Residential

  • June 10, 2026

    San Diego Vacancy Tax Ballot Measure Heading For Defeat

    A ballot measure in San Diego to tax vacant homes, with an additional cost for empty homes owned by corporations, appeared headed for defeat with most ballots counted.

  • June 10, 2026

    Figure, Sixth Street Team Up On $717M Kiavi Mortgage Deal

    Figure Technology Solutions said Wednesday it is acquiring residential real estate lender Kiavi in a $717 million deal that pairs a blockchain-native capital markets platform with an AI-driven mortgage origination engine, with the backing of private credit firm Sixth Street and three law firms advising. 

  • June 09, 2026

    XAI, SpaceX Sued Over Data Center Plant's 'Intrusive' Noises

    Residents of a Mississippi suburb have accused Elon Musk's xAI and SpaceX companies of upending their community's "small-town charm" by operating a noisy power plant to power massive artificial intelligence data centers, saying in a proposed federal class action that the operations diminish their home values and quality of life.

  • June 09, 2026

    Deal Attys Talk Firsts, Copycats And Constant Reinvention

    Much of the work of deal attorneys is outside public view, yet their triumphs and innovations set precedent for the market as it evolves.

  • June 09, 2026

    Compass Faces Antitrust Test From NY Regulators, Prof Says

    After the country's biggest residential brokerage combined with its biggest rival, New York's attorney general launched a probe into the $1.6 billion merger of Compass and Anywhere Real Estate on antitrust grounds. New York’s investigation comes in a long line of regulatory scrutiny examining brokerage-industry practices. New York University economics professor Lawrence White spoke with Law360 about ramifications of the state’s investigation.

  • June 09, 2026

    Calif. Courts Shoot Down Santee Housing Project

    Two California courts last week largely sided with environmentalist groups that challenged the city of Santee's approval of a local 3,008-unit housing project, ruling that the proposed project's approval violated state laws.

  • June 09, 2026

    Canada Tax Court Sides With Real Estate Co. In $9.5M Dispute

    The Tax Court of Canada largely sided with a real estate company in characterizing a CA$13.25 million ($9.5 million) gain from selling two Toronto properties as a capital gain rather than business income, deciding the character of the properties had changed.

  • June 09, 2026

    Zillow Loses Appeal In Pa. Fight Over $10K Data Charge

    A Pennsylvania county can charge Zillow more than $10,000 for a listing of all its property assessments under the state's Right-to-Know Law, given that the law allows the county to charge the "reasonable market value" for complex data sets, a state appellate court found Tuesday.

  • June 09, 2026

    The Law360 400: A Look At The Top 100 Firms

    The race to build the legal industry's largest law firm accelerated in 2025, with major firms leaning on mergers, lateral hiring and strategic expansion to climb the ranks of the Law360 400.

  • June 09, 2026

    OceanFirst Closes $1.4B Multifamily Loans Sale

    OceanFirst Bank has agreed to sell off $1.4 billion worth of multifamily loans in order to reduce the bank's commercial real estate investments and cut back on "the majority of the bank's exposure to rent-regulated properties in New York City," the bank's holding company OceanFirst Financial Corp. announced.

  • June 09, 2026

    Gilmore Bell Opens In Texas With 5 Robinson & Cole Attys

    Public finance law firm Gilmore Bell has expanded its affordable housing and real estate financing offerings with the launch of an Austin, Texas, office and the addition of five lawyers who previously practiced with Robinson & Cole LLP.

  • June 08, 2026

    Equity Residential GC Joins AvalonBay Execs In Merged REIT

    Equity Residential's general counsel will lead the legal functions of the company once it completes a combination with fellow real estate investment trust AvalonBay Communities in a transaction set to create a residential property giant with a combined $69 billion enterprise value.

  • June 08, 2026

    Denver Developer Accused Of Lies To Dodge Loan Repayment

    A real estate investment firm has claimed in Colorado state court that a Denver developer lied numerous times to refinance on three occasions a promissory note governing the development of a residential lot on the north side of the city, alleging that the developer owes nearly $380,000 in damages.

  • June 08, 2026

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    At the Delaware Chancery Court, a trial over World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.'s $21.4 billion merger with Ultimate Fighting Championship's parent company has been canceled, and a Reddit investor has filed a suit claiming the company used artificial intelligence to challenge his grievance about a charter provision.

  • June 08, 2026

    Mortgage Co. Held In Contempt For Flouting CEO Depo Orders

    A Michigan federal judge held United Wholesale Mortgage LLC in contempt on Monday after finding the lender ignored repeated court orders to make CEO Mathew Ishbia available for deposition in a contract dispute with a former mortgage broker. 

  • June 08, 2026

    NYC Real Estate Week In Review

    Paul Weiss and Fried Frank are among various law firms that guided the largest real estate deals that hit New York City public records last week, two of which were nine-figure trades.

  • June 08, 2026

    Real Estate GC Jumps To Phelps Dunbar In Tampa

    Phelps Dunbar LLP announced Monday that it tapped a former in-house counsel from a real estate private equity company to serve as a partner in the firm's Tampa, Florida, office.

  • June 08, 2026

    Nationstar Escapes Suit Over COVID-19 Loan Change Denial

    A Pennsylvania federal judge released Nationstar Mortgage from a homeowner's proposed class action, finding the company followed federal guidance when it rejected and later approved a pandemic-based loan modification for federally insured mortgages.

  • June 08, 2026

    High Court Won't Hear Florida Takings Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to take up a long-running dispute between a city in the Florida Keys and landowners over increasingly restrictive zoning, leaving in place a decision that said the city failed to pay the owners properly after inversely condemning their property.

