Residential
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March 27, 2024
Disney Affordable Housing Complex Teed Up For State Review
Disney's proposal to build a 1,410-unit affordable housing complex in Orange County, Florida, is headed to the state for approval after a county Board of Commissioners vote that followed on the heels of residents' divided testimony.
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March 27, 2024
Yardi Says Interest Rates Are Slowing Self-Storage Demand
Real estate software company Yardi said tough market conditions and high interest rates are showing signs of slowing deal volume and construction for self-storage projects, although an improvement in the housing market could bring fresh demand.
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March 27, 2024
Real Estate Exec Asks To Toss Shareholder's Self-Dealing Suit
The president of a real estate management and investment firm asked a California federal court to toss a derivative shareholder suit accusing him of misusing nearly $35 million of company revenue in various ways, including hiring a business he owned with his mistress.
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March 27, 2024
Legal Patchwork On Foreign Land Ownership Stirs Confusion
In the last year and a half, 39 states have taken action to restrict foreign entities and people from owning various forms of real estate. Some lawyers say the patchwork of new legislation has created a quagmire of confusion, chaos and uncertainty for investors, particularly private equity funds with large pools of backers.
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March 27, 2024
Developers Get Creative With Adaptive Reuse In South Florida
South Florida residents may not be expecting to attend a doctor's appointment in a shuttered movie theater, play pickleball in a former warehouse or move into an apartment building in a shopping center's parking lot, but creative redevelopment projects like these are catching on in the region.
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March 27, 2024
Extreme Heat Presents Extreme Threat To Real Estate
Extreme heat and the growing body of risks created by climate change are becoming prominent factors in real estate deals, according to Urban Land Institute urban resilience vice president Lindsay Brugger.
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March 26, 2024
Meridian Capital Taps Former Top Regulator As New CEO
Meridian Capital Group announced Tuesday that it has appointed top banking executive and former financial regulator Brian Brooks as its CEO and chairman amid a breakdown in the firm's relationship with Freddie Mac.
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March 26, 2024
Pilot HOA Tells Justices Rail Easement Clouds Airstrip Access
An Alaska homeowners association made up largely of pilots has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit ruling granting a railroad full control of an easement jutting into an airstrip used by residents of a surrounding subdivision.
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March 26, 2024
Essex Buys Out West Coast Apartment JV Partner For $505M
Essex Property Trust Inc. announced that it will purchase a joint venture partner's stake in an apartment property portfolio that includes four properties along the West Coast for $505 million, according to a statement from the company.
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March 26, 2024
Rosenberg & Estis Guides $477M NYCHA Renovation Deal
Rosenberg & Estis PC represented a developer for its more than $477 million renovation contract for the New York City Housing Authority's Saint Nicholas Houses in Harlem, the firm told Law360 on Tuesday.
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March 26, 2024
Ohio Justices Cool To Curbing Board's Tax Appeal Rights
Two Ohio Supreme Court justices sounded skeptical Tuesday of an apartment complex's argument that a law barring political subdivisions from appealing certain valuation rulings applied to complaints that were pending when the restriction took effect.
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March 26, 2024
Brookfield Sets Terms For Bay Area's Biggest Housing Plan
The San Francisco Bay Area's biggest proposed housing development took a step forward as Brookfield Properties and city officials struck a deal on the framework of a plan to develop a new neighborhood in Concord, California, over a 40-year period at the site of a former U.S. Navy base.
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March 26, 2024
Deal Holdout HomeServices Can't Undo Sellers' Class Cert.
A Missouri federal judge refused Tuesday to grant class decertification sought by HomeServices of America, the lone holdout still fighting a jury verdict that pushed the National Association of Realtors into a settlement overhauling rules that have effectively restricted how brokers buy and sell homes and how they're paid.
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March 26, 2024
NC Justices Find BofA Mortgage Fraud Suit Filed Too Late
The North Carolina Supreme Court has ruled that homeowners accusing Bank of America NA of fraud in a mortgage modification program filed their claims too late, finding they knew or should have known about the alleged fraud when their homes were foreclosed upon — four to seven years before they sued.
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March 26, 2024
Hurdles Ahead For Calif. Mental Health Bond After Narrow Win
An ambitious ballot measure meant to address California's homelessness crisis may open up new business opportunities for healthcare providers, ease overcrowding in emergency rooms and inspire other states to follow suit. But it will likely bring less-welcome results as well.
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March 25, 2024
LoanDepot Settles Appraisal Bias Suit After Scholar's Death
Mortgage company loanDepot has agreed to make policy changes and pay an undisclosed amount to resolve a Black couple's lawsuit claiming their Baltimore home was undervalued because of their race, just a couple of weeks after plaintiff Shani Mott, a scholar at Johns Hopkins University, died of cancer.
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March 25, 2024
Conn. Justice Chides Legislature In Landlord Lien Case
Bemoaning what he perceived as an unclear statute and its unilluminating legislative history, Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Steven D. Ecker on Monday lamented having to make a significant policy decision about whether a city or a landlord should be financially liable for tenants displaced after fire damaged a large apartment.
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March 25, 2024
Full 10th Circ. Stands By Revival Of Valero Pipeline Leak Suit
The full Tenth Circuit refused to budge from a panel's February decision that partly revived an Oklahoma cattle ranch's lawsuit seeking to hold Valero Energy Corp. liable for a pipeline leak that allegedly contaminated the ranch property.
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March 25, 2024
HUD Says Not Enough Housing For Trafficking Survivors
The housing needs of human trafficking survivors facing homelessness or home instability aren't being met by housing programs across the country because many of them usually aren't "scaled to meet the need," according to a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development report.
