Residential

  • July 18, 2025

    Ohio Board OKs $1M Value Cut For Apartment Complex

    The Ohio Board of Tax Appeals on Friday granted an affordable housing apartment complex's request for its value to be reduced by nearly $1 million based on rents charged by comparable properties, saying the state Supreme Court previously had upheld the valuation method.

  • July 18, 2025

    Student Housing Investor Says Partner Flouted LLC Contract

    A Tennessee-based company with a stake in a property manager for a Colorado student housing property has lodged a breach of contract suit against its Denver-based business partner, alleging the partner failed to provide more than $3.6 million to improve and repair the property and wrongfully refused to sell its membership interest after not putting up the funds.

  • July 17, 2025

    Top Legal Developments That Could Impact LA Fire Aftermath

    While the full consequences of a series of devastating wildfires that struck Los Angeles in January are still becoming clear, insurance experts and attorneys have pointed to a series of lawsuits and decisions as having important implications for the city's recovery.

  • July 17, 2025

    Insurer Says No Coverage For $1.7M Apartment Damage

    A property insurer for an apartment complex owner told a Washington federal court it owes no coverage for a "wind-driven rain" claim that the owner said totals more than $1.7 million in repair costs, alleging that the owner's prior insurer already denied coverage for the same claim.

  • July 17, 2025

    Calif. Accuses Airbnb Of Price-Gouging During Wildfires

    California accused Airbnb in a state court lawsuit of price-gouging residents of Los Angeles and Ventura counties as the Palisades and Eaton fires raged and in the weeks that followed, despite warnings from the state's attorney general.

  • July 17, 2025

    Tarter Krinsky Adds Real Estate Atty To New Texas Office

    Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP has added a commercial real estate attorney who joined the firm from private practice following several stints of working with the firm on a contractual basis.

  • July 17, 2025

    Mass Deportations Could Raise Insurance Costs, Profs Say

    The Trump administration's mass deportation program could increase costs for insurance carriers and homeowners by reducing the number of undocumented immigrants so critical to the construction industry, business and insurance professors say.

  • July 17, 2025

    Mortgage Co. Says Military Service Rule Bars Interest Lawsuit

    A mortgage loan servicer accused of charging military members interest rates that exceeded a federal statutory cap says the leader of a proposed class action didn't perform qualifying service under the statute he invoked and his Connecticut federal case should probably be dismissed.

  • July 17, 2025

    Firm Named Lead Counsel For REIT Securities Fraud Class

    The Rosen Law Firm PA will serve as lead counsel for a proposed class of Sun Communities investors who claim the real estate investment trust failed to disclose that its CEO received a loan from a board member's relatives.

  • July 16, 2025

    Wells Fargo Sued Over 'Flippant' Mortgage Fee Refunds

    A Wells Fargo mortgage borrower has filed a proposed class action against the bank, alleging the bank made an "inadequate" effort to resolve purported mortgage origination fee errors it has vaguely alerted certain borrowers to.

  • July 16, 2025

    4th Circ. Upends Gated Community's Win In Fair Housing Row

    The owner of several assisted-living group homes for seniors won a second chance Tuesday to press claims that his Maryland gated community is illegally refusing to let him open a new home there, with the Fourth Circuit ruling that a reasonable jury could find violations of the federal Fair Housing Act.

  • July 16, 2025

    AvalonBay Looks To Exit DC's RealPage Case Again

    Real estate investment trust AvalonBay has asked to end the claims against it in the D.C. attorney general's case accusing RealPage of helping more than a dozen building owners inflate rental prices by using its software, after enforcers renewed their claims against the landlord earlier this year.

  • July 16, 2025

    Senior Placement Co. Wants Out Of False Ad Suit

    A company that places senior citizens in retirement homes has asked a Georgia federal judge to toss a proposed class action alleging it falsely advertised free services and steered business away from communities that declined to participate in its "pay-to-play" business model, arguing the claims were just "speculation and conjecture."

  • July 16, 2025

    Attys Tout 3 Real Estate Investment Wins In Federal Budget

    Real estate investors can breathe a collective sigh of relief seeing the final version of the "One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act" that President Donald Trump signed into law this month, as it is largely favorable to the industry and keeps several much-admired tax breaks alive.

  • July 16, 2025

    Related Nets $46M Loan For NY Residential Development

    Related Companies obtained a $46.2 million senior secured loan for its 1,200-acre residential community project in Tuxedo, New York, the lender announced Wednesday.

  • July 16, 2025

    K&L Gates Hires CRE Finance Atty From Dechert

    K&L Gates LLP has brought on an ex-Dechert LLP attorney who specializes in commercial real estate finance as a partner in its Charlotte, North Carolina, office, the firm announced Tuesday.

  • July 16, 2025

    Wells Fargo Says JPMorgan No Victim In $481M CMBS Suit

    Wells Fargo has told a New York federal court that it need only prove that JPMorgan knew a seller falsified financial data underlying a $481 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan, not that it was aware of any fraud, in a suit seeking to hold the bank liable for the defaulted loan.

  • July 16, 2025

    Utah Judge Ends Startup's Antitrust Suit Against NAR, Brokerages

    A Utah federal judge permanently tossed an antitrust suit lodged by a residential brokerage startup against the National Association of Realtors and multiple brokerages, ruling that the claims were time-barred.

  • July 16, 2025

    Nixon Peabody Adds Former HUD Managing Attorney

    Nixon Peabody LLP bolstered its affordable housing and real estate practice by hiring an attorney who most recently served on the leadership team for the southwest regional office for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

  • July 15, 2025

    HomeServices, Douglas Elliman Nix Broker Fee Antitrust Suit

    HomeServices of America and Douglas Elliman escaped homebuyers' proposed antitrust class action alleging real estate agents conspired to artificially inflate broke service commissions for home sales, after a Florida federal judge ruled the buyers lacked standing since home sellers are the ones who paid those commission fees. 

