Residential
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April 24, 2024
NY's Housing Incentives, Protections Draw Mixed Reviews
The housing provisions in New York's recently approved $237 billion budget, which includes new tax incentives for developers and increased legal safeguards for tenants facing evictions, received varied reactions from attorneys, housing organizations and lobbyists as they digest all the details.
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April 24, 2024
Landlords Bring NY Rent Law Challenge To High Court Again
Thirteen New York property owners urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review their challenge to two 2019 changes to New York rental laws, arguing that the suit is the better-tailored vehicle Justice Clarence Thomas signaled interest in when denying a similar challenge in January.
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April 24, 2024
KKR Financing REIT Expects $140M Loss From Office Distress
The president of KKR & Co.'s financing-focused real estate investment trust said Wednesday that the company will likely face $140 million in losses in the second quarter due to distress in parts of its office loan portfolio.
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April 23, 2024
Realtors, Home Sellers Get OK For $418M Broker Rules Deal
The National Association of Realtors and a nationwide class of home sellers on Tuesday scored a Missouri federal judge's initial approval of their $418 million settlement resolving claims that the trade group's broker commission rules caused home sellers across the country to pay inflated fees.
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April 23, 2024
Cincinnati Owners Allege Code Conspiracy In $27M Suit
Nine current and former Cincinnati property owners have filed a $27.4 million lawsuit against a roster of city officials, city and county offices, development entities and others, alleging that Cincinnati targeted Black homeowners with building code violations and urged them to sell to developers.
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April 23, 2024
HUD Finalizes Rule Raising Building Standards In Flood Zones
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development published a rule on Tuesday setting stricter flood-protection standards for homes built or fixed with funds from the agency in an effort to manage storm risk and rising insurance costs.
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April 22, 2024
Real Estate Investment Cos. Owe SEC $8.4M For $17.5M Fraud
A pair of companies allegedly used in service of a fraudulent real estate investment scheme will pay over $8.4 million to end claims they were part of the $17.5 million ploy that took in more than 150 would-be investors with claims that the securities involved were "recession-proof."
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April 22, 2024
NJ Town Can't Beat Sanctions Over Legal Malpractice Suit
A New Jersey state appeals panel upheld Monday, in a published opinion, sanctions against the borough of Englewood Cliffs for bringing a now-dismissed legal malpractice suit after a purportedly unfavorable affordable housing settlement.
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April 22, 2024
Judge Trims Claims In HUD Housing Conversion Suit
A D.C. federal judge didn't fully side with either party in a suit over the conversion of a Louisiana public housing development into Section 8 housing, but did vacate the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's decision to close and convert the project.
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April 22, 2024
NY Creates New Affordable Housing, Conversion Tax Breaks
Developers in New York City could qualify for new property tax abatement programs for building affordable housing and converting office buildings into affordable housing units under the New York state budget that Democratic Gov. Kathy Hocul signed into law.
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April 22, 2024
Atlanta Housing Authority, Developer Close On $72M Project
Atlanta's housing authority and multifamily developer The Benoit Group closed the funding for a $72 million affordable senior housing project that's part of a larger mixed-use redevelopment plan.
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April 22, 2024
Judge Orders Board Vote For REIT After Ponzi Convictions
An investor plans to nominate trustee candidates at real estate investment trust United Development Funding after a Baltimore judge ordered most board members to face reelection this year, with executives convicted in a Ponzi scheme serving time in federal prison.
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April 22, 2024
High Court Probes Homeless 'Status' In Camping Ban Suit
U.S. Supreme Court justices probed the limits of what might be considered criminalizing status amid oral arguments Monday over whether an Oregon city's law banning camping on public property violates the Eighth Amendment's bar on cruel and unusual punishment.
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April 22, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Davis Polk and Rosenberg & Estis are among the law firms that handled the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, a period that saw properties for a variety of asset classes — including an office building — trade hands.
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April 19, 2024
Attys Wary Of 'Zero Tolerance' Approach In New PFAS Rule
With Friday's finalization of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rule designating two "forever chemicals" as hazardous, the stakes just got higher for real property due diligence work.
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April 19, 2024
Yardi Ordered To Provide Info On Apartment Pricing Algorithm
Real estate management software company Yardi Systems Inc. is going to have to turn over information about who has been using its rent maximizer algorithm to renters who claim that at least 11 property management companies have been using the service to fix rental costs, a federal judge has said.
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April 19, 2024
Fla. Brokerage Firms Face Commission Antitrust Action
A group of Florida brokerages faces a proposed class action accusing them of taking part in a National Association of Realtors system that a Missouri jury in October found inflated the commissions home sellers pay to agents.
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April 19, 2024
How Attys Are Helping DC Residents Keep Family Homes
As homeownership rates among Black residents have fallen in the nation's capital, a new initiative aims to provide legal counsel to people living in homes that were passed down through the generations but don't have clear titles.
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April 19, 2024
Student Housing Co. Founder Claims She Was Pushed Out
A co-founder of a global company formed to provide booking for student housing sued her former colleague in Delaware's Court of Chancery on Friday, alleging a scheme by insiders to push her out of the business and then line up a sale to avoid a judgment after the move's reversal.
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April 19, 2024
Fla. Can't Wage Real Estate War On Foreigners, 11th Circ. Told
A group of Chinese citizens and a brokerage firm urged the Eleventh Circuit on Friday to block Florida from enforcing a law prohibiting certain foreign nationals from owning land while they challenge the statute's constitutionality, saying it's discriminatory and preempted by federal authority.
