Real Estate

  • October 01, 2024

    Calif. Judge Won't Let Insurers Slip Mold Coverage Suit

    A California federal judge mostly refused to allow a group of insurers to escape a suit filed by the owner and operator of a 231-unit California apartment complex seeking coverage for mold under a $69 million builders risk policy.

  • October 01, 2024

    Insurers Say $40M Hurricane Claims Must Be Arbitrated

    A group of insurers led by certain underwriters at Lloyd's, London urged a Louisiana federal court to reject a group of property owners' "last-ditch effort" to avoid arbitrating their hurricane damage claims totaling over $40 million, arguing the owners "don't dispute" that the arbitration provision in their policy is enforceable.

  • October 01, 2024

    Ga. Industrial Fire Ignites Slew Of Suits From Residents

    As a chlorine plant about 20 miles outside of Atlanta continues to belch chemical fumes into the skies in the aftermath of an industrial fire, the company that owns the facility was hit with proposed class actions Monday from residents who say the disaster is already causing dangerous health problems.

  • October 01, 2024

    First Marshall Fire Trial To Decide Liability For All Plaintiffs

    A Colorado state judge ruled Monday that the first trial in consolidated lawsuits against Xcel Energy and telecom companies for damages related to a 2021 wildfire will decide liability for all plaintiffs unless they show a good reason to opt-out.

  • October 01, 2024

    Crowne Plaza Gets Out Of Ohio Sex Trafficking Liability Suit

    An Ohio federal magistrate judge released Crowne Plaza LLC from an anonymous plaintiff's lawsuit seeking to hold lodging entities liable for sex trafficking injuries, after the survivor said the hotel chain's presence in the case "adds nothing" to her chances of winning damages.

  • October 01, 2024

    Ind. Tax Court Backs Use Of Old Burden-Shifting Statute

    An Indiana assessor must provide evidence to back up a property's nearly $2 million valuation because the assessment occurred under a statute shifting the burden of proof to assessors if valuations increased over a certain threshold, the state's tax court said.

  • October 01, 2024

    NC Judge Trims Most Of $200M Apartment Complex Sale Suit

    A North Carolina federal judge tossed out the breach of contract and deceptive trade practices claims in a real estate firm's suit over a soured $200 million deal to acquire a portfolio of apartment complexes, but the court said the buyer's claims could come back later.

  • October 01, 2024

    McElroy Deutsch Must Face 'Malicious' Claim From Fired Exec

    A former business development director from McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP has been given the go-ahead from a New Jersey state judge to bring a malicious-prosecution claim against the firm in litigation over her and her husband's alleged multimillion-dollar embezzlement from the firm.

  • October 01, 2024

    Foreclosure Class Wants To Stop Mich. Atty's Victim Outreach

    Lawyers behind a proposed tax foreclosure class action in Michigan federal court have said an attorney who recently secured a settlement in a similar case sent a misleading solicitation letter to a client in a bid to undermine the proceedings.

  • October 01, 2024

    Ga. Atty Disbarred For Taking $850K From Investor Clients

    The Georgia Supreme Court disbarred an attorney Tuesday for mishandling about $850,000 of his real estate investor clients' money, concluding that such a severe sanction is "consistent with similar cases in which a lawyer abandons clients, violates the rules related to trust accounts and defaults during the disciplinary process." 

  • October 01, 2024

    Treasury Plans Final Direct Pay Partnership Regs By Year-End

    The U.S. Treasury Department is eyeing the end of the year to finalize regulations for development projects to elect out of their partnership tax status to qualify for a direct cash payment of their clean energy tax credits, an official said Tuesday.

  • October 01, 2024

    When The Client Is The Mayor, The Usual Rules Don't Apply

    Representing a public official, whether the mayor of New York City, a state legislator or a city council member, poses unique challenges for even the most experienced lawyers, who often find themselves torn between fighting battles in the press and protecting their client in court.

  • October 01, 2024

    Latham Reps CPP Investments In $15B Equinix Data Center JV

    Latham & Watkins advised Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in a joint venture with digital infrastructure developer Equinix Inc. and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC that could invest $15 billion to build data centers. 

  • September 30, 2024

    Pa. Bankruptcy Court OKs $53M Sale Of Nursing Homes

    A federal bankruptcy judge approved the proposed sale of nine western Pennsylvania nursing homes to affiliates of Kadima Healthcare Group for $53 million Monday, as part of Chapter 11 proceedings for more than a dozen facilities operating under the umbrella of Comprehensive Healthcare Management Systems.

