Real Estate

  • May 15, 2025

    NJ Toxic Spill Rule May Hamper Property Sales, Panelists Say

    A New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection regulation expected to take effect this summer could slow property sales and lead to increased litigation as attorneys and real estate investors grapple with stricter requirements for reporting toxic spills, experts speaking Thursday at the State Bar Association's annual meeting in Atlantic City said.

  • May 15, 2025

    Insurer Wants Smokestack Demo Cos. To Pay For Damage

    Erie Insurance is seeking to make the companies that demolished two smokestacks at a former Western Pennsylvania coal-fired power plant pay $375,000 for damage that flying dust, debris and shock waves did to a neighboring property, according to a lawsuit filed in state court.

  • May 15, 2025

    Senior Living Co. Pleads For Proxy Fight Win After CEO Exit

    Brookdale Senior Living, the largest U.S. senior living operator, urged shareholders Thursday to reject a proxy contest brought by an affiliate of activist investor Ortelius Advisors, claiming the fund hasn't offered a new strategy for the company despite its criticism.

  • May 15, 2025

    Minn. Justices Affirm $9M Medical Building Tax Valuation

    A Minnesota medical building was correctly valued by the state tax court, the state Supreme Court said Wednesday, affirming a decision that boosted the building's original valuation by more than $1 million.

  • May 15, 2025

    Hawaii Justices Won't Review Honolulu Property Class Case

    The Hawaii Supreme Court declined to review an appellate court decision that found a special Honolulu property class did not violate the state and country's equal protection clause.

  • May 15, 2025

    Buchalter Names Sports Agent As Sacramento Office Co-Lead

    Buchalter PC has named Josh Escovedo, co-chair of its sports law industry group, as co-managing shareholder of the firm's Sacramento, California, office.

  • May 15, 2025

    Entrata Hits $4.3B Valuation After $200M Blackstone Plug

    Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC-advised Entrata, an operating system for multifamily housing communities, revealed on Thursday that it reached a $4.3 billion valuation after securing a $200 million minority investment from private equity giant Blackstone, led by Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP.

  • May 14, 2025

    Tree Removal Is Major Cost Of PacifiCorp Damage, Jury Told

    Jurors in the latest wildfire damages trial against PacifiCorp heard Wednesday from an expert forester who testified that one of the affected properties needs over $1.5 million in tree removal and replacement services, but admitted he did not actually visit the property.

  • May 14, 2025

    Insurer Ends Case Blaming Panda Express For Water Leak

    An insurance company on Wednesday dropped its case seeking more than $176,000 from Panda Express Inc. for damages allegedly caused when grease-filled pipes at one of the chain's restaurants backed up and leaked water into a clothing store covered by the insurer.

  • May 14, 2025

    HUD Allocates $1.1B For Tribal Affordable Housing Initiatives

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will allocate more than $1.1 billion in Indian Housing Block Grant funding to support affordable housing efforts in Native American tribal communities, HUD announced Tuesday.

  • May 14, 2025

    Idaho Murderer's Family Can't Get Coverage, Judge Says

    The wealthy mining family of a mentally ill man who murdered and allegedly ate his victim's genitalia was denied insurance coverage for underlying litigation brought by the decedent's survivors when an Idaho federal judge determined the killing wasn't unforeseen and the killer's subjective motives weren't relevant.

  • May 14, 2025

    Interior Policy Aims To Shorten Oil And Gas Leasing Reviews

    The U.S. Department of the Interior has unveiled a new policy that attempts to speed up oil and gas leasing on public lands by cutting the amount of time spent reviewing the suitability of potential leasing areas.

  • May 14, 2025

    Fla. Court Won't Let State High Court Weigh Taking Query

    An en banc Florida appellate court on Wednesday refused to certify the city of Marathon's question about a factor for determining whether a taking happened to the state's high court.

  • May 14, 2025

    Wisconsin Lake Homeowners Amend Tribal Tax Burden Suit

    Four lake homeowners and an association have amended a suit against local governments in the Menominee reservation in northern Wisconsin, claiming the tribe has sought to grow the amount of tax-exempt land while leaving owners of taxable homes to pay more than their fair share. 

  • May 14, 2025

    Zillow Settles StreetEasy Fees Suit With NY Real Estate Firm

    Zillow has settled a proposed class action filed in Washington federal court by a New York real estate firm that accused the online real estate company of charging agents daily fees for listing properties on its StreetEasy platform, even after a listing agent's name was obscured online by another agent.

  • May 14, 2025

    Kayne Anderson Secures $2.25B For 3rd Energy Fund

    Alternative investment manager Kayne Anderson has closed its third energy income fund above target with $2.25 billion in total commitments.

  • May 14, 2025

    Biotech Firm Verax Tells Court Eviction Could End Company

    Biotech company Verax Biomedical Inc. has said it faces the prospect of going out of business unless a Massachusetts judge agrees to block its landlord from proceeding with an eviction, at least through the end of its current lease.

  • May 14, 2025

    Ore. Riverfront Parcel Overvalued, State Tax Court Finds

    An Oregon riverfront property was overvalued by $12,000 in tax year 2022-23, the Oregon Tax Court said, lowering its real market value while rejecting the owner's arguments for a much deeper cut. 

  • May 14, 2025

    Minn. School Can Skip Accrediting For Tax Break, Court Says

    A Minnesota school seeking a property tax exemption as an educational entity is not required to show accreditation by an outside organization to qualify for the break, the state tax court said.