  • June 08, 2026

    High Court Reopens Review Of DOE Furnace Efficiency Rules

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated a D.C. Circuit decision that upheld Biden-era energy efficiency standards for furnaces and water heaters and ordered the circuit court to take another look in light of the Trump administration's intent to revise the rules.

  • June 05, 2026

    9th Circ. Revives TCPA Suit Against Keller Williams

    The Ninth Circuit reinstated a proposed class action against Keller Williams Realty and an Arizona real estate solutions company over phone calls and texts asking a woman about selling her home, ruling she sufficiently alleged the communications at issue constituted solicitations prohibited under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. 

  • June 05, 2026

    Hackberry Adds 400 Beds With 6 Deals In 2 College Markets

    Hackberry Lane has acquired 400 student housing beds in properties near the University of Florida in Gainesville and the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, the student housing investor and operator announced Friday.

  • June 05, 2026

    Ga. Developer Must Pay $1M, Help Recover Native Artifacts

    A Georgia developer will pay a $1 million fine and help to repatriate Indigenous remains and artifacts after the United States alleged the company continued to build homes for a 2,230-acre development on a flood plain despite knowing about the presence of archaeological sites and cultural objects.

  • June 05, 2026

    Wash. Judge Vacates 'Blank Check' $630M Timeshare Deal

    A Washington federal judge Friday undid a $630 million settlement in a timeshare consumer class action, deeming it a "blank check" agreement based on unreliable damages estimates that the litigation parties reached without consideration for insurers that would likely have to cover the judgment.

  • June 05, 2026

    Zillow Can't Force Compass To Turn Over MLS Conversations

    An Illinois federal judge rejected Zillow's attempt to force Compass and a Midwest multiple listing service to disclose their communications with each other, finding the request was "unduly burdensome."

Expert Analysis

  • Can OCC State Banking Law Preemption Survive The Courts?

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    While two December proposals from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency seek to foreclose pending consumer litigation against national banks related to residential mortgage lending, it's unclear whether this aggressive approach will withstand judicial scrutiny under the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 rulings in Cantero and Loper Bright, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • 3 Key Ohio Financial Services Developments From 2025

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    Ohio's banking and financial services sector saw particularly notable developments in 2025, including a significant Ohio Supreme Court decision on creditor disclosure duties to guarantors in Huntington National Bank v. Schneider, and some major proposed changes to the state's Homebuyer Plus program, says Alex Durst at Durst Kerridge.

  • State Of Insurance: Q4 Notes From Pennsylvania

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    Last quarter in Pennsylvania, a Superior Court ruling underscored the centrality of careful policy drafting and judicial scrutiny of exclusionary language, and another provided practical guidance on the calculation of attorney fees and interest in bad faith cases, while a proposed bill endeavored to cover insurance gaps for homeowners, says Todd Leon at Marshall Dennehey.

  • Key Sectors, Antitrust Risks In Pricing Algorithm Litigation

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    Algorithmic pricing lawsuits have proliferated in rental housing, hotels, health insurance and equipment rental industries, and companies should consider emerging risk factors when implementing business strategies this year, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • NJ Ruling Sheds Light On When 'Stub Rent' Must Be Paid

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    A New Jersey bankruptcy court's recent decision in New Rite Aid affirms that landlords can have "stub rent" treated as an administrative expense and highlights critical considerations for debtors, including the importance of deciding when and where to file for bankruptcy, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Takeaways From 7th Circ.'s Bank Fraud Conviction Reversal

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent decision in U.S. v. Robinson, holding that a bank fraud conviction must be grounded in a clear misrepresentation to the financial institution itself, signals that the court will not hesitate to correct substantive errors, even in unpreserved challenges, say attorneys at Quinn Emanuel.

  • How 2025 Executive Orders Are Reshaping Consumer Finance

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    In 2025, President Donald Trump used executive orders to initiate a reversal of policies on fair lending, urge agencies to use enforcement and supervisory tools to police debanking, and reduce consumer financial regulation — and the resulting flurry of deregulatory activity will likely continue in 2026, says Elizabeth Tucci at Goodwin.

  • How Developers Can Harness New Texas Zoning Framework

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    A Texas law introducing a new zoning framework has the potential to unlock meaningful multifamily development opportunities, but developers and their project teams should follow four steps to help identify how affected cities are interpreting and implementing the new law, says Angela Hunt at Munsch Hardt.

  • 2026 State AI Bills That Could Expand Liability, Insurance Risk

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    State bills legislating artificial intelligence that are expected to pass in 2026 will reshape the liability landscape for all companies incorporating AI solutions into their business operations, as any novel private rights of action authorized under AI-related statutes signal expanding exposures, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • 2025's Most Notable State AG Activity By The Numbers

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    State attorneys general were active in 2025, working across party lines to address federal regulatory gaps in artificial intelligence, take action on consumer protection issues, continue antitrust enforcement and announce large settlements on behalf of their citizens, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Targeted Action, Rule Tweaks Reflect 2025 AML Priority Shifts

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    Though 2025’s anti-money-laundering landscape was characterized not by volume of penalties but by the strategic recalibration of how illicit finance risk is handled, a series of targeted enforcement actions signaled that regulators aren't easing off the accelerator, even as they refine the rules of the road, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • State AG Enforcement During CFPB Gap Predicts 2026 Trends

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    State attorneys general responded to the decrease in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau enforcement in 2025 by stepping in to regulate consumer finance more than ever before, and the trends in rebooting CFPB investigations, cracking down on ESG and DEI initiatives, and fighting financial exploitation of homeowners will likely extend into 2026, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • How Shareholder Activism Fared In 2025

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    2025 was a turbulent yet transformative year in shareholder activism, and there are several key takeaways to help companies prepare for a 2026 that is shaping up to be even more lively, including increased focus on retail investors and the use of social media as a tool, say attorneys at Sidley.