Residential
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June 30, 2025
Judge Hits Pause On Civil RICO Suit Against NJ Power Broker
A New Jersey judge has entered a consent order pausing a real estate developer's civil racketeering suit against influential South Jersey businessman George Norcross III, holding the parties' dispute in stasis until an appeal over the dismissal of a related criminal indictment can be resolved.
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June 30, 2025
Calif. Panel Chides Attys Who Hid Opponent's Inactive Status
In a precedential ruling, a California appellate panel found a party whose counsel's license was made inactive should have been treated as though the attorney had died or been suspended, overturning a $70,000 fee award levied against a woman who was not informed that her lawyer was inactive.
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June 30, 2025
RI Allows Local Tax Amnesty Programs For Every 3 Years
Rhode Island authorized municipalities to establish local tax amnesty programs every three years to give people and businesses a chance to resolve outstanding property tax liabilities without accruing interest under legislation signed by the governor.
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June 30, 2025
High Court Won't Review Landlords' COVID Eviction Ban Suit
A split U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a petition filed by billionaire developer and landlord Geoffrey Palmer that sought to recover $100 million by claiming harm from an eviction moratorium Los Angeles imposed after the outbreak of COVID-19.
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June 27, 2025
Developer Nabs Loan For $250M Brooklyn Housing Project
BFC Partners announced on Friday it had closed on financing for a $250 million project in Brooklyn, noting the infusion will allow the developer to wrap up the final phase of the larger 1,242-unit, mixed-use development.
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June 27, 2025
Greystar, Landlords Push To Toss DOJ's RealPage Suit
Greystar Management Services LLC and several other landlords urged a North Carolina federal court to toss a rent price-fixing suit lodged by the federal government and multiple states, arguing in part that they have failed to provide specifics for their antitrust claims.
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June 27, 2025
Compass Wants 'Zillow Ban' Halted For Antitrust Case
Compass asked a New York federal court Friday to stop Zillow from enforcing a new policy the real estate brokerage claims is designed to block competition, saying the threat of Zillow's rules is already causing harm and confusion.
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June 27, 2025
Nelson Mullins Looks To Beat The Opportunity Zone Curve
As Congress debates President Donald Trump's budget bill, which would extend the opportunity zone program started in his Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Nelson Mullins has ramped up the firm's practice in anticipation of a steady flow of investment work there, one of the group's leaders told Law360 Real Estate Authority.
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June 27, 2025
Insurer Asks Court To Sort Out Paying Of $4.1M Settlement
An insurer asked a California federal court to decide who should receive a $4.1 million settlement of a homeowner's fire claims, saying it could not determine who was entitled to the payment because of a number of lien notices filed as the settlement was finalized.
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June 27, 2025
2 Firms Accused Of Vexatious Litigation Over Property Liens
Law firms Neubert Pepe & Monteith PC and Cuddy & Feder LLP have been sued by a Greenwich, Connecticut, couple who claim the firms misused the court system in order to delay payouts they were owed by a property owner, including a stake in a $7.9 million judgment in New York.
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June 27, 2025
Greenberg Traurig, King & Spalding Advise $87M Miami Refi
A joint venture of Kushner Cos. and PTM Partners has secured an $87.3 million refinancing for a luxury apartment building in Miami, in a transaction guided by Greenberg Traurig LLP and King & Spalding LLP.
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June 27, 2025
HUD Relocates To Science Grant Agency's Va. HQ
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is leaving its District of Columbia headquarters at the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building to relocate to the National Science Foundation's headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, an official announcement said.
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June 26, 2025
Ex-NY Gov. Aide Hit With New PPE Fraud Scheme Charges
A federal grand jury Wednesday tacked on charges against a former top aide to two New York governors in a case accusing her of secretly acting as a Chinese government agent, alleging she illegally steered government contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic to businesses she was secretly connected to.
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June 26, 2025
Calif. FAIR Plan Fire Policy Is Unlawful, Court Rules
Fire insurance offered by California's insurer of last resort does not meet the minimum coverage standards laid out in the state insurance code, a California state court ruled, finding the policy's definition of "direct physical loss" and its smoke damage provision to be unlawfully restrictive.
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June 26, 2025
Ga. Appeals Court Reverses Sanctions In Sinkhole Fight
The Georgia Court of Appeals has reversed a trial court's decision to strike the complaint of a property owner over discovery violations in a fight over a sinkhole, ruling that Peachtree Renaissance Property LLC was not given a fair hearing before the sanctions were handed down.
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June 26, 2025
Silverstein Adds Plans For 2K Apartments In NYC Casino Bid
Developer Silverstein Properties on Thursday added plans to develop more than 2,000 apartments to its bid to win the rights to develop a Manhattan casino, ahead of a New York City application deadline Friday.
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June 26, 2025
NYC Tests Out Rental Payment Reporting Program
New York City's Mayor Eric Adams has started a free pilot program that will allow renters who live in affordable housing to notify "major credit bureaus" when they pay rent on time so that the renters can build up their credit score, the Office of the Mayor announced.
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June 26, 2025
Marcus & Millichap Closes $121M Conn. Multifamily Sale
Marcus & Millichap's Institutional Property Advisors division wrapped up a $121 million sale of a 693-unit Connecticut multifamily portfolio with four properties in the state's New London, New Haven and Hartford counties, the brokerage announced Thursday.
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June 26, 2025
Fair Housing Groups Argue HUD Wrongly Withheld Grants
A pair of advocacy groups have sued the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in D.C. federal court over the Trump administration's purported move to withhold grants meant to help private nonprofits enforce housing laws.