  • May 14, 2025

    Ex-FDNY Safety Chief Gets 3 Years For $57K Bribery Haul

    A Manhattan federal judge hit a former fire prevention chief for the New York Fire Department with a three-year prison sentence Wednesday for taking bribes to expedite safety checks, saying the longtime, well-off public servant acted out of greed.

  • May 14, 2025

    Kirkland-Led Northleaf Clinches $2.6B Infrastructure Fund

    Kirkland & Ellis LLP-advised Northleaf Capital Partners has wrapped its fourth infrastructure fund above target after securing $2.6 billion of investor commitments, marking the firm's largest infrastructure fund to date.

  • May 13, 2025

    Mortgage Lender Overcharges Service Members, Suit Says

    Mortgage lender Planet Home Lending LLC faces a proposed class action alleging that it violated the federal Servicemembers' Civil Relief Act by refusing to retroactively apply an interest rate below the act's maximum threshold during a customer's time on active duty.

  • May 13, 2025

    Senators Grill Allstate, State Farm Heads On Disaster Claims

    Officials from Allstate and State Farm defended their claims-handling procedures for natural disasters before a U.S. Senate committee Tuesday amid testimony that the two major homeowners insurers routinely altered estimates and underpaid policyholders to protect their profits.

  • May 13, 2025

    State Farm's Emergency Rate Hike Request Approved In Calif.

    California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced Tuesday that he had adopted a judge's recommendation to approve State Farm General Insurance Co.'s request for an emergency rate increase for property insurance in the state, following January wildfires that have already cost California insurers $12.1 billion.

  • May 13, 2025

    K&L Gates Adds Ex-Taylor Wessing Atty In London

    K&L Gates LLP announced Tuesday that it has hired a former Taylor Wessing LLP attorney as a partner on its finance team in London.

Expert Analysis

  • Takeaways From DOJ's Intervention On Pricing Algorithm Use

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    A recent U.S. Justice Department amicus brief arguing that a Nevada federal judge wrongly focused on the nonbinding aspect of software company Cendyn Group's pricing algorithm underscores the growing challenge of determining when, if ever, pricing algorithms are legal, say attorneys at Rule Garza.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Reframing Document Review

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    For attorneys — new ones especially — there is much fulfillment to find in document review by reflecting on how important, interesting and pleasant it can be, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • A Legal Perspective On NYC's Retail Real Estate Evolution

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    As New York City's retail market begins to show signs of resilience after the challenges of recent years, landlords must be cognizant of legal implications from shifting trends toward shorter-term leases and pop-up stores, says Andrea Gendel at Pryor Cashman.

  • What Interest Rate Cuts Mean For Housing Markets

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    The Federal Reserve's recent reduction of interest rates may provide limited immediate relief for real estate sectors, but offers potential opportunities for commercial real estate investors and construction firms, which now face an environment ripe for new projects, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • California Supreme Court's Year In Review

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    Attorneys at Horvitz & Levy highlight notable decisions on major questions from the California Supreme Court's last term, including voter initiatives, hostile work environment and the economic loss rule.

  • How CFIUS' Updated Framework Affects Global Investors

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    The recent change to the monitoring and enforcement regulations governing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States will broaden administrative practices around nonnotified transaction investigations, increase the scope of information demands from the committee and accelerate its ability to impose mitigation on parties, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Perils Of Perfunctory Interpretation

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    Attorneys at Seyfarth examine three recent decisions in which the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals and the Federal Circuit ruthlessly dismantled arguments that rely on superficial understandings of different contract terms.

  • Series

    Flying Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Achieving my childhood dream of flying airplanes made me a better lawyer — and a better person — because it taught me I can conquer difficult goals when I leave my comfort zone, focus on the demands of the moment and commit to honing my skills, says Ivy Cadle at Baker Donelson.

  • 'Reverse Redlining' Suit Reveals Language Risks For Lenders

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    The Justice Department's case against consumer finance provider Colony Ridge highlights the government's focus on lending to consumers with limited English proficiency and the risks of generating marketing materials in other languages while conducting actual transactions in English, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Series

    Circus Arts Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Performing circus arts has strengthened my ability to be more thoughtful, confident and grounded, all of which has enhanced my legal practice and allowed me to serve clients in a more meaningful way, says Bailey McGowan at Stinson.

  • 3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less

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    Today’s junior lawyers are experiencing a skills gap due to pandemic-era disruptions, but firms can help bring them up to speed by offering high-impact skill building content in bite-sized, interactive training sessions, say Stacey Schwartz at Katten, Diane Costigan at Winston & Strawn and Lauren Tierney at Freshfields.

  • Opinion

    Feds May Have Overstepped In Suit Against Mortgage Lender

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit against Rocket Mortgage goes too far in attempting to combat racial bias and appears to fail on the fatal flaw that mortgage lenders should be at arm's length from appraisers, says Drew Ketterer at Ketterer & Ketterer.

  • The Bar Needs More Clarity On The Discovery Objection Rule

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    Almost 10 years after Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 was amended, attorneys still seem confused about what they should include in objections to discovery requests, and until the rules committee provides additional clarity, practitioners must beware the steep costs of noncompliance, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law Office.

  • Foreclosing Lenders Still Floating In Murky Legal Waters In NY

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    The New York foreclosure landscape remains in disarray after the state's highest court last month declined to weigh in on whether legal changes from 2022 that severely curtailed lenders' ability to bring successive foreclosure cases were retroactive, says Brian Rich at Barclay Damon.

  • Series

    Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving this country in uniform has not only been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it has also provided me with opportunities to broaden my legal acumen and interpersonal skills in ways that have indelibly contributed to my civilian practice, says Phillip Smith at Weinberg Wheeler.

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