Residential
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July 19, 2024
Property Plays: Barings, Blackstone, Tishman Speyer
Property Plays is a weekly roundup of the latest loans, leases, sales and projects around the country. Send your tips — all confidential — to realestate@law360.com.
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July 19, 2024
Credit Rater Presses 4th Circ. To Trash Developers' Libel Suit
Credit rating firm Dun & Bradstreet has asked the Fourth Circuit to scrap a group of apartment development companies' libel lawsuit, telling the court that nothing in a credit score was provably false.
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July 19, 2024
Bank Regulators Ask 5th Circ. To Unfreeze New Lending Rules
Federal banking regulators have urged the Fifth Circuit to rescind a Texas district court's injunction blocking implementation of new community lending rules, arguing in a filing that the district court's finding essentially rewrote the Community Reinvestment Act.
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July 19, 2024
Calif. Justices Revive Row Over State Farm's Claims Handling
California's Supreme Court revived a policyholder's case over State Farm's claims-handling practices, reversing an appeals court decision and agreeing with the state's attorney general that California's statute of limitations on unfair competition actions, not the policy or insurance code, governed the timing of the case.
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July 19, 2024
Pa. Judge Orders Accused RE Fraudster To Pretrial Detention
A Pennsylvania federal judge has ordered an accused real estate fraudster to pretrial detention, finding that his previously undisclosed ties to Panama and the fact that he is charged with using fake identities in furtherance of an alleged scheme make him a flight risk.
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July 19, 2024
Pa. Bill Seeks Tax Exclusion For Affordable Housing Projects
Pennsylvania would exclude affordable housing projects developed through the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration program from the state's realty transfer tax under a bill introduced in the state Senate.
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July 19, 2024
Property Management Group Pays $304K For OT Violations
A Florida property management group paid nearly $304,000 in back wages, damages and fines for denying 92 workers overtime pay, the U.S. Department of Labor announced.
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July 18, 2024
Conn. Justices Order Redo Of Apartment Tenant's Fee Award
The Connecticut Supreme Court on Thursday gave a landlord another shot at reducing a $3,500 attorney fee award scored by a tenant in an eviction dispute, holding that the lower court failed to consider whether the total was reasonable under the relevant fee shifting statute.
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July 18, 2024
SL Green Sees Office Leasing Growth Migrate In Manhattan
SL Green executives said Thursday that after months of Park Avenue leading the charge in office leasing activity, other Manhattan submarkets have taken the lead during a quarter in which the real estate investment trust reported 1.2 million square feet of leasing activity.
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July 18, 2024
New IRS Easement Settlements Put Tax Pros In A Pickle
The IRS' new settlement program for partnerships that participated in conservation easements that haven't yet ended up in court comes with terms far sweeter than past offers, making it difficult for practitioners to advise clients to take the deal or wait for a better one.
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July 18, 2024
Las Vegas Developer Says SEC's EB-5 Fraud Suit Falls Short
A Las Vegas developer urged a Nevada federal judge to toss securities regulators' allegations she misappropriated $10 million raised by overseas investors hoping to come to the U.S. to pay down a loan for a project unconnected to their applications, arguing Wednesday the regulators fail to allege a wrongful state of mind.
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July 18, 2024
Blackstone Sees AI Revolution But 'Muted' RE Fundraising
Blackstone Inc., the world's largest commercial real estate owner, underscored its focus on data centers as the need for digital infrastructure increases, even as it contends with lower commitments from investors that are still skittish about real estate.
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July 18, 2024
Judge With Lake Property Exits $217M Dam Repair Tax Suit
A Michigan federal judge said he would step aside in a fight over a $217 million tax assessment to fund dam reconstruction because he's part of the assessment district, though he warned that hundreds of plaintiffs could have their own conflicts.
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July 18, 2024
Property Co. Settles Ex-Manager's Race Bias Suit
A Black former apartment complex manager who accused her ex-employer of putting her in charge of a struggling development because of her race and then firing her for complaining about the situation told a Pennsylvania federal court that her claims had been settled.
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July 17, 2024
Top Florida Real Estate News In 2024 So Far
Catch up on the hottest real estate news out of Florida so far this year, from alleged zoning abuse and bankruptcy to a brewing condo crisis and a seven-figure highway expansion.
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July 17, 2024
Gallagher & Kennedy Welcomes CRE, Telecom Expert
Gallagher & Kennedy PA announced that the company has added a commercial real estate and telecommunications expert from Goehring Rutter & Boehm to the firm's real estate practice group.
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July 17, 2024
Silicon Valley Sees $71M Affordable Housing Complex Sale
Marcus & Millichap announced Wednesday that the commercial real estate brokerage arranged the $71 million sale of a 160-unit affordable housing complex in San Jose, California.
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July 17, 2024
Fried Frank Guides Blackstone HQ Expansion In Manhattan
Blackstone will expand its Midtown Manhattan office headquarters and extend its lease in an agreement guided by Fried Frank, the building's property manager announced Wednesday.
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July 17, 2024
Rocket Mortgage Says Results Refute Investors' Fraud Claims
Rocket Mortgage is arguing that the company didn't mislead its shareholders when Rocket's former CEO claimed the company could grow its lending business in a rising interest rate environment because the firm's actual financial performance ended up proving that prediction true.
