Pennsylvania federal judge denied a real estate firm's effort to take an early win over a discrimination and retaliation suit brought by one of its Black former property managers, ruling that there are still too many open questions about the worker's treatment as she oversaw a problem-ridden Ohio apartment complex.
-
June 04, 2024
Developer, Buyer Settle $10M Miami Condo Dispute
A German citizen and a developer have settled their dispute over a $9.6 million deal to buy a highly customized duplex condominium unit in a new Miami high rise, according to a notice filed in Florida federal court Monday.
-
June 04, 2024
Troutman Real Estate Ace Rejoins Morris Manning In Atlanta
Morris Manning & Martin LLP announced Tuesday that an attorney who left the firm as an associate for Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP a little over a year ago has rejoined the firm in Atlanta as a partner in its real estate practice.
-
June 04, 2024
Simpson Reps Frontdoor On $585M Home Warranty Co. Buy
Simpson Thacher is representing Frontdoor Inc. on a newly inked deal to buy fellow home warranties provider 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty, guided by Ropes & Gray, for $585 million in cash, according to a statement Tuesday.
Expert Analysis
-
A Look At Consumer Reporting In 2023, And What's To Come
The legal landscape of consumer reporting is evolving as courts, federal regulators and state legislatures continue to weigh in — and while last year may have seen a slight downtick in the overall volume of Fair Credit Reporting Act litigation, 2024 is set to be a watershed year for this area of the law, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
-
How New Fla. Condo Law Will Affect Owners' Finances
As this December is the deadline for condominiums in Florida to be in compliance with legislation passed after the Champlain Towers collapse, condo owners will need to prepare for both the immediate and long-term financial implications, says Greg Main-Baillie at Colliers.
-
The Year Ahead In Foreign Investment And National Security
In 2024, expect the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, already at the forefront of addressing national security threats, to increase monitoring and enforcement related to outbound investment, focus on supply chain resilience in nondefense sectors, and heighten oversight of agricultural transactions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
-
A Challenging CRE Environment Holds Opportunities In 2024
As the commercial real estate market faces reduced occupancy levels and rising financing costs, the new landscape will be favorable to those who can leverage capital, strategic vision and expertise to meet challenges like taking on distressed properties and converting office space to residential use, say Nesa Amamoo and Vered Rabia at Skadden.
-
A Former Bankruptcy Judge Talks 2023 High Court Rulings
In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued four bankruptcy law opinions — an extraordinary number — and a close look at these cases signals that changes to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code will have to come from Congress, not the courts, says Phillip Shefferly at the University of Michigan Law School.
-
Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.
-
DOJ Comments Reveal Road Ahead For Mortgage Redlining
Comments from two U.S. Department of Justice representatives at a recent fair lending conference show that the DOJ is prioritizing investigations and enforcement against redlining risks, and highlight important compliance steps for lenders, say Lori Sommerfield and Chris Willis at Troutman Pepper.
-
DOJ's RealPage Notice Signals Focus On Pricing Algorithms
The U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division recently filed a statement of interest in the Realpage multidistrict litigation to stake out its position that price-fixing algorithms pose a great anti-competitive threat, which suggests that the DOJ and private parties may continue to bring similar actions in the future, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
-
4 Key Types Of Coming FHLBank Reforms To Watch
Though the Federal Housing Finance Agency's recent report on the Federal Home Loan Bank System has received relatively little attention, the regulatory and legislative changes it proposes in four categories herald the start of a significant effort by the agency to reform the system’s structure and operations and overhaul requirements for member banks, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
-
Property Owner Considerations Around Electric Vehicle Bans
In light of a property management company's recent ban on electric vehicles in Canada, it's worth considering how similar bans might fare in Florida and other U.S. states, and the legal ramifications that could potentially arise, say Gerardo Ortega and Gary Kaleita at Lowndes.
-
Trump NY Fraud Trial Shows Civil, Criminal Case Differences
Former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial currently unfolding in New York provides a reminder that civil bench trials can be just as damaging, if not more so, than criminal prosecutions, due to several key elements of civil litigation procedure, says retired attorney David Moskowitz.
-
Why NYC Building Owners Shouldn't Ignore Emissions Rule
New rules from the New York City Department of Buildings clarify the previously vague good faith efforts that building owners may make to mitigate penalties for not complying with a major carbon emission law that takes effect in January, and should discourage owners from simply paying the fines instead of decarbonizing, says William McCracken at Moritt Hock.
-
What NJ's Green Remediation Guidance Means For Cleanups
Recent guidance from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection promoting greener approaches to restoring contaminated sites demonstrates the state's commitment to sustainability and environmental justice — but could also entail more complexity, higher costs and longer remediation timelines, say J. Michael Showalter and Bradley Rochlen at ArentFox Schiff.