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Real Estate
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June 25, 2024
Pot Cos. Push Back On Calif. City's Bid To Toss $5.4M Fee Suit
Six cannabis companies are fighting the California city of Cudahy's bid to dismiss a suit alleging that the city reneged on a promise to waive $5.4 million in fees accrued during the COVID-19 shutdowns, saying the motion largely disputes allegations that the court has to accept as true under a motion to dismiss.
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June 25, 2024
Lewis Baach Says Chrysler Building Landlord Bilked The Firm
International boutique Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss PLLC has sued the landlord for its former office space in the Chrysler Building in New York state court, saying RFR Holding LLC is refusing to return its $275,000 security deposit.
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June 25, 2024
Ariz. Court Slashes Value Of Low-Income Housing Complex
An Arizona housing complex subject to restrictions related to federal low-income housing tax credits was overvalued by a local assessor, the Arizona Tax Court said, slashing the valuation of the property by about three-fourths.
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June 25, 2024
Ore. Tax Court Affirms $13M Valuation For Lowe's Retail Outlet
The Oregon Tax Court affirmed the $13.4 million tax valuation of a Lowe's home improvement warehouse, rejecting the company's argument that the property should be valued as if it did not have a lease in place.
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June 25, 2024
Meadow Partners Raises $530M For Latest Real Estate Fund
Real estate investment manager Meadow Partners announced Tuesday it raised $530 million for the sixth installment of its flagship real estate fund, with capital commitments from a mix of new investors and longtime partners.
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June 24, 2024
EPA Says Army Corps Doesn't Belong In Pebble Mine Dispute
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is urging an Alaska federal judge to refuse a mining company's bid to amend a lawsuit in order to reverse an Army Corps of Engineers decision denying the controversial Pebble Mine project a permit.
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June 24, 2024
SEC Official Urges Banks To Report Commercial RE Risks
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is closely monitoring the way banks with significant commercial real estate portfolios are communicating with investors about their exposure to the struggling market, the agency's director of its Division of Corporation Finance said in remarks posted online Monday.
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June 24, 2024
Lloyd's Seeks To Avoid Coverage For Beach Umbrella Death
Certain underwriters at Lloyd's, London told a South Carolina federal court Monday they should have no coverage obligations to a vacation rental owner over a wrongful death suit alleging that a woman was impaled by a "wind-driven" beach umbrella.
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June 24, 2024
Justices Will Weigh Liability Of Corporate Affiliates In TM Row
The U.S. Supreme Court will review whether a real estate development company's corporate affiliates should be responsible for a $46.6 million trademark infringement judgment — even though they were not defendants — in a case attorneys said Monday could have ramifications beyond the Lanham Act.
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June 24, 2024
Justices End Irish Landowner's Fight Against $23M Clawback
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge by Irish businessman Sean Dunne and his ex-wife Gayle Killilea to a Chapter 7 trustee's roughly $23 million avoidance action win, leaving intact a Connecticut jury verdict and a Second Circuit rejection of the onetime couple's claims.
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June 24, 2024
Nev. Restaurant Co.'s COVID Suit Is Kept Alive
A group of insurers can't avoid a restaurant holding company's bid for coverage of COVID-19-related losses, a Nevada state court ruled, finding that the state supreme court's ruling on the subject didn't control the action because of an infectious disease endorsement in the company's policies.
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June 24, 2024
Ill. Landowners Challenge FERC Moves On $7B Power Line
Illinois residents, farmers and landowners launched a fresh challenge to the $7 billion Grain Belt Express high-voltage power line, telling the D.C. Circuit that when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved an amended negotiated rate authority, it ignored clean energy giant Invenergy's unsanctioned purchase of the project in 2020.
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June 24, 2024
Ex-Chicago Alderman Gets Two Years For Boosting Law Firm
An Illinois federal judge on Monday sentenced former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke to two years in prison and fined him $2 million for using his official position to steer tax business to his personal law firm, closing what prosecutors called "another sordid chapter" in the city's history of public corruption.
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June 24, 2024
IRS Finalizes Limits To Partnership Conservation Easements
The Internal Revenue Service finalized rules Monday that curb the conservation easement tax deduction claimed by certain partnerships, with some changes to last year's proposed version, such as limiting the opportunity for entities to adjust their tax returns to avoid the new restrictions.
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June 24, 2024
Mortgage Co. Fights To End Borrowers' RICO 'Smear' Suit
United Wholesale Mortgage has urged a Michigan federal judge to toss a putative class action claiming it violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act by forcing brokers to originate loans through UWM, arguing the suit is an illegitimate "smear" attempt to tarnish UWM's reputation to benefit hedge fund short-sellers.
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June 24, 2024
Red Roof Ignored Years Of Trafficking, Victim Tells Ga. Jurors
The corporate owners of two metro Atlanta Red Roof Inn locations knew about and ignored trafficking at the hotels, a woman who said she had been trafficked at the two hotels and others in the surrounding area for six years told Georgia federal jurors Monday.
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June 24, 2024
Julie Chrisley To Be Resentenced, But Convictions Stand
The Eleventh Circuit on Friday upheld the tax evasion and fraud convictions of former reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, but ordered a Georgia federal judge to resentence Julie Chrisley after finding that the judge failed to fully explore her discrete role in the $36 million scheme.
