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Real Estate
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October 09, 2024
NYC Housing Bribe Case Is 'Guilt By Association,' Jury Told
Counsel for a New York City public housing superintendent accused of taking nearly $38,000 in bribes told a Manhattan federal jury Wednesday that the defendant is a victim of "guilt by association," kicking off the first trial after an antibribery sweep saw 70 people charged.
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October 09, 2024
12 More NJ Towns Join Affordable Housing Suit
Twelve more New Jersey municipalities have joined a lawsuit challenging new legislation intended to create more affordable housing, bringing the number of plaintiffs to 21.
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October 09, 2024
Vinson-Led MCB Sweetens Bid For Whitestone REIT
MCB Real Estate, guided by Vinson & Elkins LLP, upped its all-cash acquisition proposal for Whitestone REIT by offering to buy it for $15 per share, the investment firm announced.
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October 09, 2024
Disbarred Atty Admits To Defrauding Investors, DOJ Says
A disbarred attorney has pled guilty in connection with a financial services scheme that defrauded investors out of more than $1 million, New Jersey's U.S. attorney announced Wednesday.
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October 09, 2024
Mass. Gov. Nominates Land Court Counsel To Judgeship
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has nominated a longtime Land Court staff attorney and administrator to a seat on the court, according to an announcement Wednesday.
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October 09, 2024
Marriott Inks $52M Deal With States Over Guest Data Breach
Marriott International Inc. has agreed to pay $52 million to nearly every U.S. state and bolster its data security practices to resolve parallel investigations by state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission over a massive data breach at the hotel's Starwood-branded properties.
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October 08, 2024
Genting Unit Used Bahamas Resort To Hide Fraud, Suit Says
A Bahamanian real estate development company on Monday sued a U.S. company organized under destination resorts and casino giant Genting Group, saying in a Florida federal complaint that the Genting company used a resorts in the Bahamas as a "financial wasteland" that obscured fraudulent activities.
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October 08, 2024
Wash. Families Claim Judicial Bias In Tribal Eviction Saga
A trial judge for Washington state's Nooksack Indian Tribe has paused a series of evictions against a group of families after they argued judges on a tribal appeals court were biased for ruling they can be removed from homes purchased using a federal tax credit program.
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October 08, 2024
Minn. County And Feds Must Meet In Person Over Land Fight
A Minnesota federal judge has ordered counsel for a county and two townships to meet in person with U.S. Department of the Interior representatives for settlement talks involving claims the DOI wrongly acquired about 3,239 acres of land into trust for an Ojibwe tribe.
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October 08, 2024
DOJ Sues LA Fitness Over Nationwide Accessibility Issues
The U.S. Department of Justice sued gym chain LA Fitness on Tuesday, alleging that it mistreated patrons with disabilities at its nearly 700 locations across the country, including by failing to fix broken pool lift equipment and charging caretakers additional fees.
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October 08, 2024
EPA Inks Historic $4.2M Deal Over Philly Refinery Explosion
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revealed on Tuesday that it has reached a $4.2 million proposed deal with Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refining and Marketing LLC, settling a Clean Air Act claim tied to a June 2019 leak and explosion at the company's former South Philadelphia refinery.
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October 08, 2024
Mich. Judge Won't Halt EV Battery-Plant Build During Appeal
A Michigan federal judge said Monday she will not lift an order forcing a town's leaders to abide by a development agreement with battery manufacturer Gotion Inc. while the town seeks a Sixth Circuit review of the decision.
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October 08, 2024
Marathon Co. Wants 'Both Bites' In Pipeline Row, 8th Circ. Told
A group of tribal landowners looking to intervene in the federal government's appeal related to a Marathon Petroleum Corp. subsidiary's pipeline that crosses part of reservation lands told the Eighth Circuit that the company can't have "both bites of the apple" in fighting their bid to dismiss the case.
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October 08, 2024
Judge Tells VA To Quickly Develop Housing For LA Veterans
The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and experts picked by a class of homeless, disabled military veterans were ordered by a California federal judge to collaborate on plans for veteran housing on a Los Angeles campus.
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October 08, 2024
IRS Appeals Office's Easement Deals May Sap Independence
The IRS Independent Office of Appeals plans to settle certain conservation easement cases with similar terms offered by other IRS divisions, but these upcoming offers might be challenging for taxpayers to navigate and could undermine the office's independence from the rest of the agency.
