Real Estate

  • January 23, 2025

    4th Circ. Unwinds Rocket Mortgage Borrowers' Class Cert.

    A split Fourth Circuit on Thursday reversed the class certification of borrowers who accused Rocket Mortgage of inflating their home values, finding that not all potential class members could prove they were injured under the U.S. Supreme Court's heightened pleading standard in TransUnion.

  • January 23, 2025

    Ex-Tribal Chair Seeks High Court Review Of Extortion Verdict

    A former tribal chair in Massachusetts told the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday that the First Circuit was wrong and stands alone in ruling that federal extortion laws apply to Native American officials as it reinstated his convictions tied to the development of a casino project.

  • January 23, 2025

    Madigan's Law Firm Profits Drove Corrupt Acts, Jury Told

    Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's ownership interest in his Chicago law firm and his entitlement to 50% of its profits was behind his efforts to extort property tax business from developers who needed approvals from state and local government for their projects, prosecutors told an Illinois federal jury Thursday.

  • January 23, 2025

    Conn. Lawmakers Target Healthcare After Hospital's Ch. 11

    In the lead-up to and aftermath of California hospital operator Prospect Medical Holdings Inc.'s $1 billion bankruptcy, Connecticut lawmakers are considering new regulatory powers, promising and penning oversight bills for hospitals owned by private equity firms and real estate trusts while seeking to stabilize the state's healthcare markets.

  • January 23, 2025

    Wells Fargo Prevails In $25M Mortgage Default Dispute

    A Pennsylvania state court sided with Wells Fargo in a foreclosure suit accusing a Philadelphia property owner of defaulting on a nearly $25 million mortgage loan, finding the owner failed to abide by the loan agreement.

  • January 23, 2025

    Fla. Insurer Tries To Toss Suit Blaming It For Black Mold Death

    A Sunshine State insurer accused of wrongfully causing the death of a woman who died from black mold contamination after it didn't send a promised team to her home to fix hurricane damage has urged a Florida judge to dismiss the suit, calling it a bad-faith case in disguise trying to get around an already pending contract dispute.

  • January 23, 2025

    Corporate Transparency Law Remains Flanked By Threats

    The Corporate Transparency Act is facing threats across the branches of government despite the U.S. Supreme Court pausing a nationwide injunction on it Thursday, with another universal injunction in place, other court battles underway and some Republican lawmakers targeting the law.

  • January 23, 2025

    O'Melveny Hires Troutman Real Estate Atty, Board Member

    O'Melveny & Myers LLP announced Jan. 23 it added a Dallas-based attorney from Troutman Pepper Locke LLP — who describes herself as a "dirt lawyer" advising property transactions, construction financing and other real estate matters — as a partner in its project development and real estate group.

  • January 23, 2025

    Colo. Tenants, Eviction Law Firm Resolve Fee Suits

    Colorado tenants and Tschetter Sulzer PC have settled two class actions accusing the eviction law firm of illegally charging attorney fees before their eviction proceedings concluded, more than a year after the firm settled a separate proposed class action that alleged deceptive debt collection.

  • January 23, 2025

    Freddie Mac Puts End To $32M SEC Probe Coverage Dispute

    Freddie Mac told a D.C. federal court that it has reached a settlement with underwriters at Lloyd's of London, bringing an end to the government-backed mortgage lender's $32 million coverage suit stemming from civil actions and federal probes related to its collapse during the 2008 global financial crisis.

  • January 22, 2025

    'Unicorn Prosecution' Could Upend Legal Practice, Court Told

    Brown & Connery LLP partner William Tambussi told a New Jersey state judge Wednesday that the entire practice of law in the Garden State rests on his impending decision on the charges against him in the state's sweeping racketeering case targeting power broker George E. Norcross III, arguing that a lawyer has never been prosecuted for routine legal work.

  • January 22, 2025

    Attorneys Botched Arbitration Win, Texas Property Cos. Claim

    A group of property owners in Texas told a Harris County judge a law firm and five attorneys helped them secure a $1.7 million arbitration award but never took action when the award misidentified their names, making them unable to collect.

  • January 22, 2025

    J&J Seeks To Defeat $30M Punitive Bid After Conn. Talc Trial

    Johnson & Johnson has blasted a bid requesting that it pay $30 million in punitive damages on top of a $15 million jury award to a real estate developer who allegedly contracted mesothelioma from the company's talc, telling a Connecticut state court that, "at most," it should pay $5 million.

  • January 22, 2025

    Texas Court Asks If $50M Award In Dubai Tower Case Was Fair

    A Texas appeals court worked Wednesday to untangle whether executives who are on the hook for $50 million received a fair shot in the United Arab Emirates' court system after they abandoned ambitious tower projects in Dubai.

  • January 22, 2025

    Miami Official Used Public Funds For Political Gain, Suit Says

    Two former Miami city employees have brought a whistleblower lawsuit against District 3 Commissioner Joe Carollo in Florida federal court, alleging that he ousted them for exposing misuse of public funds meant to manage parks that were instead used to pay for his political ventures and personal expenses.

  • January 22, 2025

    Madigan Used ComEd As 'Personal Piggy Bank,' Jurors Told

    Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his devoted surrogate Michael McClain conspired to enhance and preserve Madigan's power and line his pockets, both by steering business to the ex-speaker's law firm and rewarding his political allies with do-nothing jobs, prosecutors told an Illinois federal jury during closing arguments Wednesday.

  • January 22, 2025

    BNY, Mortgage Co. Sued Over Post-Bankruptcy Collections

    Bank of New York Mellon and a mortgage servicing company face proposed class action claims that they unfairly sought to collect on second mortgages held by homeowners who declared bankruptcy amid the 2008 housing crisis.

