More Real Estate Coverage

  • January 26, 2024

    State Farm Underpaid Miss. Property Losses, Class Suit Says

    A Mississippi homeowner accused State Farm Fire and Casualty in federal court of intentionally underpaying her fire damage claim by using the wrong setting in its pricing software, treating the repairs as new construction and improperly excluding higher labor costs associated with more complicated fixes. 

  • January 26, 2024

    Biden Admin Pauses LNG Reviews Over Climate Concerns

    The Biden administration on Friday said it would pause its approvals of liquefied natural gas exports to countries that don't have free-trade agreements with the U.S., and revise its export policy to greater account for LNG's impacts on climate change and energy prices.

  • January 25, 2024

    Wash. Justices Spare Homeowners From Lakeshore Eviction

    The Washington State Supreme Court on Thursday said a group of homeowners are the legal owners of shoreline where they built boat docks and decks, rejecting a county government's argument that it controlled the lakeshore linked to a county recreational trail under a 19th-century federal railroad right-of-way law.

  • January 25, 2024

    DC Circ. Unsure About Wading Into PR Bay Dredging Fight

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers faced off against several environmental groups at the D.C. Circuit Thursday over a dredge project that would widen Puerto Rico's largest port, but the panel seemed more concerned about whether it had the jurisdiction to hear the appeal at all.

  • January 25, 2024

    FERC Won't Halt Work On Texas LNG Export Terminal

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has said it won't pause authorized construction on a liquefied natural gas export terminal on the South Texas Gulf Coast, a decision a dissenting commissioner said perpetuates and magnifies injuries to environmental justice communities and ignores evidence of harm to public health and the environment.

  • January 25, 2024

    States, Industry Back Feds' Land Swap Fight At 9th Circ.

    The states of Idaho and Utah, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Mining Association have joined the federal government in urging the Ninth Circuit to overturn a lower court ruling in favor of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes' challenge to a land transfer intended for the expansion of a fertilizer plant.

  • January 25, 2024

    Lender Aided $8M Kuwaiti Royal Rip-Off, Judge Finds

    A Maryland federal judge ordered a lender to pay at least $469,990 after finding the company helped further a Baltimore restaurant owner's scheme that bilked $7.8 million from a member of the Kuwaiti royal family.

  • January 24, 2024

    Investors Urge NY Court To Restore RMBS Fraud Claim

    A group of investors in a residential mortgage-backed securities entity asked a New York state appeals court Wednesday to hold one of the project officers liable for concealing negative information about its prospects.

  • January 24, 2024

    Bid To Swap Chevron For An Old Standby Raises Doubts

    Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court debated whether a World War II-era doctrine encouraging courts to strongly consider agency statutory interpretations could replace the court's controversial so-called Chevron doctrine that requires judges to defer to those interpretations if a statute is ambiguous.

  • January 24, 2024

    Iowa Senate Bill Seeks Tax Break For Moveable Structures

    Iowa would prohibit moveable structures that aren't connected to gas, electricity or other utilities and meet other requirements from being assessed and taxed as real property under a bill introduced in the state Senate.

  • January 24, 2024

    Mohawk Council Wants To Withdraw From 1796 Land Dispute

    The Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs says a recent decision to withdraw from a land settlement agreement with the state of New York over a decadeslong lawsuit involving more than 2,000 acres of illegally purchased land was not easy but was made in the interest of protecting the territorial integrity of the Mohawk Nation.

  • January 23, 2024

    PacifiCorp Owes At Least $62M To 9 Homeowners Hit By Fires

    PacifiCorp must pay at least $62 million in compensatory damages to nine people who fled their homes in a Labor Day 2020 fire outbreak, a Portland, Oregon, jury found Tuesday, with parties confirming the amount could be much higher with the expected addition of punitive damages.