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April 19, 2024
CORRECTED: Fla. Jury Says AIG Mishandled Claim For Irma Damage
A Florida federal jury on Friday found that AIG mishandled part of the claims process for damage from Hurricane Irma to a $95 million oceanfront mansion near Miami but declined to award punitive damages against the insurer.
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April 19, 2024
Polsinelli Adds Shareholder To Tax Credit Practice In Dallas
An attorney who spent more than a decade developing a niche practice specializing in tax credit financing has moved her practice to Polsinelli PC's Dallas office after five years at Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr PC.
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April 19, 2024
Colo. Panel Nixes Short-Term Rental Tax Boost Plan
A Colorado measure to reclassify properties used for short-term rentals so they would be taxed at a higher rate was rejected by a Senate panel.
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April 19, 2024
Landlord Says Willkie Partner Can't Dodge Arbitration
A Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP partner's former landlord asked a Connecticut state judge to force the attorney and his wife back to arbitration in their lease dispute, arguing that they cannot dodge their binding agreement just because the parties' first-choice mediator walked away.
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April 18, 2024
DLA Piper Reps Fallon Co. On $147M Nashville Area Plan
Nashville, Tennessee, officials have signed off on an agreement with The Fallon Company to redevelop a 30-acre downtown-adjacent site into a neighborhood with 1,500 housing units, surrounding a planned stadium for the Tennessee Titans NFL team.
Expert Analysis
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Foreign Investment In Real Estate Is Getting More Complicated
Increasing federal scrutiny and a proliferation of new state laws targeting foreign investment in real estate may complicate or prevent transactions even by U.S. companies or funds that have shareholders or limited partners from China and other countries of concern, say attorneys at Akin.
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Virginia 'Rocket Docket' Slowdown Is Likely A Blip
After being the fastest or second-fastest federal civil trial court for 14 straight years, the Eastern District of Virginia has slid to 18th place, but the rocket docket’s statistical tumble doesn't mean the district no longer maintains a speedy civil docket, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
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Home Equity Option Contracts Appear Ripe For Rating
Given that home equity option contracts share similarities with evolving asset types like litigation funding, and that courts continue to characterize them as real estate option contracts, it seems they are poised to be rated in the near future, say Darius Horton and Holly Spencer Bunting at Mayer Brown.
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5 Management Tips To Keep Law Firm Merger Talks Moving
Many law firm mergers that make solid business sense still fall apart due to the costs and frustrations of inefficient negotiations, but firm managers can increase the chance of success by effectively planning and executing merger discussions, say Lisa Smith and Kristin Stark at Fairfax Associates.
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2 Critical Shortfalls In Fla. Condo Safety Amendments
New amendments to Florida's Building Safety Act provide condominium associations with more flexibility to comply with inspection deadlines, but vaguely defined extension criteria and unambiguous lines of responsibility warrant further legislative action, say Jordan Isrow and Andrew Ingber at Government Law Group.
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Rethinking In-Office Attendance For Associate Retention
The hybrid office attendance model doesn't work for all employees, but it does for many — and balancing these two groups is important for associate retention and maintaining a BigLaw firm culture that supports all attorneys, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.
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Justices' Minn. Takings Ruling May Have Broad Impact
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Tyler v. Hennepin County that a Minnesota tax foreclosure violated the U.S. Constitution's takings clause may, beyond resolving a circuit split, influence well-established foreclosure laws across the U.S., say Emily Ladd and Gregory Nowak at Miller Canfield.
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Murdaugh Trials Offer Law Firms Fraud Prevention Reminders
As the fraud case against Alex Murdaugh continues to play out, the evidence and narrative presented at his murder trial earlier this year may provide lessons for law firms on implementing robust internal controls that can detect and prevent similar kinds of fraud, say Travis Casner and Helga Zauner at Weaver and Tidwell.
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Challenging Standing In Antitrust Class Actions: Rule 23
A recent Sixth Circuit decision in Fox v. Saginaw County that rejected the common attempt to use Rule 23 to sidestep Article III's standing limitations shows antitrust defendants' success in challenging standing will rest on happenstance without more clarity from the Supreme Court — which no litigant should be comfortable with, say Michael Hamburger and Holly Tao at White & Case.
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Key Limited Partnership Provisions During Market Downturns
With a recession potentially on the horizon, fund managers should carefully examine their funds' limited partnership agreements for items that may be affected by economic downturns, and assess whether modifications may be appropriate, says Matthew Posthuma at Ropes & Gray.
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Firm Tips For Helping New Lawyers Succeed Post-Pandemic
Ten steps can help firms significantly enhance the experience of attorneys who started their careers in the coronavirus pandemic era, including facilitating opportunities for cross-firm connection, which can ultimately help build momentum for business development, says Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners.
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Fla. Foreign Real Estate Law Brings Broad Investment Risks
Last month, Florida became the latest state to enact legislation prohibiting Chinese investors from acquiring certain interests in real property, introducing significant legal uncertainty and consequences for real estate stakeholders and the private equity industry, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Prepping Your Business Ahead Of Affirmative Action Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming ruling on whether race should play a role in college admissions could potentially end affirmative action, and companies will need a considered approach to these circumstances that protects their brand power and future profits, and be prepared to answer tough questions, say Nadine Blackburn at United Minds and Eric Blankenbaker at Weber Shandwick.