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July 17, 2024
Mo. Property Owners' Tax Challenge Time-Barred, Court Says
A group of Missouri property owners can't proceed with their appeal of assessments they claimed were unconstitutional taxes, a state appeals court ruled, finding the challenge was time-barred as an appeal of a special assessment.
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July 17, 2024
Fed. Gov't Can't Slip Suit Over Affordable Housing Loan
A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge has refused to dismiss a company's suit alleging the federal government violated a loan agreement and now owes the company for the taking of its property.
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July 17, 2024
Tech Hub Looks To Capitalize On S. Fla.'s Climate Expertise
When the U.S. Economic Development Administration launched its Tech Hubs program across the country in October, South Florida's climate- and resilience-focused entry was one of 31 selected from more than 200 applications, and it made the cut again earlier this month, receiving $19.5 million when an initial funding round of $504 million was awarded to 12 of those hubs.
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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
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.
![D.R. Horton has told shareholders that its business is staying afloat and remaining steady in 2024's third quarter despite the current housing affordability crisis, with the homebuilding giant's CEO touting the company's "competitive advantage." (iStock)](https://assets.law360news.com/1858000/1858102/40d4f55d6560d94c2d15a7ecb327fefd9778905d-housingcrisis.jpg)
DR Horton Says Business Is Steady Amid Housing Crisis
Homebuilding giant D.R. Horton told shareholders Thursday that its business remained steady in 2024's third quarter despite the current housing affordability crisis.
![Invitation Homes in 2023 was for the second consecutive year more likely to file evictions than the average Maricopa County landlord. (iStock.com/Vyacheslav Dumchev)](https://assets.law360news.com/1844000/1844556/c74a535b0c9b2185d164a72a1dfbb9ed285cfeca-istock-1284425006.jpg)
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.
![The Biden administration is looking to lower housing costs through proposals that include new legislation that would cap corporate landlords' ability to raise rents by more than 5%. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)](https://assets.law360news.com/1858000/1858407/7a32893225f6197e9c34cfff80d6da7518b364f9-biden_24574.jpg)
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%.
Expert Analysis
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.
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Expect CFPB To Enforce Warning Against 'Coercive' Fine Print
The recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warning against unenforceable terms "deceptively" slipped into the fine print of contracts will likely be challenged in court, but until then, companies should expect the agency to treat its guidance as law and must carefully scrutinize their consumer contracts, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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How NJ Worker Status Ruling Benefits Real Estate Industry
In Kennedy v. Weichert, the New Jersey Supreme Court recently said a real estate agent’s employment contract would supersede the usual ABC test analysis to determine his classification as an independent contractor, preserving operational flexibility for the industry — and potentially others, say Jason Finkelstein and Dalila Haden at Cole Schotz.
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After Chevron: Impact On CFPB May Be Limited
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo is likely to have a limited impact on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's regulatory activities, and for those who value due process, consistency and predictability in consumer financial services regulation, this may be a good thing, says John Coleman at Orrick.
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7th Circ Joins Trend Of No CGL Coverage For Structural Flaws
The Seventh Circuit, which recently held potential structural instability did not count as property damage under a construction company's commercial general liability policy, joins a growing consensus that faulty work does not implicate coverage without tangible and present damage to the project, say Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty, and Elan Kandel and James Talbert at Bailey Cavalieri.
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In The CFPB Playbook: Making Good On Bold Promises
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding structure in the second quarter cleared the way for the bureau to resume a number of high-priority initiatives, and it appears poised to charge ahead in working toward its aggressive preelection agenda, say Andrew Arculin and Paula Vigo Marqués at Blank Rome.
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FBI Raid Signals Growing Criminal Enforcement Of Algorithms
The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division's increased willingness to pursue the use of algorithmic pricing as a potential criminal violation means that companies need to understand the software solutions they employ and stay abreast of antitrust best practices when contracting with providers, say attorneys at Rule Garza.
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State Licensing Pitfalls Mortgage Servicers Must Beware
A recent enforcement action from the Washington Department of Financial Institutions demonstrates how subtle distinctions in state mortgage servicer licensing laws may come as a surprise to some companies, even if they never directly receive payments or interact with borrowers, says Clayton Swears at Hudson Cook.
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Keys To Strong Parking, Storage Contracts For NYC Buildings
Drafting and enforcing unambiguous parking and storage unit license agreements are essential tasks for co-op and condo boards in New York City, with recent cases highlighting how prudent terms can minimize potential headaches, says Matthew Eiben at Rosenberg & Estis.
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Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.
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Realtor Settlement May Create New Antitrust Pitfalls
Following a recent antitrust settlement between the National Association of Realtors and home sellers, practices are set to change and the increased competition may benefit both brokers and homebuyers, but the loss of the customary method of buyer broker compensation could lead to new antitrust concerns, says Colin Ahler at Snell & Wilmer.
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What Fla. Ruling Means For Insurer Managed Repair Programs
A recent Florida state court ruling in Fraga v. Citizens Property Insurance, holding that the insurer could not seek to add additional terms in its managed repair program consent form, should promote clear written contract terms that clarify the relationship between insurers, policyholders and contractors, says Chip Merlin at Merlin Law Group.
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Preparing For CFPB 'Junk Fee' Push Into Mortgage Industry
As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau considers expanding its "junk fee" initiative into mortgage closing costs, mortgage lenders and third parties must develop plans now that anticipate potential rulemaking or enforcement activity in this space, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.