More Real Estate Coverage
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April 21, 2025
Ohio Parking Garage Not Exempt From Tax, Board Says
A parking garage owned by a public authority in Ohio but leased to a private entity isn't eligible for a property tax exemption because it's not exclusively used for public purposes, the state's Board of Tax Appeals ruled.
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April 18, 2025
NIU Doesn't Have To Donate Undeveloped Land, Ill. Panel Says
A Chicago suburb was correctly rejected in its bid to enforce a contract provision requiring Northern Illinois University Foundation to donate a parcel of land it decided not to develop into a branch campus, a state appellate panel said.
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April 18, 2025
9th Circ. Won't Rethink Nixed Zillow, NAR Antitrust Case
The Ninth Circuit won't be rethinking a panel decision refusing to revive a defunct brokerage platform's case accusing Zillow and the National Association of Realtors of anticompetitively relegating its listings from Zillow's main page.
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April 18, 2025
Trump Admin Pushes Ahead With New Offshore Oil Leases
The U.S. Department of the Interior on Friday said it's "unlocking the full potential" of offshore oil and gas lease sales on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, a rebuke to the Biden administration's conservative approach to development.
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April 17, 2025
Wash. Justices Strike Down Spokane's Homeless Camp Law
The Washington Supreme Court said a voter-approved initiative restricting encampments for homeless people in Spokane is unconstitutional, in an opinion Thursday that said the measure exceeds the scope of local initiative power because it impermissibly "tinkers" with a policy the city had previously adopted.
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April 16, 2025
3rd Circ. Punts Mining Co. Document Fight To Ch. 11 Judge
The Third Circuit vacated a Delaware bankruptcy judge's order to unseal records a successor of Essar Steel's U.S. unit is seeking to bolster its antitrust claims against Cleveland-Cliffs, ruling Wednesday that the Chapter 11 judge used the wrong standard.
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April 16, 2025
Interior Transfers 110,000 Acres To Army For Border Security
The U.S. Department of the Interior is transferring 110,000 acres of federal land along the southern border to the U.S. Army to support Border Patrol as part of a sweeping effort by the Trump administration to crack down on illegal immigration.
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April 16, 2025
DOI Blocked From Making Connecticut Tribal Land Moves
A Connecticut federal judge has temporarily barred the U.S. Department of the Interior from placing 80 acres of land claimed by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation into trust, and scheduled an expedited hearing on the state's request for a longer delay.
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April 16, 2025
Mass. High Court Revives BU Contract Suit Against Architect
Massachusetts' highest court ruled Wednesday that a six-year limit on tort claims due to design defects in a construction project under a Boston University athletic field doesn't apply to a contract dispute between the school and an architectural firm that explicitly agreed to cover such costs.
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April 16, 2025
Exxon Urges Justices To Resolve Seized Cuba Property Claim
Exxon Mobil Corp. asked the U.S. Supreme Court to scrutinize a ruling frustrating its attempts to collect damages from Cuban property confiscated decades ago, arguing the Trump and Biden administrations' opposing stances on such lawsuits present a chance for the court to settle the political debate.
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April 16, 2025
Pryor Cashman Adds New Real Estate Partner For NYC Office
Pryor Cashman LLP announced Wednesday that it had hired Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP attorney Paul J. Proulx for the firm's real estate and land use/zoning teams in its New York City office.
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April 15, 2025
New Mexico Pueblos Allowed Into Fed Mineral Lease Ban Suit
A pair of Native American pueblos can intervene in a Navajo Nation suit seeking to undo a Biden administration order withdrawing federal land from new mineral leasing around Chaco Canyon, a federal magistrate judge ruled Tuesday.
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April 15, 2025
No Appeal For Green Energy Co. CEO In $40M Investor Suit
The CEO of a company purportedly funded by a green energy outfit can't appeal a judge's determination in a proposed investor class action that found the executive is subject to the Tennessee federal court's jurisdiction, saying he failed to meet the requirements for such an appeal.
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April 15, 2025
Court Abused Discretion In Tesoro Pipeline Row, 8th Circ. Told
Enrolled members of a North Dakota tribe say a lower court abused its discretion in denying them intervention in a lawsuit challenging the federal government's right-of-way trespassing claims against the Tesoro High Plains Pipeline, arguing it failed to consider the full scope of their interests and rights at stake.
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April 15, 2025
DLA Piper Says Ex-ArentFox RE Duo Bolsters Lender Services
DLA Piper has announced the latest additions to its real estate team, welcoming two former ArentFox Schiff LLP lawyers who the firm says will bolster its services for lending-focused clients.
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April 14, 2025
Conn. Sues Feds To Block 80-Acre Tribal Land Trust Decisions
Connecticut is asking a federal court to undo a U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs decision to take 80 acres into trust for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, arguing it lacked authority to issue the order that, if allowed to stand, it said will end the state's sovereign territory rights.
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April 14, 2025
Feds Push To End Alaska Tribe's Gold Mine Permit Challenge
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a gold mine developer are asking a federal court for permission to move for early dismissal of an Alaskan tribe's remaining claim against an open-pit gold mine near the Yukon border, saying its amended lawsuit doesn't fare better than the original.
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April 14, 2025
NJ Attorney Must Face Land Dispute Malpractice Suit
A New Jersey state judge has rejected a Fox Rothschild LLP attorney's bid for an early exit from a suit by a pair of sisters accusing him and related parties of malpractice stemming from the mishandling of their late stepfather's estate.
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April 10, 2025
Reps Intro Bill To Cap Conservation Easement Protections
Two Republican congresswomen have introduced a bill that would put a 30-year cap on conservation easements entered into by the U.S. Department of the Interior, saying the agreements shouldn't be allowed to hamstring future generations of landowners.
