Real Estate

  • September 10, 2024

    GM Can't Arbitrate Claims Engines Were 'Engineered To Fail'

    General Motors LLC cannot arbitrate class claims that certain engines were "engineered to fail," an Ohio federal judge has ruled, citing recent Sixth Circuit guidance on when a party waives the right to resolve disputes out of court.

  • September 09, 2024

    Pa. Supreme Court Snapshot: Benefits, Cannabis, Taxes

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's September schedule will have the justices pondering when to cancel tax exemptions for hospitals, if stormwater fees are taxes in disguise, and the potential resurrection of requiring medical marijuana products to be tested and approved by two separate laboratories.

  • September 09, 2024

    Spain Hit With $18B Claim Over Massive Malaysia Award

    Spain is facing an $18 billion claim asserted by a group of Filipinos who accuse the country of stymying their efforts to enforce a $14.9 billion arbitral award against Malaysia, which they won following a land use dispute over a portion of territory along the northern coast of Borneo.

  • September 09, 2024

    Lewis Brisbois Denied Early Win In Real Estate Broker's Suit

    A Los Angeles judge on Monday declined to dismiss a breach of contract suit brought against Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP by a real estate broker, saying that although he has some problems with the pleadings, they meet the standard to survive the law firm's demurrer. 

  • September 09, 2024

    NY Courts' Limits On Ethics Data Broke Law, Watchdog Says

    In a rebuke to the New York state court system, an official transparency watchdog has said current restrictions on public access to judges' financial disclosures violate the state's Freedom of Information Law.

  • September 09, 2024

    Siemens To Build $60M Bullet Train Production Facility In NY

    Siemens Mobility will build a $60 million bullet train production facility in Horseheads, New York, that is set to start operating in 2026, according to an official announcement Monday.

  • September 09, 2024

    No Coverage For BNSF In Flood Suit, Travelers Says

    Two Travelers units told a California federal court that they owe no additional insured coverage to railway giant BNSF over claims that a track relocation project it undertook caused significant flooding on a property owner's land.

  • September 09, 2024

    New Jersey Towns Fight New Affordable Housing Framework

    Nine New Jersey towns have filed a constitutional challenge to the state's new affordable housing obligations framework, arguing it imposes responsibilities never envisioned by the decades-old doctrine that gave rise to the state's Fair Housing Act.

  • September 09, 2024

    SEC Fines 7 Companies $3M Over Whistleblower Violations

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday announced a $3 million collective settlement with seven public companies, including TransUnion and Acadia Healthcare Co. Inc., to resolve claims that those companies used employment, separation and other agreements to impede whistleblowers from reporting potential misconduct to the SEC.

  • September 09, 2024

    AIG Unit Sees Recovery Funds Dispute With RealPage Pared

    A federal judge trimmed a lawsuit an AIG unit filed seeking to recover over $1 million it paid to property management software company RealPage after a phishing attack, rejecting both the insurer's stance that the covered fees fell under a recovery provision and RealPage's accusations of Texas Insurance Code violations.

  • September 09, 2024

    Conn. Realtor Gets $4M From Luxury Property Co. In Fall Suit

    A Connecticut state jury has awarded an injured realtor more than $4 million in his suit against luxury property company Hedgerow Properties LLC alleging an unsafe staircase caused him to fall and be injured.

  • September 09, 2024

    Sentencing Of Ex-Ecuador Official Delayed By Late Gov't Filing

    A frustrated Florida federal judge on Monday pushed back the sentencing of Ecuador's ex-comptroller — who was convicted of laundering more than $12 million in bribes — after admonishing the government for an "inexplicably and undeniably late" forfeiture motion filed at 4 p.m. Friday.

  • September 09, 2024

    Investment Firm Can't Fell Timber Co.'s Carbon Offset Suit

    The North Carolina Business Court has trimmed a timber company's lawsuit accusing a forestland investment firm of overstating land's carbon offset value in a sale, but let most of the claims escape being felled, reasoning that the timber company's complaint alleged plausible accusations of contract violations.

  • September 09, 2024

    Conn. Atty Defaults In Real Estate Client's Overcharge Suit

    A Connecticut Superior Court clerk has entered a default judgment against a law firm accused of botching a real estate transaction, leaving the firm's namesake attorney to face allegations that he distributed home sale proceeds to unknown people and wrote a bad check to the true beneficiary of a trust.

  • September 09, 2024

    Illinois Judge Won't Block Chicago Rental Protections

    An Illinois federal judge refused Friday to grant a property company an injunction blocking the enforcement of a Chicago ordinance intended to protect renters living in foreclosed residential properties by entitling them to $10,000 payouts.

  • September 09, 2024

    DLA Piper's Boston Leader To Co-Lead US Real Estate Team

    A longtime DLA Piper attorney focused on real estate investment and development is stepping up to co-lead the firm's U.S. real estate practice, according to an announcement Monday.

  • September 09, 2024

    Apartment Cooperative Hits Chapter 11 Amid Takeover Fight

    The management of Success Village Apartments Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the District of Connecticut, citing between $1 million and $10 million in debt, amid court battles with local communities and utility companies that sought to force the 900-unit housing cooperative into receivership.

  • September 09, 2024

    Kramer Levin Beats NJ Malpractice Suit From RE Developer

    Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP has defeated a malpractice suit from a real estate developer who claimed it represented both the developer and a firm partner's son — who was an employee of the developer — at the same time, according to a New Jersey state appellate decision issued Monday.

  • September 09, 2024

    Ore. Tax Court Nixes Parcel Owners' Bid To Raise Valuation

    The Oregon Tax Court rejected an attempt by owners of a property to increase its tax valuation, saying the owners failed to show they were aggrieved by the valuation and did not first appeal to the local assessment board.

  • September 06, 2024

    Real Estate Recap: Pol Funding, Investor Angst, Climate Risk

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including which presidential candidates BigLaw real estate pros have backed, where one attorney sees investor confidence despite tough conditions, and how extreme weather events are reshaping the property insurance market.

  • September 06, 2024

    VA Must Turn LA Campus Into Vets' Housing, Judge Says

    A California federal judge on Friday ruled in favor of a class of disabled homeless military veterans alleging that they're facing disability discrimination due to the lack of permanent supportive housing on a West Los Angeles campus.

  • September 06, 2024

    Attys Urge Justices To Shield Corporate Veil In TM Case

    More briefs landed Friday in the "Dewberry" trademark case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court — this time, from two groups of intellectual property lawyers who are concerned about the use of the Lanham Act to "pierce the corporate veil."

  • September 06, 2024

    Appeals Court Says Nursing Home Seller Keeps Atty Fees

    An entity that sold a nursing home is entitled to keep attorney fees because the underlying contract spelled out that it was entitled to them, a Texas appeals court found, even though the eventual buyer was not a party to the contract granting attorney fees.

  • September 06, 2024

    Property Co. Not Covered By Excess Carriers In Antitrust Row

    A property management company is not owed coverage from two excess insurers in an underlying multidistrict litigation surrounding allegations of a price-fixing conspiracy involving software company RealPage Inc., a Massachusetts federal judge ruled, finding the excess insurers had no obligations under the management company's primary policy.

  • September 06, 2024

    Pa. Borough Says Insurer, Atty Wrongfully Settled Feud

    A Pennsylvania borough accused its insurer-retained counsel of committing legal malpractice by consummating a settlement acting against its wishes in an underlying "baseless" lawsuit brought by a borough council member, telling a state court that the attorney acted in the insurer's best interest.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Series

    Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    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.

  • What's New In Kentucky's Financial Services Overhaul

    Author Photo

    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.

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!