Real Estate

  • May 20, 2024

    NC License Law Didn't Violate 1st Amendment, 4th Circ. Finds

    The Fourth Circuit held on Monday that North Carolina's licensing requirements for surveyors don't violate the free speech rights of a drone pilot who sought to create maps for customers, with the court finding the state regulation is backed by sound public interests.

  • May 20, 2024

    HOA Pecks At Chickens-As-Pets Theory In NC Appeal

    A North Carolina couple's 60-plus chickens aren't household pets, a local homeowners association has told the state's top court in seeking to reinstate a $31,500 judgment in its favor that was upended last month by a three-judge panel in the lower appeals court.

  • May 20, 2024

    4th Circ. Says 'Gargantuan' NC Beach Home Meets Zoning Regs

    A 15,000-square-foot oceanfront vacation home with 24 bedrooms, 25 bathrooms and a swimming pool in North Carolina's Currituck County complies with state and county zoning requirements, the Fourth Circuit ruled in a published opinion.

  • May 20, 2024

    10th Circ. Oral Args. Poised To Shape NM Pollution Coverage

    The Tenth Circuit said there were "good arguments on both sides" of an appeal at oral arguments Monday over whether absolute pollution exclusions doomed a New Mexico property owner's quest for defense coverage of underlying contamination litigation, in a case that could set the tone for insurance battles in the state.

  • May 20, 2024

    Mich. Town Can't Block $2B Battery Plant, Judge Rules

    A Michigan federal judge has ordered that Green Charter Township can't prevent Gotion Inc.'s upcoming battery components plant, in which the company plans on investing more than $2 billion, from moving forward.

  • May 20, 2024

    EPA Touts Brownfield Grants In Visit To Polluted Philly Site

    Biden administration officials visited a riverfront site in Philadelphia where the city is using federal support to clean up contamination and add amenities, as they promoted $3 million in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency support to four New Jersey communities.

  • May 20, 2060

    Coverage Recap: Day 15 Of Trump's NY Hush Money Trial

    Law360 reporters are providing live updates from the Manhattan criminal courthouse as Donald Trump goes on trial for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments ahead of the 2016 election. Here's a recap from day 15.

  • May 20, 2024

    Ga. Court Sends Fatal Restaurant Shooting Suit To Trial

    The Georgia Court of Appeals on Monday said a lawsuit against an Atlanta-area restaurant and its security company over a 2016 shooting on the premises should proceed to trial.

  • May 20, 2024

    Ex-Conn. Town Atty Sues Over 'False' Ethics Complaint

    Former Newington, Connecticut, town attorney Benjamin Ancona Jr. and other former officials took the Hartford-area suburb to state court claiming the town's assessor and others defamed them in and regarding a now-dismissed ethics complaint that was purportedly loaded with false statements.

  • May 20, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Delaware was full of drama last week, as proposed changes to the state's corporate law statutes raised eyebrows and a professor's friend-of-the-court brief sparked a very unfriendly public exchange. Delaware's court of equity banged the gavel on pipeline and social media disputes, and shareholders filed new suits alleging insider trading, vote bungling, unfair stock buybacks and merger shenanigans. In case you missed any of it, here's the recap of all the top news last week from Delaware's Chancery Court.

  • May 20, 2024

    Landlords Bring Another NY Rent Law Challenge To Top Court

    A coalition of landlords and advocacy groups brought yet another U.S. Supreme Court petition challenging 2019 changes to New York's rent stabilization laws, arguing that a Second Circuit's March decision in the state's favor misapplied several key high court decisions.

  • May 20, 2024

    DC Says Vegas Hotels' Win Doesn't Negate RealPage Suit

    The District of Columbia has urged the D.C. Superior Court to not use a federal judge's recent decision in an antitrust case as the basis for dismissing its claims against two real estate companies embroiled in a larger price-fixing suit against software company RealPage Inc.

  • May 20, 2024

    Latham Adds Former Chief Legal Officer Of REIT In NY

    Latham & Watkins LLP announced Monday that the former chief legal officer for real estate investment trust Safehold Inc. has joined the firm's New York office as a partner in the real estate practice.

  • May 20, 2024

    McElroy Deutsch Says Ex-Exec's Guilt Boosts Home Claim

    McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP doubled down on its attempt to seize the home of two former firm executives following a guilty plea on criminal embezzlement charges earlier this month by one of them, the firm's former chief financial officer.

  • May 20, 2024

    Settlement Ends Insurer's Stormwater Coverage Suit

    An H.W. Kaufman Group insurer settled a lawsuit seeking a declaration that it owed no coverage to a home construction company or its owner in an underlying suit accusing the company of performing defective work that led to pooling stormwater, according to a notice filed in Georgia federal court.

  • May 20, 2024

    Simpson Thacher Leads Blackstone In $705M Biltmore Sale

    Blackstone said Monday it has closed the sale of the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix to private equity real estate firm Henderson Park for $705 million, confirming January reports that the transaction was under contract and revealing Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Jones Day as counsel behind the deal.

  • May 20, 2024

    Justices Stay Out Of Pipeline Land Fight With FERC

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to review the D.C. Circuit decision dismissing a suit challenging the constitutionality of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's eminent domain authority brought by Virginia landowners along the route of the Mountain Valley pipeline.

  • May 17, 2024

    Real Estate Authority: Loan Doctors, CFIUS, Mixed-Use Boom

    Catch up on the week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including potential conflicts of interest in special servicing, a data center buy stymied by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, and one hospitality pro's prediction for more mixed-use residential and hotel demand.