  • January 23, 2024

    ​​​​​​​Ch. 11 Preference Claims Can Be Sold, 5th Circ. Says

    The Fifth Circuit ruled Tuesday that interest in Chapter 11 preference actions, which seek to claw back payments a debtor made to creditors prior to bankruptcy, can be sold as "property of the estate," weighing in on the issue for the first time.

  • January 23, 2024

    Court Will Rethink Tribes' Claims In Railroad Dispute

    An Idaho federal judge has reinstated two Quiet Title Act claims the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation lodged against the federal government in a dispute over land once used by a railway, agreeing that a Supreme Court ruling requires the reversal of a prior order dismissing the claims.

  • January 22, 2024

    PacifiCorp Should Pay $45M To 9 Wildfire Victims, Jury Hears

    Nine people who fled their homes during a Labor Day 2020 wildfire outbreak each deserve at least $5 million from the owner of Pacific Power, their lawyers told a Portland, Oregon, jury in closing arguments Monday, while the company said reasonable numbers would be much lower.

  • January 22, 2024

    Iowa County's CO2 Pipeline Rules Are Preempted, Judge Told

    The developer of a proposed interstate carbon dioxide pipeline has told a federal judge that rules restricting its project passed last week in Palo Alto County, Iowa, are preempted by federal law, as the company pointed to a ruling last month blocking two other local ordinances.

  • January 22, 2024

    World Cup Workers' Abuse Claims Are Misdirected, US Co. Says

    Filipino laborers who claimed they were subjected to abusive work and living conditions while helping build facilities for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar aimed their ire in the wrong direction, a U.S. construction company told a Colorado federal judge in a bid to dismiss the suit.

  • January 22, 2024

    Feds Defend Ability To Take Land Into Trust For Alaska Tribes

    The U.S. government is urging an Alaska federal judge to reject the state of Alaska's arguments that the Interior Department's decision to take a 787-square-foot piece of land in downtown Juneau in trust for the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes oversteps its authority or threatens state jurisdiction.

  • January 22, 2024

    Holland & Knight Brings On Greenspoon Public Finance Pros

    A pair of former Greenspoon Marder LLP public finance attorneys who both have about four decades of experience in their practice area have jumped to Holland & Knight LLP, the firm announced Monday.

  • January 19, 2024

    Law360 Names Firms Of The Year

    Eight law firms have earned spots as Law360's Firms of the Year, with 55 Practice Group of the Year awards among them, steering some of the largest deals of 2023 and securing high-profile litigation wins, including at the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • January 19, 2024

    Law360 Names Practice Groups Of The Year

    Law360 would like to congratulate the winners of its Practice Groups of the Year awards for 2023, which honor the attorney teams behind litigation wins and major deals that resonated throughout the legal industry this past year.

  • January 19, 2024

    Property Plays: Thorofare, Greystone, Brennan

    Thorofare Capital has loaned $26 million for a San Diego multifamily property, Greystone has provided $40.3 million for a multifamily property in Indiana and Brennan Investment Group has picked up a 263,000-square-foot Cincinnati industrial building.

  • January 19, 2024

    Insurer Says Wash. Judge Must Alter COVID Coverage Ruling

    A Liberty Mutual unit asked a Washington state judge to alter his ruling of this month that the University of Washington established a plausible claim to recover losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that the decision ignores key differences among the university's policies. 

  • January 19, 2024

    Army Corps Escapes Ohio River Tugboat Service Suit

    An Ohio federal judge has let the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers out of a construction and asphalt company's suit over an allegedly unauthorized tugboat service on the Ohio River, writing in his opinion that the Corps is not properly a defendant just for owning the land the service is using.

  • January 18, 2024

    Biz, Insurer Settle $10.5M Military School Construction Dispute

    A contractor and its insurer have settled a $10.5 million lawsuit seeking coverage for shoddy construction work on a school on a military base, according to a joint statement Thursday in Maryland federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • Strategic Succession Planning At Law Firms Is Crucial

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    Senior partners' reluctance to retire, the rise of the nonequity partner tier and generational differences in expectations are all contributing to an increasing number of departures from BigLaw, making it imperative for firms to encourage retirement among senior ranks and provide clearer leadership pathways to junior attorneys, says Laura Leopard at Leopard Solutions.