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April 10, 2025
Bradley Arant Moves Atlanta Office For Growing City Roster
Having nearly tripled its headcount in Atlanta since launching in the city two years ago, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has moved into a newly renovated three-floor space in a Midtown office tower, the firm announced Thursday.
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April 10, 2025
Rocket Mortgage Says Feds Can't Scuttle Appraisal Suit
Rocket Mortgage LLC is fighting back against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's bid to dismiss the mortgage lender's suit, arguing in Colorado federal court that HUD is unlawfully forcing the company to change a residential appraisal that was allegedly discriminatory.
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April 09, 2025
Tribe Warns High Court Of Dire Impact If Land Trust Bid Fails
A Michigan tribe seeking to undo an order denying its bid to compel the federal government to take 73 acres into trust for a casino venture outside of Detroit says a Supreme Court rejection of its petition will have disastrous consequences for its members and other similarly situated tribes.
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April 08, 2025
Cushman Atty Transitions In-House As Kidder Mathews GC
Kidder Mathews announced Monday that it has hired Edward Castro, a 30-year corporate attorney with experience in commercial real estate law, as general counsel advising the company and its 19 West Coast offices.
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April 08, 2025
Private Owner Subject To Prevailing Wage, Pa. Justices Told
Counsel for the Pennsylvania Bureau of Labor Law Compliance told the state Supreme Court on Tuesday that contractors who constructed a state police barracks were entitled to pay in line with public works projects, arguing that private financing and ownership of the building doesn't negate the prevailing wage.
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April 07, 2025
No Basis To Revive Leasing Withdrawals Ruling, Trump Says
The Trump administration urged an Alaska federal judge not to reinstate a decision barring it from undoing former President Barack Obama's withdrawal of offshore waters from oil and gas leasing, while it fights to revoke additional Biden administration removals.
Expert Analysis
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5 Quick Takeaways From Feds' New Bank Capital Proposals
The federal banking agencies' recent proposed rulemaking on capital requirements is the culmination of a holistic review of U.S. capital standards initiated by the Federal Reserve, and at over 1,000 pages, the proposal will take some time to fully digest, but there are a few items that can be immediately highlighted, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Contract Disputes Recap: Timeliness, Evidence, Fact-Finding
Edward Arnold and Bret Marfut at Seyfarth Shaw look at three recent opinions from three stages of government contract claims litigation about avoiding untimeliness by ticking procedural boxes, supporting factual positions at the summary judgment stage and how the appellate boards review default terminations.
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The Importance Of Sustainable, Resilient Construction Design
Due to the significant role that the construction industry plays in climate change, industry participants must understand the concepts of sustainable and resilient design practices, as well as the risks associated with implementing or foregoing these practices, say Daniel Brennan and Marissa Downs at Laurie & Brennan.
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Sackett Ruling, 'Waters' Rule Fix Won't Dry Up Wetlands Suits
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency narrowing the scope of Clean Water Act protections, the Biden administration is amending its rule defining "waters of the United States" — but the revised rule will inevitably face further court challenges, continuing the WOTUS legal saga indefinitely, say attorneys at Milbank.
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The Supreme Court Is At War With Itself On Extraterritoriality
The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued two conflicting pronouncements about the presumption against extraterritoriality without acknowledging the tensions between these decisions, which leaves lower courts, practitioners and potential defendants in the dark, says Jonah Knobler at Patterson Belknap.
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C-PACE Laws Offer Boost For Sustainable Development
As more emphasis is placed on energy-efficient infrastructure and sustainability projects, state laws establishing property assessed clean energy financing — known as C-PACE in the commercial context — have become increasingly relevant to project developers' capital stacks, say attorneys at Frost Brown.
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RICO Ruling Makes US More Attractive Foreign Creditor Forum
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Yegiazaryan v. Smagin, allowing a foreign plaintiff to use the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act to enforce a foreign arbitral award, will make judgment creditors more likely to seek out U.S. courts to remedy efforts to frustrate the enforcement of international arbitration awards, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.
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IRS Guidance Powers Up Energy Tax Credit Transfers
Recent IRS guidance on the monetization of energy tax credits provides sufficient clarity for parties to start negotiating transfer agreements, but it is unclear when the registration process required for credits to change hands will be up and running, say attorneys at Shearman.
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LA's High-Value Real Estate Transfer Tax Should Be Scrapped
Los Angeles’ recently implemented high-value property transfer tax has chilled the real estate market, is failing to meet revenue expectations and raises significant constitutional concerns, making it a flawed piece of legislation that should be invalidated, says attorney Paul Weinberg.
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Sackett's US Waters Redefinition Is A Boon For Developers
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent landmark ruling in Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should reduce real estate project delays, development costs and potential legal exposures — but developers must remain mindful of how new federal and state regulations governing wetlands could affect their plans, say attorneys at Morris Manning.
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SEC Form PF Amendments Show Private Fund Adviser Focus
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted amendments to Form PF that will establish new event-reporting requirements for private equity and large hedge fund advisers, reflecting the SEC's increased attention on the private markets also seen in its stated examination priorities and latest rule proposals, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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What Tax-Exempt Orgs. Need From Energy Credit Guidance
Guidance clarifying the Inflation Reduction Act’s credit regime, expected from the U.S. Department of the Treasury this summer, should help tax-exempt organizations determine the benefits of clean energy projects and integrate alternative energy investments into their activities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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As Sackett Trims Feds' Wetlands Role, States May Step Up
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency extinguishes federal authority over many currently regulated wetlands — meaning that federal permits will no longer be required to discharge pollutants in affected areas, but also that state regulators may take a more active role, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.