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June 24, 2024
Landlord Says Insurer Botched Coverage For $1M State Deal
A Colorado landlord is accusing an insurance broker and carrier of secretly adding an endorsement to its policy to bar coverage for a $1 million settlement the landlord entered into to resolve a state investigation over alleged misuse of tenant funds.
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June 24, 2024
NM Sued Over Sustainable Building Credit Award Process
A New Mexico apartment complex alleges that the state violated its due process rights after it was denied sustainable building tax credits for most of its units, according to a complaint filed in federal court.
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June 24, 2024
High Court To Review $46.6M Award Over 'Dewberry' TM Fight
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday granted a real estate development company's request to review a $46.6 million trademark infringement award that petitioners argued violated federal law by making its corporate affiliates responsible for the amount.
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June 21, 2024
Real Estate Recap: Distressed Deals, Housing Hurdles, Infill
Catch up on this week's key state developments from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including tips for guiding distressed office deals, the latest intel from Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies, and how one U.S. city has been a magnet for federal funding of brownfield projects.
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June 21, 2024
Financial Advice Guru Says Timeshare Suit Must Be Arbitrated
A famous financial advice guru and his company have urged a Washington federal court to pause a proposed timeshare exit fraud class action and send it into arbitration, arguing that several of the named plaintiffs signed related agreements that include arbitration clauses.
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June 21, 2024
Fed Circ. Revives Gov't Defenses In Land Underpayment Case
The Federal Circuit on Friday revived a dispute alleging that the U.S. Forest Service underpaid for a property, saying the U.S. Court of Federal Claims wrongly rejected the agency's arguments that the seller shouldn't have relied on a disputed appraisal when selling.
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June 21, 2024
DOJ Backs Antitrust Case Against Zillow, Realtors At 9th Circ.
The U.S. Department of Justice has urged the Ninth Circuit to revive antitrust claims from a defunct brokerage platform against Zillow and the National Association of Realtors based on design changes Zillow made to comply with association rules.
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June 21, 2024
Off The Bench: ACC-FSU Rematch, Supreme Win For Fla. Tribe
In this week's Off The Bench, the next round of venue tug-of-war begins between the Atlantic Coast Conference and Florida State University, the U.S. Supreme Court hands Florida and the Seminole Tribe a lucrative gaming win, and Roger Goodell and Jerry Jones defend the NFL's handling of its Sunday Ticket package.
Expert Analysis
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Think Like A Lawyer: Always Be Closing
When a lawyer presents their case with the right propulsive structure throughout trial, there is little need for further argument after the close of evidence — and in fact, rehashing it all may test jurors’ patience — so attorneys should consider other strategies for closing arguments, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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How A Bumblebee Got Under Calif. Wildlife Regulator's Bonnet
A California bumblebee's listing as an endangered species could lead to a regulatory quagmire as California Department of Fish and Wildlife permits now routinely include survey requirements for the bee, but the regulator has yet to determine what the species needs for conservation, says David Smith at Manatt.
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The Clock Is Ticking For Fla. Construction Defect Claims
Ahead of the fast-approaching July 1 deadline for filing construction defect claims in Florida, Sean Ravenel at Foran Glennon discusses how the state's new statute of repose has changed the timeline, and highlights several related issues that property owners should be aware of.
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Wiretap Use In Cartel Probes Likely To Remain An Exception
Although the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division has recently signaled interest in wiretaps, the use of this technology to capture evidence of antitrust conspiracies and pursue monopolization as a criminal matter has been rare historically, and is likely to remain so, say Carsten Reichel and Will Conway at DLA Piper.
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Series
Playing Chess Makes Me A Better Lawyer
There are many ways that chess skills translate directly into lawyer skills, but for me, the bigger career lessons go beyond the direct parallels — playing chess has shown me the value of seeing gradual improvement in and focusing deep concentration on a nonwork endeavor, says attorney Steven Fink.
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Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians
Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent
As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.
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Debate Over CFPB Definition Of Credit Is Just Beginning
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has recently worked to expand the meaning of credit, so anyone operating on the edges of the credit markets, or even those who assumed they were safely outside the scope of this regulatory perimeter, should pay close attention as legal challenges to broad interpretations of the definition unfold, says John Coleman at Orrick.
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A Closer Look At Feds' Proposed Banker Compensation Rule
A recently proposed rule to limit financial institutions' ability to award incentive-based compensation for risk-taking may progress through the rulemaking process slowly due to the sheer number of regulators collaborating on the rule and the number of issues under consideration, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Opinion
The FTC And DOJ Should Backtrack On RealPage
The antitrust agencies ought to reverse course on their enforcement actions against RealPage, which are based on a faulty legal premise, risk further property shortages and threaten the use of algorithms that are central to the U.S. economy, says Thomas Stratmann at George Mason University.
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Series
Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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Ohio Tax Talk: The Legislative Push For Property Tax Relief
As Ohio legislators attempt to alleviate the increasing property tax burden, four recent bills that could significantly affect homeowners propose to eliminate replacement property tax levies, freeze property taxes for longtime homeowners, adjust homestead exemptions annually for inflation, and temporarily expand the homestead exemption, say Raghav Agnihotri and Rachael Chamberlain at Frost Brown.