  • Maximizing Law Firm Profitability In Uncertain Times

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    As threats of an economic downturn loom, firms can boost profits by embracing the power of bottom-line management and creating an ecosystem where strategic financial oversight and robust timekeeping practices meet evolved client relations, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.

  • 5th Circ. Ruling Reminds Attys That CBP Can Search Devices

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    The Fifth Circuit’s recent Malik v. Department of Homeland Security decision adds to the chorus of federal courts holding that border agents don’t need a warrant to search travelers’ electronic devices, so attorneys should consider certain special precautions to secure privileged information when reentering the U.S., says Jennifer Freel at Jackson Walker.

  • ESG Around The World: European Union

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    As the EU makes ESG regulation a priority, companies — both those based in the EU and others just doing business there — need to keep abreast of myriad new legislation that has either already taken effect or will in the near future, as noncompliance could result in fines, damages and director liability, say attorneys at Steptoe & Johnson.

  • As AI Pricing Tools Evolve, So Does Antitrust Risk

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    As the use of pricing algorithms has given rise to regulatory scrutiny and civil actions, such as RealPage Rental Software Antitrust Litigation in the Middle District of Tennessee and Gibson v. MGM in the District of Nevada, independent pricing decisions and other best practices can help limit antitrust risk, say attorneys at Axinn.

  • What Large Language Models Mean For Document Review

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    Courts often subject parties using technology assisted review to greater scrutiny than parties conducting linear, manual document review, so parties using large language models for document review should expect even more attention, along with a corresponding need for quality control and validation, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Participating In Living History Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My role as a baron in a living history group, and my work as volunteer corporate counsel for a book series fan association, has provided me several opportunities to practice in unexpected areas of law — opening doors to experiences that have nurtured invaluable personal and professional skills, says Matthew Parker at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

  • Private Equity Owners Can Remedy Law Firms' Agency Issues

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    Nonlawyer, private-equity ownership of law firms can benefit shareholders and others vulnerable to governance issues such as disparate interests, and can in turn help resolve agency problems, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.

  • How To Protect Atty-Client Privilege While Using Generative AI

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    When using generative artificial intelligence tools, attorneys should consider several safeguards to avoid breaches or complications in attorney-client privilege, say Antonious Sadek and Christopher Campbell at DLA Piper.

  • ESG Around The World: Australia

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    Clive Cachia and Cathy Ma at K&L Gates detail ESG-reporting policies in Australia and explain how the country is starting to introduce mandatory requirements as ESG performance is increasingly seen as a key investment and corporate differentiator in the fight for global capital.

  • Industry Takeaways From OMB's Final Buy America Guidance

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    The Office of Management and Budget's recently released guidance on "Buy America" requirements for federal infrastructure projects provides clarity in certain areas but fails to address troublesome inconsistencies with state laws and international trade agreements, so manufacturers and suppliers will need to tread carefully as agencies implement the changes, say Amy Hoang and Sarah Barney at Seyfarth Shaw.

  • Texas Produced Water Ruling Helps Clarify Oil, Gas Leases

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    A Texas state appeals court's recent opinion in Cactus Water Services v. COG Operating, holding that the mineral lessee under an oil and gas lease owns the water extracted during oil and gas production, is a first step toward clarity on an issue that has divided the midstream industry, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • Pa. Case Highlights Complexity Of Oil And Gas Leases

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    A Pennsylvania state court's recent decision in Douglas Equipment Inc. v. EQT Production Co. is a reminder that oil and gas leases are rather strange creatures — morphing from something akin to a traditional surface lease to a mineral property conveyance the moment oil and gas is produced, says Christopher Rogers at Frost Brown.

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