  • September 30, 2024

    Chubb Units Avoid Nearly All Claims In Water Damage Suit

    A Connecticut federal court on Monday tossed nearly all coverage claims a commercial real estate company and its owner lodged against Chubb companies over plumbing issues at their headquarters, finding two of the defendant Chubb companies weren't parties to the policy at issue.

  • September 30, 2024

    Guo Ch. 11 Trustee Seeks To Sell Conn. Mansion For $6.9M

    The Chapter 11 trustee overseeing the estate of Chinese exile Miles Guo, also known as Ho Wan Kwok, asked a bankruptcy judge's permission Monday to sell a Connecticut mansion tied to the convicted fraudster for $6.9 million to benefit the estate, according to paperwork filed Monday.

  • September 30, 2024

    Arizona Legislature Says State Can't Slip Monument Suits

    The Arizona State Legislature fired back at Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs' attempt to dismiss its lawsuit seeking to upend the Biden administration's creation of a national monument on an Indigenous site, defending its alleged injuries as "concrete and imminent."

  • September 30, 2024

    Apache Tribe Urges Supreme Court To Take Up Mining Case

    The San Carlos Apache Tribe is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a ruling by Arizona's high court that sides with a state agency decision letting a copper mining company discharge treated wastewater from potential future operations into a local waterway.

  • September 30, 2024

    Marathon Unit Wants 8th Circ. To Nix Appeal In Pipeline Fight

    A Marathon Petroleum Corp. subsidiary is asking the Eighth Circuit to dismiss an appeal by tribal landowners trying to intervene in its lawsuit challenging the Interior Department's reversal of prior decisions related to a pipeline crossing part of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota.

  • September 30, 2024

    DC Circ. Urged To Revisit Retroactive FARA Registration

    The U.S. Department of Justice is pressing the D.C. Circuit to reconsider a ruling that barred the federal government from suing to compel former foreign agents to register their onetime foreign influence efforts, arguing that the precedent behind the ruling wrongly hamstrings the DOJ's ability to enforce the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

  • September 30, 2024

    4 Firms Guide Verizon's $3.3B Wireless Comms Towers Sale

    Verizon has sold 6,339 wireless communications towers to a communications-focused real estate investment trust for $3.3 billion in a deal guided by Jones Day, Greenberg Traurig, Simpson Thacher and Mayer Brown, Verizon announced Monday.

  • September 30, 2024

    NY Man Must Face Brownstone Deed Theft Charges

    A New York state court on Monday denied a Long Island man's bid to escape charges accusing him of using forgery and shell companies to steal two brownstone buildings in Harlem that are worth millions of dollars, disagreeing with the man's argument that the case was too stale to prosecute.

  • September 30, 2024

    Mich. Justices Give Condo Drowning Suit Another Chance

    The Michigan Supreme Court on Monday remanded a premises liability lawsuit against a condominium owners association that was brought by the estate of a member, saying an appeals court should take into account the justices' recent ruling that condo associations have a duty to exercise reasonable care to protect condo owners in shared spaces.

  • September 30, 2024

    Steward Health CEO Sues Senate Panel After Contempt Vote

    The outgoing CEO of embattled Steward Health Care on Monday sued members of Congress who voted earlier this month to hold him in contempt for defying their subpoena to testify at a hearing into the downfall of the bankrupt hospital chain he heads.

  • September 27, 2024

    1st Circ. Drops Bribery, Reinstates Extortion In Casino Case

    The First Circuit on Friday reversed both convictions and acquittals in a high-profile bribery and extortion case involving a Rhode Island architect and a Massachusetts tribal official who had been found guilty of a quid pro quo exchange of pricey gifts related to a valuable design contract on the tribe's $1 billion casino development.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Playing Chess Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Debate Over CFPB Definition Of Credit Is Just Beginning

    Author Photo

    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.

  • A Closer Look At Feds' Proposed Banker Compensation Rule

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Opinion

    The FTC And DOJ Should Backtrack On RealPage

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Series

    Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    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.

  • A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence

    Author Photo

    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.

  • To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Ohio Tax Talk: The Legislative Push For Property Tax Relief

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Series

    In The CFPB Playbook: Regulatory Aims Get High Court Assist

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Perspectives

    Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Tips For Advising CRE Owners Affected By Houston Storms

    Author Photo

    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.

  • 4 Arbitration Takeaways From High Court Coinbase Ruling

    Author Photo

    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.

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!