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Real Estate
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September 05, 2024
Ga. Panel Affirms Tax Assessors' Partial Win In Valuation Fight
The Georgia Court of Appeals has affirmed a trial court's order granting partial summary judgment to the Lowndes County Board of Tax Assessors in a dispute concerning the $5.3 million ad valorem tax assessment on a rent-restricted apartment complex.
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September 05, 2024
Ariz. Tribe Doubled Down In Lithium Project Row, Court Told
The federal government has accused the Hualapai Indian Tribe of doubling down on conjecture with regard to the possible effects of the Big Sandy Valley Lithium Exploration Project, urging an Arizona federal judge to reject the tribe's request for a preliminary injunction.
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September 05, 2024
2nd Circ. Chilly To Mortgage-Backed Securities ERISA Suit
The Second Circuit appeared unlikely Thursday to revive a union pension fund's suit looking to hold Wells Fargo and Ocwen Financial Corp. liable for losses on mortgage-backed securities, with two judges signaling the risky loans the fund sued over might not be covered by federal benefits law.
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September 05, 2024
Ill. Judge Exits Home Sellers' Broker Fees Antitrust Suit
An Illinois federal judge has recused herself from a certified and settled class action that accused the National Association of Realtors and multiple major brokerages of conspiring to charge artificially inflated broker commissions for home sellers.
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September 04, 2024
Leech Tishman Combines With Calif. Firm Nelson Hardiman
Leech Tishman is set to add California-based healthcare and life science law firm Nelson Hardiman's 17 attorneys to its Los Angeles office this fall and will do business in the Golden State under the combined name Leech Tishman Nelson Hardiman, the firm announced Tuesday.
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September 04, 2024
Homeowners Say Wis. Tribe Can't Block Roads Again
Homeowners in a Wisconsin town whose roads were barricaded by a Native American tribe have urged a federal judge to protect access to their properties during litigation until their easement claims can be resolved, saying the U.S. government and the tribe must immediately remove any roadway blockages.
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September 04, 2024
Builder's Battle With Conn. Town Tossed Over Zoning Appeal
A lawsuit that a property developer filed against officials of a Connecticut town, seeking to restart construction and sales of a housing project after receiving a cease-and-desist order, is untimely because the company is still pursuing a local zoning appeal, a Connecticut state judge has ruled in dismissing the case.
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September 04, 2024
4th Circ. Sets Legal Hemp Standard In THC Firing Case
A split Fourth Circuit panel on Wednesday set a standard for the legality of hemp products, although it still found that a real estate company worker claiming she was illegally fired for testing positive for a THC substance didn't back her disability bias claims.
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September 04, 2024
Drink Co.'s Ex-CEO Must Face Suit Over Illegitimate Profits
A Florida federal bankruptcy judge on Wednesday denied a bid by the former CEO of the corporation that makes Bang Energy to toss a lawsuit alleging the company's profits were based on deception and that the chief executive left the business insolvent, but ordered that the complaint be clarified.
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September 04, 2024
Turning Tides: Real Estate's Impending Insurance Crisis
Climate risk, once an abstract concept, is now a stark reality in the real estate industry as damage from stronger and more frequent weather events portends a drastic correction in the property insurance market. This new series explores state and local government efforts, shifting investor behavior, and home-buying trends as the climate-driven insurance crisis bubbles to the surface.
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September 04, 2024
Judge Says EB-5 Investors, Fund Must Disclose More Info
An Illinois federal judge told a group of Chinese investors and a development fund on Wednesday they both must provide additional information in a suit accusing the fund of making off with $13.2 million intended for the development of a Hawaii resort.
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September 04, 2024
Steward Health Gets OK To Sell Mass. Hospitals For $343M
A Texas bankruptcy judge on Wednesday approved Steward Health Care's $343 million sale of six of its Massachusetts hospitals and new funding that will help the company keep its facilities in the Bay State operating.
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September 04, 2024
NJ Health System Wins Access To Fraud File In Antitrust Fight
A New Jersey federal judge Wednesday allowed health system RWJBarnabas Health Inc. to move ahead with a subpoena on the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation in a case in which RWJBarnabas is accused of antitrust violations by rival health system CarePoint Health Management Associates LLC.
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September 04, 2024
Warren Urges IRS To Look At Possible REIT Tax Break Abuse
The Internal Revenue Service should increase its scrutiny of real estate investment trusts to determine whether companies are benefiting from REIT tax benefits while flouting rules, including those that limit the level of a REIT's ownership in a company, Sen. Elizabeth Warren told the agency's commissioner.
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September 04, 2024
SEC Fines Investor Over $7.5M In Undisclosed Affiliate Fees
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has fined Florida-based investor Digital Bridge for failing to properly disclose about $7.5 million worth of payments to affiliates for services provided to a group of funds the firm manages.
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September 04, 2024
Former Michelin Tire Factory Site Worth $30M, NJ Jurors Told
The owner of a 22-acre former Michelin Tire factory in Milltown, New Jersey, told jurors Wednesday it should be paid at least $30 million by a borough redevelopment agency to acquire the property through eminent domain for the construction of a 350-unit mixed-use residential development.
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September 04, 2024
Insurer Must Cover Woman's Fire Claim, Wash. Panel Says
An insurer must cover a woman's claim for damage to her former home after she was assaulted and set on fire by her ex-husband, a Washington state appeals court ruled, finding that a domestic abuse exception to the policy's intentional loss exclusion applies.