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June 26, 2025
Maine To Hike Sales Tax On Cannabis, Add Streaming To Base
Maine will raise its sales tax rate on adult-use cannabis and lower its excise tax rate on cannabis flower and add streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu to the sales tax base under budget legislation signed by the governor.
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June 26, 2025
Houston Apartments Owner Files Ch. 11 With Over $10M Debt
The owner of a Houston apartment complex filed for Chapter 11 protection in New York bankruptcy court with up to $50 million in debt.
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June 26, 2025
Developer, IRS Drop Suit Over $18M Loan Deductions
A Florida real estate developer seeking $18 million in tax deductions for loans he said became worthless during the Great Recession agreed to drop his suit against the Internal Revenue Service after reaching a deal with the agency, according to an Eleventh Circuit court filing.
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June 25, 2025
Judge Tosses Suit Over Wash. Race-Based Home Program
A Washington federal judge has thrown out a nonprofit's suit alleging that a state homeownership program is unconstitutional because it allegedly only helps first-time homebuyers who belong to specific minority groups.
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June 25, 2025
Antitrust Experts Weigh In On Compass V. Zillow
The latest front in real estate antitrust litigation opened this week when Compass sued rival Zillow, alleging it violated antitrust law.
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June 25, 2025
Michigan Builders Sue State Over Energy Code Mandates
Michigan homebuilders have sued to challenge the state's adoption of new construction codes, saying the energy efficiency demands will make new homes more expensive.
Expert Analysis
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8 Fla. Statutes That Construction Cos. Should Prepare For
In this article, Jason Lambert at Hill Ward discusses a number of recent bills out of the Florida Legislature targeting construction companies in the Sunshine State that have been sent to the governor for signature, at least some of which will have broad impacts that affected companies should prepare for ahead of the July 1 effective date.
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Time To Fix NYC's Broken Property Assessment System
A New York appellate court's decision to revive Tax Equity Now New York v. City of New York may force the city to revamp its outdated and unfair real estate tax assessment system, which could be fixed with a couple of simple changes, says Seth Feldman at Romer Debbas.
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Understanding The IRC's Excessive Refund Claim Penalty
Taxpayers considering protective refund claims pending resolution of major questions in tax cases like Moore v. U.S., which is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, should understand how doing so may also leave them vulnerable to an excessive refund claim penalty under Internal Revenue Code Section 6676, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Bankruptcy Ruling Shifts Lease Rejection Claim Calculation
A New York federal court’s recent ruling in In re: Cortlandt provides guidance on how to calculate a landlord's damages claim when a bankruptcy debtor rejects a lease, changing from an approach that considers the remaining rent due under the lease to one that considers the remaining time, say Bethany Simmons and Noah Weingarten at Loeb & Loeb.
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Do Not Overstate Fla. Condo Termination Ruling's Impact
A close look at the unique language at issue in Avila v. Biscayne, in which a Florida appellate court deemed a condo termination to be invalid, shows that the case is unlikely to significantly affect other potential terminations, say Barry Lapides and Edward Baker at Berger Singerman.
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Takeaways From FDIC's Spring Supervisory Highlights
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s spring 2024 consumer compliance supervisory report found that relatively few institutions had significant consumer compliance issues last year, but the common thread among those that did were inadequacies or failures in disclosures to consumers, says Matthew Hanaghan at Nutter.
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What Calif. Eviction Ruling Means For Defaulting Borrowers
A California appellate court's recent decision in Homeward Opportunities v. Taptelis found that a defaulting borrower could not delay foreclosure with an improperly served notice of pendency of action, but leaves open a possibility for borrowers to delay eviction proceedings merely by filing lawsuits, say Anne Beehler and Krystal Anderson at Holland & Knight.
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How 3D Printing And Prefab Are Changing Construction
The growing popularity of trends like 3D printing technology and prefabrication in the construction industry have positive ramifications ranging from reducing risks at project sites to streamlining construction schedules, say Josephine Bahn and Jeffery Mullen at Cozen O'Connor.
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Wave Of Final Rules Reflects Race Against CRA Deadline
The flurry of final rules now leaping off the Federal Register press — some of which will affect entire industries and millions of Americans — shows President Joe Biden's determination to protect his regulatory legacy from reversal by the next Congress, given the impending statutory look-back period under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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A Deep Dive Into High Court's Permit Fee Ruling
David Robinson and Daniel Golub at Holland & Knight explore the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that a local traffic impact fee charged to a California property owner may be a Fifth Amendment taking — and where it leaves localities and real estate developers.
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The Case For Overturning Florida Foreclosure Ruling
A Florida appellate court's recent decision in Desbrunes v. U.S. Bank National Association will potentially put foreclosure cases across the state in jeopardy, and unless it is reconsidered, foreclosing plaintiffs will need to choose between frustrating and uncertain options in the new legal landscape, say Sara Accardi and Paige Knight at Bradley.
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Bracing For The CFPB's War On Mortgage Fees
As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau homes in on the legality of certain residential mortgage fees, the industry should consult the bureau's steady stream of consumer lending guidance for hints on its priorities, say Nanci Weissgold and Melissa Malpass at Alston & Bird.
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DOJ Consent Orders Chart Road Map For Lending Compliance
Two recent consent orders issued by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of its efforts to fight mortgage lending discrimination highlight issues that pose fair lending compliance risks, and should be carefully studied by banks to avoid enforcement actions, says Memrie Fortenberry at Jones Walker.