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March 25, 2024
3rd Circ. Says NJ City Can't Stop Sale Of Failed Project's Sites
The Third Circuit tossed a New Jersey city's challenge of a bankruptcy court ruling that allowed the two local properties of a failed affordable housing project to be sold to a third party, according to an unpublished opinion Monday.
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March 25, 2024
NJ Law Paves An Aggressive Affordable-Housing Path
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill that will overhaul the state's affordable housing framework, signaling state priorities with an aggressive approach that has already garnered pushback from municipalities.
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March 25, 2024
Jury Hands Mortgage Co. $73K Win In Trade Secrets Fight
An Ohio federal jury has found that Revolution Mortgage owes just over $73,700 to competitor Equity Resources in a case where Equity accused its rival of misappropriation of trade secrets.
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March 25, 2024
'Infested Slum' Suit Warrants Class Cert., Conn. Justices Told
Former tenants of a Hartford apartment complex are urging the Connecticut Supreme Court to let them pursue class claims that the complex turned into a "mold and cockroach infested slum," arguing in a hearing Monday that a lower court focused too heavily on the differences between the conditions of each unit.
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March 25, 2024
DeSantis OKs Bill Easing Teardown Of Old Coastal Buildings
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill limiting local control over the takedown and replacement of coastline structures that are out of step with building codes, after changes to the measure exempted some historic waterfront districts.
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March 25, 2024
High Court Won't Weigh In On ND Mineral Rights Takings Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to wade into a fight over oil and gas mineral rights underneath a North Dakota lake, rejecting former rights owners' argument that states' sovereign immunity does not protect them from takings claims in federal court.
Expert Analysis
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4 Ways To Reboot Your Firm's Stalled Diversity Program
Law firms that have failed to see real progress despite years of diversity initiatives can move forward by committing to tackle four often-taboo obstacles that hinder diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, says Steph Maher at Jaffe.
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DOJ's Google Sanctions Motion Shows Risks Of Auto-Deletion
The U.S. Department of Justice recently hit Google with a sanctions motion over its alleged failure to preserve relevant instant-messaging communications, a predicament that should be a wake-up call for counsel concerning the danger associated with automatic-deletion features and how it's been handled by the courts, say Oscar Shine and Emma Ashe at Selendy Gay.
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What To Expect From A Litigation Finance Industry Recession
There's little data on how litigation finance would fare in a recession, but a look at stakeholders' incentives suggests corporate demand for litigation finance would increase in a recessionary environment, while the number of funders could shrink, says Matthew Oxman at LexShares.
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Insureds Must Prep For Drought-Related Service Interruptions
Amid the ongoing U.S. water crisis, corporate policyholders must prepare for the emerging risk of service interruption property damage and time element loss, including through careful examination of their current and renewal property policies, says Micah Skidmore at Haynes Boone.
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How To Select The Right Arbitrator For A Construction Dispute
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
In construction disputes, selecting an arbitrator is a critical decision with many nuances to consider, as different types of potential panelists all come with their own experiences, views and possible biases, says Edward Gentilcore at Blank Rome.
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Enviro Exemption For NYC Housing Looks Legally Dubious
New York City Mayor Eric Adams' recently announced plan to exempt smaller residential developments from state environmental review may be a laudable attempt to expand the housing supply, but a review of applicable statutes suggests that the mayor lacks the authority to create this exemption, says Richard Leland at Akerman.
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What COVID Home Equity Repayment Plan Means For Lenders
Mortgage servicers need to note expanded borrower protections established by the Federal Housing Administration's recent COVID-19 home equity repayment plan, which balances the FHA's goal of protecting its insurance interests while helping borrowers hold onto their homes, say Jay Wright and Britney Crawford at Bradley.
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CFPB's Reading Of Lending Act May Affect Home Equity Plans
If the Fourth Circuit adopts the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's arguments in Lyons v. PNC Bank, it would remove one tool issuers of home equity line of credit loans currently have to ensure repayment of outstanding debt on their customers' legacy HELOC accounts, say Ralph Mazzeo and Edward Southgate at Dechert.
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Justices Leave Questions Open On Dual-Purpose Atty Advice
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent dismissal of In re: Grand Jury on grounds that certiorari was improvidently granted leaves unresolved a circuit split over the proper test for deciding when attorney-client privilege protects a lawyer's advice that has multiple purposes, say Susan Combs and Richard Kiely at Holland & Hart.
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High Court Bankruptcy Ruling Is Unintended Gift To The SEC
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Bartenwerfer v. Buckley on the Bankruptcy Code's fraud exception to dischargeability may have indirectly boosted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's authority to collect monetary judgments arising out of its enforcement actions, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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When It Comes To CFPB Agenda, Expect The Unexpected
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's regulatory agenda identifies some key issues for financial institutions, but it is by no means a complete list, as the agency may continue to make extensive use of circulars, advisory opinions, amicus briefs and other means of setting out regulatory positions, says Michael Flynn at Buchalter.
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Townstone Ruling Rocks The Boat On Equal Credit Law Reach
While an Illinois federal court's recent decision in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Townstone has disturbed the use of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to address discrimination in preapplication activities, lenders must still continue to monitor how they interact with prospective applicants to mitigate fair lending risk, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.
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Don't Assume AI Is Smart Enough To Avoid Unintended Bias
As companies increasingly incorporate artificial intelligence decision models into their business practices, they should consider using statistical and qualitative analyses to evaluate and reduce inadvertent discrimination, or disparate impact, induced by AI, say Christine Polek and Shastri Sandy at The Brattle Group.