  • July 15, 2025

    Ex-NY Attorney Pleads Guilty To Stealing $4.7M From Clients

    A former New York lawyer admitted to stealing millions from clients, including draining more than $4.4 million from the attorney escrow account of a company seeking to buy 500,000 boxes of hard-to-find latex gloves during the COVID-19 pandemic, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr., announced Tuesday.

  • July 15, 2025

    Calif. Homeowners Win Cert. In State Farm Underpayment Suit

    A California federal court certified a class of nearly 200,000 homeowners alleging State Farm systematically underpaid property insurance claims in violation of the state's insurance code, ruling Tuesday that the plaintiffs offered a feasible methodology for calculating damages classwide and demonstrated that class members are identifiable.

  • July 15, 2025

    Ex-Yankee Wants $69K Tacked Onto Moldy Mansion Trial Win

    A retired New York Yankees player is seeking nearly $70,000 in prejudgment interest after a Connecticut federal jury handed him a $222,000 win in his suit that sought to hold his former landlord liable for mold in a Greenwich mansion.

  • July 15, 2025

    State Farm 'Maliciously' Denied Property Coverage, Court Told

    A California property owner accused State Farm of "maliciously" denying its property insurance claim in a lawsuit removed to federal court, further alleging that the insurer intentionally ignored evidence of the extent of the property damage.

  • July 15, 2025

    Property Co. Says Storm Coverage Row Can't Be Arbitrated

    The owner of a New Orleans luxury apartment and retail complex urged the Fifth Circuit to affirm a lower court's decision to vacate a previous order forcing it to arbitrate its $7 million Hurricane Ida damage claims against a group of domestic insurers, saying Louisiana law applies and bars arbitration.

Expert Analysis

  • Insurance Considerations For LA Wildfire Recovery

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    Businesses and homeowners affected by the destructive Southern California wildfires must act swiftly and strategically to navigate the complexities of the insurance recovery process, including by identifying all applicable policies, documenting damage thoroughly and keeping abreast of relevant state law, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • LA Wildfires' Effect On Calif. Insurer Of Last Resort

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    Attorneys at Willkie discuss the background of California's insurer of last resort — known as the Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan — and examine the process of assessing member insurers and relevant recent property insurance market developments in light of the destruction from the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires.

  • Algorithm Price-Fixing Ruling May Lower Antitrust Claims Bar

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    A Washington federal court's refusal to dismiss Duffy v. Yardi Systems, an antitrust case over rent prices allegedly inflated by revenue management software, creates an apparent split in the lower courts over how to assess such claims, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • California's New Homeowner Law Could Hamper Foreclosures

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    While A.B. 2424, which took effect this month in California, gives homeowners in default additional protections, it also provides loopholes that can be used to delay foreclosure auctions, and the cost of these delays will likely be passed on to the borrower, says Stephen Britt at Severson & Werson.

  • Small Biz Caught In Corporate Transparency Act Crossfire

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    Despite compliance being put on hold due to a nationwide preliminary injunction, small businesses have been caught in the middle of the legal battle over the Corporate Transparency Act — and confusion over the law's requirements could result in major penalties, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • What's Ahead As Transparency Act Comes To A Crossroads

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    Synthesizing the contrasting federal district and appellate court rulings on the Corporate Transparency Act’s validity reveals several main areas of debate that will likely remain at issue as challenges to the law continue winding through the courts, say attorneys at Farella Braun.

  • Ohio Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4

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    Ohio's banking and financial services sector saw several significant developments in the fourth quarter of 2024, including a landmark Uniform Commercial Code ruling, adjustments to the state's Homebuyer Plus Program and the launch of the state's first women-led bank, says attorney Alex Durst.

  • In The CFPB Playbook: A Sprint To The Finish Line

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    The fourth quarter of 2024 was an impressive demonstration of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ability to regulate, enforce and supervise, even on borrowed time following the election results, and we should expect the current bureau to run nonstop until Jan. 20, say attorneys at Covington.

  • The 6 Most Significant FCRA Litigation Developments Of 2024

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    From a key sovereign immunity decision at the U.S. Supreme Court to a ruling on creditworthiness out of the Seventh Circuit, several important Fair Credit Reporting Act cases wound their way through the courts in 2024, each offering takeaways for both plaintiffs and defendants, say attorneys at Shipkevich.

  • 10 Noteworthy CFPB Developments From 2024

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    In a banner year for consumer finance regulation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau made significant strides in its efforts to rein in Big Tech and nonbank financial firms, including via rules regarding open banking, credit card late fees, and buy now, pay later products, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • The Story Of 2024's Biggest Bank Regs, And Their Fate In 2025

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    U.S. federal bank regulators were very active in 2024 with initiatives ranging from antitrust and capital to proposals regarding controlling shareholders and incentive-based compensation, but many regulations face an uncertain future under the new administration, say attorneys at Latham.

  • Conducting A 'Reasonably Expected Market Area' Analysis

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    Regardless of whether the incoming administration scales back on redlining examinations and investigations, lenders should take steps to understand how regulators define "reasonably expected market areas," and how to conduct analyses of such areas, say attorneys at Mitchell Sandler.

  • Adapting Force Majeure To A Predictably Unpredictable World

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    As the climate and political landscapes get more complicated, force majeure provisions will likely be triggered increasingly often, demanding an evolving understanding of when events and their impacts are truly unforeseeable, say attorneys at Nossaman.