  • May 17, 2024

    Utah, Farm Groups Ask To Reopen Bears Ears Monument Suit

    The state of Utah and two farming associations have asked a D.C. federal court to lift a more than three-year stay in a tribal case over the Bears Ears National Monument, saying the case is now moot and another monument case is pending before the Tenth Circuit.

  • May 17, 2024

    DC Circ. Affirms Ex-HUD Official's Conviction For False Docs

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday upheld the documents falsification conviction of a former high-ranking staffer within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of the Inspector General, rejecting his arguments that prosecutors had diverged at trial from the charges laid out in an indictment.

  • May 17, 2024

    Eagles Coach Didn't Fumble When He Flew Nest, Panel Says

    Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni and his wife were allowed to back out of buying a $2.3 million home in New Jersey because the sellers hadn't disclosed or obtained a waiver for a "right of first refusal" from a previous owner's children, a New Jersey state appeals court affirmed Friday.

  • May 17, 2024

    RedBird Flags Brookfield 'Gamesmanship' In Chancery Suit

    Private investment firm RedBird Capital Partners has urged Delaware's Court of Chancery to strike unauthorized motions by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners seeking dismissal of a RedBird suit to recover a $150 million escrow included in a $5.7 billion sale of data centers to Brookfield affiliates last year.

  • May 17, 2024

    Feds Say Crypto Scammer Gave Nod To 'Seinfeld' Gag

    The lie that the character George Costanza told on "Seinfeld" appears to have inspired a New York City fraudster, as federal prosecutors announced Friday that a Brooklyn man admitted to running a million-dollar crypto and real estate scam in part through a phony company called Vandelay Contracting Corp.

  • May 17, 2024

    Koch-Tied Group Says Transparency Law Offends Federalism

    The Corporate Transparency Act is unconstitutional because it does not regulate interstate commerce yet mandates that state-registered entities disclose personal information, a conservative group affiliated with the billionaire Koch brothers told the Eleventh Circuit on Friday.

  • May 17, 2024

    Fla. Appeals Court Nixes Condo Tax Sale After Address Mix-Up

    A Florida state appeals panel authored a split decision ordering a lower district court to reverse a tax deed sale after a property owner in Miami-Dade claimed the county's clerk of court failed to provide notice that his condo was being put up for sale due to a delinquent tax bill.

Expert Analysis

  • How New Fla. Condo Law Will Affect Owners' Finances

    Author Photo

    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.

  • 4 Legal Ethics Considerations For The New Year

    Author Photo

    As attorneys and clients reset for a new year, now is a good time to take a step back and review some core ethical issues that attorneys should keep front of mind in 2024, including approaching generative artificial intelligence with caution and care, and avoiding pitfalls in outside counsel guidelines, say attorneys at HWG.

  • Environmental Justice: A 2023 Recap And 2024 Forecast

    Author Photo

    A 2023 executive order directing each federal agency to make environmental justice part of its mission, as well as the many lawsuits and enforcement actions last year, demonstrates that EJ will increasingly surface in all areas of law and regulation, from technically challenging to seemingly ordinary permitting and construction matters, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like

    Author Photo

    As the legal landscape shifts, it’s become increasingly clear that the BigLaw business model must adapt in four key ways to remain viable, from fostering workplace flexibility to embracing technology, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • The Year Ahead In Foreign Investment And National Security

    Author Photo

    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.

  • 4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News

    Author Photo

    Media coverage of new lawsuits exploded last year, demonstrating why defense attorneys should devise a public relations plan that complements their legal strategy, incorporating several objectives to balance ethical obligations and advocacy, say Nathan Burchfiel at Pinkston and Ryan June at Castañeda + Heidelman.

  • Sale-Leasebacks May Provide A Safe Financing Alternative

    Author Photo

    Amid rising interest rates and unpredictable market conditions, sale-leasebacks can be a useful investment option for both buyers and sellers, though their potential drawbacks demand careful consideration, says Chanel Di Blasi at Crosbie Gliner.

  • 5 Recent Developments Family Offices Are Watching In 2024

    Author Photo

    Although family offices have long been exempt from many of the more onerous regulations and reporting requirements governing U.S. investment advisers and asset managers, recent amendments to federal rules will have an impact on how family offices invest and operate in 2024, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • A Challenging CRE Environment Holds Opportunities In 2024

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Law Firm Strategies For Successfully Navigating 2024 Trends

    Author Photo

    Though law firms face the dual challenge of external and internal pressures as they enter 2024, firms willing to pivot will be able to stand out by adapting to stakeholder needs and reimagining their infrastructure, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.

  • The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

    Author Photo

    A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from associate retention strategies to ethical billing practices.

  • 5 Most Notable Class Action Standing Cases Of 2023

    Author Photo

    Key appellate class action decisions this past year continued the trend of a more demanding approach to the threshold issue of standing during each phase of litigation, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • Attorneys' Busiest Times Can Be Business Opportunities

    Author Photo

    Attorneys who resolve to grow their revenue and client base in 2024 should be careful not to abandon their goals when they get too busy with client work, because these periods of zero bandwidth can actually be a catalyst for future growth, says Amy Drysdale at Alchemy Consulting.

  • A Difficult Year For CRE, But Future May Be Brighter

    Author Photo

    2023 was a challenging year for the commercial real estate industry, marked by significant uncertainty, but market pressure and signs of rising interest rates provide some reasons to be cautiously optimistic for the year ahead as pandemic headwinds and gridlock fade away, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023

    Author Photo

    Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Real Estate archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!