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October 08, 2024
Homeowners Again Seek Class Cert. In Tax Foreclosure Suit
A group of former property owners has asked a Michigan federal judge to recertify a class action seeking to recover profits county treasurers made selling their tax-delinquent properties, saying the addition of class representatives fixes the flaw that dismantled the class.
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October 08, 2024
Pa. Developers Defend Efforts To Remediate Landslide Damage
A Western Pennsylvania property development company asked the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on Tuesday to throw out a contempt order in connection with an agreement to provide remediation to a community it built that was devastated by a landslide, arguing it poured its personal and business funds into the project.
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October 08, 2024
Federal Regs Could Ground Airport Pollution Suit, Judge Hints
A Washington federal judge acknowledged Tuesday that federal regulations are an obstacle to Seattle residents' suit against airlines and the city's primary airport over alleged flight-path pollution, while suggesting more discovery could be needed before he can rule out their claims entirely.
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October 08, 2024
DC Judge Won't Rethink Striking Down USDA Wetland Rule
A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Tuesday refused to reconsider her decision to vacate a U.S. Department of Agriculture rule designed to stop the development of wetlands on farmland and struck down those regulations.
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October 08, 2024
Mass. Seeks Order Forcing Steward To Maintain Coverage
Massachusetts officials are asking the Texas bankruptcy judge presiding over Steward Health Care's Chapter 11 proceedings to order the company to maintain medical malpractice and workers' compensation coverage for current and potential claims from its operation of hospitals and medical practices in the Bay State.
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October 08, 2024
3rd Circ. Won't Rehear Pa., NJ Businesses' Virus Loss Suits
The Third Circuit declined to rehear consolidated pandemic-related loss coverage disputes brought by New Jersey and Pennsylvania businesses, according to an order issued Tuesday, upholding its decision that the businesses' insurers didn't owe coverage for the claimed losses.
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October 08, 2024
Conn. Ethics Board Tosses Grievance Against Ex-Town Atty
A Connecticut ethics panel has dismissed a grievance at the heart of a former town attorney's claims that the tax assessor spread lies about his conduct and character, finding that the lawyer broke no professional conduct rules and concluding no further investigation was warranted.
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October 08, 2024
Manatt RE Leader Found Common Ground Without An Ego
Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP has lost a Silicon Valley real estate partner with the death of Michael Polentz, and former colleagues are praising his ability to seamlessly break down complex ideas and his achievement of great success in the legal world — and doing so without an ego.
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October 08, 2024
Ex-FDNY Safety Chief Cops To Taking Bribes For Inspections
A Staten Island firefighter who headed the New York City Fire Department's office tasked with fire prevention told a Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday he took thousands of dollars in exchange for speedier safety checks, pleading guilty to bribery conspiracy.
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October 08, 2024
Ga. Firm Says 'Right To Petition' At Stake In HOA Row
An Atlanta-area real estate law firm urged the Georgia Court of Appeals Tuesday to stand by a trial court's decision to kill a lawsuit filed by two property owners who lost to the firm in court some 17 years ago.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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Series
In The CFPB Playbook: Regulatory Aims Get High Court Assist
Newly emboldened after the U.S. Supreme Court last month found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding is constitutional, the bureau has likely experienced a psychic boost, allowing its already robust enforcement agenda to continue expanding, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.
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Perspectives
Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
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Tips For Advising CRE Owners Affected By Houston Storms
As Houston residents begin the arduous process of recovery after this month's devastating storms, attorneys should guide commercial real estate owners and managers toward immediate action under their insurance coverage to facilitate restoration and a return to normalcy, says Justin Ratley at Munsch Hardt.
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4 Arbitration Takeaways From High Court Coinbase Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's May 23 decision in Coinbase v. Suski, which provides clarity to parties faced with successive contracts containing conflicting dispute resolution provisions, has four practical impacts for contracting parties to consider, say Charles Schoenwetter and Eric Olson at Bowman and Brooke.
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Series
Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.
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What's New In Kentucky's Financial Services Overhaul
Kentucky's H.B. 726 will go into effect in July and brings with it some significant restructuring to the Kentucky Financial Services Code, including changes to mortgage loan license fees and repeals of provisions relating to installment term loans and savings associations, say attorneys at Frost Brown.
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How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case
The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.
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How Real Estate Cos. Can Protect Their IP In The Metaverse
The rise of virtual and augmented reality creates new intellectual property challenges and opportunities for real estate owners, but certain steps, including conducting a diligence investigation to develop an understanding of current obligations, can help companies mitigate IP issues in the metaverse, says George Pavlik at Levenfeld Pearlstein.