  • January 22, 2025

    'The Hills' Reality Stars Latest To Sue Over Palisades Fire

    "The Hills" reality TV show stars Spencer and Heidi Pratt are among the latest Palisades Fire victims to sue the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power alleging an empty local reservoir made it more difficult for first responders to put out the devastating blaze.

  • January 22, 2025

    Nutter Partner Nominated To Mass. Land Court

    A Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP partner has been nominated as an associate justice on the Massachusetts Land Court, Gov. Maura Healey announced Wednesday.

  • January 22, 2025

    Hotel Guests Urge 3rd Circ. To Revive Algorithmic Pricing Suit

    Guests accusing Atlantic City hotel-casino owners of inflating room rates by using the same software have told the Third Circuit that a lower court was wrong to rely on a similar case targeting room rates in Las Vegas when dismissing their claims.

  • January 22, 2025

    Sotomayor Halts 2nd Circ. Ruling In Landmark Graft Case

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor halted a decision from the Second Circuit on Wednesday that would have set up a second trial against four men whose convictions were overturned in a landmark 2023 high court ruling in which the justices narrowed certain types of public corruption cases.

  • January 22, 2025

    Full DC Circ. Stands By Wipeout Of FERC Pipeline Approvals

    The D.C. Circuit has rejected Williams Cos.' requests to reconsider a panel's decision scrapping Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approvals of a five-state expansion of the company's Transco pipeline system, despite more than a half-dozen amicus parties backing the rehearing requests.

  • January 22, 2025

    Navajo Nation Looks To Block Federal Mineral Leasing Ban

    The Navajo Nation has sued the U.S. Department of the Interior in a bid to block a Biden administration order withdrawing federal land from new mineral leasing and development near a national park in New Mexico, saying the ban would cause tribal allottees to suffer financial hardships.

  • January 22, 2025

    Army, SD Tribe Fight For Early Win In Dakota Access Row

    The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers are both asking for early wins in a challenge to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline over alleged violations of federal environmental laws.

  • January 22, 2025

    Withers Hires Rosenberg & Estis Real Estate Atty In NYC

    Withers has hired a former Rosenberg & Estis PC commercial real estate partner to work in the firm's New York City office, it announced on Wednesday.

Expert Analysis

  • Reassessing Lease Provisions To Account For ESG Initiatives

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    As companies seek to build ESG considerations into their businesses, it's crucial to understand how such initiatives can quickly become significant enough to compel reassessment of lease agreement provisions, and how best to modify leases accordingly, say Julian Freeman and Gabe Pitassi at Cox Castle.

  • Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics

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    Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.

  • It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

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    Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

  • Avoid Getting Burned By Agencies' Solar Financing Spotlight

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    Recently coordinated reports and advisories from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission maximize the spotlight on the consumer solar financing market and highlight pitfalls for lenders to avoid in this burgeoning field, says Mercedes Tunstall at Cadwalader.

  • Co-Tenancy Clause Pointers For Shopping Center Landlords

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    Large retail tenants often require co-tenancy provisions in their leases, entitling them to remedies if a shopping center's occupancy drops in certain ways, but landlords must draft these provisions carefully to avoid giving tenants too much control, says Gary Glick at Cox Castle.

  • Assessing Algorithmic Versus Generative AI Pricing Tools

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    A comparison of traditional algorithmic pricing models and those powered by generative artificial intelligence can help regulators and practitioners weigh the pros and cons of relying on large language models to price products or services, say Maxime Cohen at McGill University, and Tim Spittle and Jimmy Royer at Analysis Group.

  • Navigating A Potpourri Of Possible Transparency Act Pitfalls

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    Despite the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's continued release of guidance for complying with the Corporate Transparency Act, its interpretation remains in flux, making it important for companies to understand potentially problematic areas of ambiguity in the practical application of the law, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Conservation Rule Already Faces Challenges

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    The Bureau of Land Management's interpretation of land "use" in its Conservation and Landscape Health Rule is contrary to the agency's past practice and other Federal Land Policy and Management Act provisions, leaving the rule exposed in four legal challenges that may carry greater force in the wake of Loper Bright, say Stacey Bosshardt and Stephanie Regenold at Perkins Coie.

  • DOJ Must Overcome Hurdles In RealPage Antitrust Case

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent claims that RealPage's pricing software violates the Sherman Act mark a creative, and apparently contradictory, shift in the agency's approach to algorithmic price-fixing that will face several key challenges, say attorneys at Clifford Chance.

  • Keys To Successful Commercial Property Insurance Claims

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    While insurance needs for commercial leasing arrangements are driven by the characteristics of the premises and the nature of the tenants' intended operations, there are several universal best practices landlords and their counsel can follow when making claims after loss or damage.

  • How Companies Are Approaching Insider Trading Policies

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    An analysis of insider trading policies recently disclosed by 49 S&P 500 companies under a new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule reveals that while specific provisions vary from company to company, certain common themes are emerging, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Tips For Handling Single Asset Real Estate Bankruptcy Cases

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Bankruptcy counsel should consider several strategies when representing either a debtor or lender in single asset real estate debtor Chapter 11 cases, which generally arise when a debtor is forced to file for relief to stop an impending foreclosure sale.

  • What To Know About CFPB Stance On Confidentiality Terms

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    A recent circular from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau represents a growing effort across government agencies to address overbroad confidentiality agreements, and gives employers insight into the bureau's perspective on the issue as it relates to the Consumer Financial Protection Act, say Holly Williamson and Elizabeth King at Hunton.

  • How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations

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    Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.

  • What's Next For Federal Preemption In Financial Services

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    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's review of its preemption interpretations and growing pressure from state regulators signal potential changes ahead for preemption in U.S. financial services, and the path forward will likely involve a reevaluation of the entire framework, say attorneys at Clark Hill.

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