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September 04, 2024
McElroy Deutsch's Former CFO Fights Bid To Sink Ch. 11 Case
The currently incarcerated former chief financial officer for McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP denied that his Chapter 11 filing was a bad faith maneuver meant to stall ongoing civil litigation, claiming instead that the bankruptcy will allow for the liquidation of property for the benefit of creditors.
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September 04, 2024
Mass. Tax Panel OKs Nix Of Value Cut On Renovated Housing
The owner of a Massachusetts apartment building that contains a commercial space was unable to have the property's valuation reduced because its evidence of comparable sales didn't account for differences in the properties, the state Appellate Tax Board affirmed.
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September 04, 2024
Simpson Thacher-Led Blackstone Inks $16.2B AirTrunk Deal
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP-led Blackstone Inc. said Wednesday it has agreed to acquire AirTrunk, an Australia-based data center platform focused on the Asia-Pacific region, from Macquarie Asset Management and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board at an implied enterprise value of over AU$24 billion ($16.2 billion).
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September 03, 2024
5th Circ. Panel Pushes Plaintiff Groups In Oil Terminal Row
A Fifth Circuit panel seemed wary of a claim by several groups who argued they hadn't forfeited arguments relating to vessel traffic on Texas' Gulf Coast, saying during oral arguments last week that the group's brief didn't include anything about forfeiture.
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September 03, 2024
7th Circ. Upholds Arbitration In Menards Hidden Fees Suit
The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday upheld a decision to compel arbitration in a proposed class action claiming that home improvement retailer Menards used a hidden pickup service fee to manipulate its prices, saying the company provided "reasonably conspicuous" notice of its terms on the page where the lead plaintiff completed her online order.
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September 03, 2024
Insurance Intermediary Can't Revive Biz Interference Claims
Liberty Mutual and two of its adjusters had no obligation to work with an intermediary that helps contractors secure coverage, an Ohio appeals court ruled, rejecting the intermediary's claims that Liberty and the adjusters tortiously interfered with the intermediary's business relationships by refusing to communicate with it.
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September 03, 2024
Ga. Minor Says Hotel Knew About Trafficking But Didn't Help
An Atlanta-based hotel and its management company were hit with a lawsuit in Georgia federal court for allegedly doing nothing to stop the sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl despite managers' and hotel employees' knowledge of the situation.
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September 03, 2024
Colo. AG Says Tenants Can Sue Blackstone Over Lease Terms
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser urged the state's Supreme Court on Friday to find that tenants can sue a group of Blackstone subsidiaries for deceptive trade practices over lease agreements that allegedly misrepresent the rights of tenants.
Expert Analysis
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Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?
A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.
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Bank M&A Continues To Lag Amid Regulatory Ambiguity
Bank M&A activity in the first half of 2024 continued to be lower than in prior years, as the industry is recovering from the 2023 bank failures, and regulatory and macroeconomic conditions have not otherwise been prime for deals, say Robert Azarow and Amber Hay at Arnold & Porter.
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How High Court Ruling Is Shaping Homelessness Policies
The U.S. Supreme Court’s June decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson to allow enforcement of local ordinances against overnight camping is already spurring new policies to manage homelessness, but the court's ruling does not grant jurisdictions unfettered power, say Kathryn Kafka and Alex Merritt at Sheppard Mullin.
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DOJ Paths To Limit FARA Fallout From Wynn's DC Circ. Win
After the D.C. Circuit’s recent Attorney General v. Wynn ruling, holding that the government cannot compel retroactive registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, the U.S. Department of Justice has a few options to limit the decision’s impact on enforcement, say attorneys at MoFo.
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Series
Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.
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3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture
Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.
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Cannabis Biz Real Estate Loan Considerations For Lenders
Now that cannabis sales are legal in some states, real estate lenders are interested in financing the land used by cannabis companies, but because cannabis sales are still illegal under federal law, lenders must make adjustments for cannabis-adjacent transactions, say Mark Levenson and Jeffrey Wendler at Sills Cummis.
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Series
After Chevron: Don't Let Loper Lead To Bank Compliance Lull
Banking organizations are staring down a period of greater uncertainty over the next few years as the banking agencies and industry navigate the post-Chevron world, but banks must continue to have effective compliance programs in place even in the face of this unpredictability, say Lee Meyerson and Amanda Allexon at Simpson Thacher.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents
Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.
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Maryland 'Rain Tax' Ruling May Offer Hope For Tax Credits
A Maryland state appellate court's recent decision in Ben Porto v. Montgomery County echoes earlier case law upholding controversial stormwater charges as a valid excise tax, but it also suggests that potential credits to reduce property owners' liability could get broader in scope, says Alyssa Domzal at Ballard Spahr.
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Series
Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer
As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.
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Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act
As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.
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Decoding CFPB Priorities Amid Ramp-Up In Nonbank Actions
Based on recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau enforcement actions and press releases about its supervisory activities, the agency appears poised to continue increasing its scrutiny over nonbank entities — particularly with respect to emerging financial products and services — into next year, say attorneys at Wiley.
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Shipping Containers As Building Elements Require Diligence
With the shipping container market projected to double between 2020 and 2028, repurposing containers as storage units, office spaces and housing may become more common, but developers must make sure they comply with requirements that can vary by intended use and location, says Steven Otto at Crosbie Gliner.