Residential
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May 28, 2025
Bankers' Group Says Redlining Enforcement Goes Too Far
A K&L Gates LLP partner warned that the U.S. Department of Justice's recent Fair Housing Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act cases have dramatically expanded what lender behavior qualifies as "redlining," in a report prepared on behalf of the American Bankers Association.
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May 28, 2025
A Niche Property Strategy Sprouts A Growing BigLaw Practice
Lofty land prices and nationwide housing shortages have made the legal work in guiding sales of primed-up dirt to homebuilders more essential — and fruitful — than ever, according to a practice leader at Holland & Knight LLP.
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May 28, 2025
Nev. Extends Property Tax In Las Vegas, County To 2057
Nevada extended by 30 years the imposition of a property tax in the city of Las Vegas and unincorporated areas of Clark County, with revenue allocated for employing police officers, under a bill signed by the governor.
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May 28, 2025
Insurance Atty Talks FEMA Cuts As Storm, Fire Seasons Near
As hurricane and wildfire seasons approach, Anthony Lopez, founder of the law firm Your Insurance Attorney, told Law360 Real Estate Authority that with natural disasters intensifying, the Trump administration's cuts to FEMA are likely to put more pressure on states and property owners in an already challenging insurance environment.
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May 27, 2025
Trump To Pardon 'Chrisley' Stars Convicted Of Tax Evasion
President Donald Trump is planning to pardon reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, the Georgia duo sentenced to prison after being convicted of running a yearslong bank fraud scheme and dodging federal taxes, according to a post Tuesday on X by Trump's communications adviser.
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May 27, 2025
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Mayer Brown and Nixon Peabody are among the law firms that landed work on the largest New York City real estate deals to hit public records last week, with matters in Manhattan and Bronx atop the list.
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May 27, 2025
6 Firms Hammer Out $4B Canadian Resi REIT Deal
A Singapore sovereign wealth fund and a Canadian multifamily landlord have purchased a residential real estate investment trust for $4 billion, the REIT announced Tuesday.
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May 27, 2025
Rental Co. Signs Deal With Pa. AG Over AI-Related Delays
The Pennsylvania arm of a Las Vegas-based rental management company will pay the state $45,000 — including $30,000 in refunds for tenants — to settle allegations that its artificial intelligence platform contributed to delays in repairs and rentals of unsafe housing, the Pennsylvania attorney general's office announced Tuesday.
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May 27, 2025
Property Co. Not Covered In Condo Fire Suits, Insurer Says
A property management company isn't covered for suits claiming it hired an unlicensed contractor whose work caused a fire at a condo complex, an insurer told a Florida federal court, saying coverage isn't available under a commercial general liability policy and is limited under a professional liability policy.
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May 27, 2025
NC Justices Say Insured's Failure To Read Doesn't Bar Claim
North Carolina's highest court found a homeowner isn't barred from suing an insurance agency for negligence over false answers on a property insurance application even though he never read the document, saying context bears on his culpability.
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May 27, 2025
LA County, Pasadena Shirking Eaton Fire Inspections, Suits Say
Two groups of California renters took to state court to sue Los Angeles County and the city of Pasadena for failing to properly inspect their homes after the Eaton Fire and for not making property owners decontaminate them.
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May 27, 2025
Paul Hastings Lands 5-Atty LA Real Estate Team From Latham
Paul Hastings LLP's real estate practice is adding an experienced five-partner land use team from Latham & Watkins LLP in Los Angeles, the firm announced Tuesday.
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May 23, 2025
Law360 Reveals Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar
This past year, a handful of attorneys secured billions of dollars in settlements and judgments for both classes and individual plaintiffs against massive companies and organizations like Facebook, Dell, the National Association of Realtors, Johnson & Johnson, UFC and Credit Suisse, earning them recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2025.
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May 23, 2025
Report By Law Prof Filed In Ex-Atty's Bid To Win Back House
A Florida law professor's report filed this week with the state Supreme Court calls a Tampa judge's order taking away an attorney's home "manifestly erroneous," asserting the ruling handed down more than eight years ago was made without determining whether the property had state constitutional protection from creditors.
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May 23, 2025
9th Circ. Upholds Ch. 13 Plan Against Debt Bifurcation Appeal
The Ninth Circuit rejected a mortgage lender's bid to overturn a California couple's bankruptcy plan, ruling their recalculated home value qualified them for Chapter 13 despite initial estimates exceeding the unsecured debt limit.
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May 23, 2025
Ga. Bar OKs Real Estate Deals Via Video
The State Bar of Georgia has adopted a formal ethics opinion allowing attorneys to close real estate deals via video conference, finding that the remote appearances satisfy lawyers' duty to be "present" at closings.
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May 23, 2025
Guggenheim-Backed Housing Proposal Upheld In SC
A South Carolina federal judge upheld a 9,000-unit housing plan brought in part by heirs of the Guggenheim family on the Cainhoy Peninsula near Charleston, finding federal authorities properly considered environmental effects of the development.
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May 23, 2025
Va. Contractor Denied Real Property Sales Tax Break For Sand
Sand purchased by a Virginia homebuilder is tangible personal property subject to use tax and not real property, the state tax commissioner said, rejecting the builder's argument that the sand was part of the land at its previous location.
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May 22, 2025
Wash. Justices Undo Landlord Win In Eviction Answer Dispute
Washington's highest court overturned a Seattle-area landlord's eviction victory on Thursday, saying any tenant who responds to a summons with a written "notice of appearance" can't be hit with a default judgment for failing to file an answer in an unlawful detainer action.
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May 22, 2025
Trump Admin Ends Early Biden-Era Memphis Redlining Deal
A Tennessee federal judge on Wednesday approved a Trump administration request to terminate a redlining consent order with Trustmark National Bank, closing out the settlement that kicked off a Biden-era crackdown on mortgage lending discrimination.
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May 22, 2025
5th Circ. Revives 'Unclean Hands' Defense In Ch. 13
A Louisiana homeowner can head back to bankruptcy court to try to discharge a $75,000 judgment against him from a contractor who said it was stiffed, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled.
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May 22, 2025
Student Housing Firm Lands $500M Wells Fargo Refi
Student housing company Global Student Accommodation, or GSA, said on May 22 it had secured $500 million in refinancing from Wells Fargo Bank for a group of 23 properties in 14 states.
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May 22, 2025
State Greenlights Fried Frank-Guided NYC Resi Conversion
The Empire State Development Corp.'s board of directors voted Thursday to approve RXR and Apollo Global Management's massive office-to-residential conversion in New York's Times Square, a project advised by Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP.
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May 22, 2025
Servicer, BNY Seek Exit From Mortgage Statement Suit
Bank of New York Mellon and a mortgage servicing company have urged a Massachusetts federal court to permanently dismiss a proposed class action accusing them of trying to collect on post-bankruptcy liens, saying federal lending law does not obligate servicers to send mortgage statements to borrowers.
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May 22, 2025
Cadwalader, Sidley Guide Greystone's $901.3M CRE-CLO Deal
Greystone has closed a $901.3 million commercial real estate collateralized loan obligation backed by bridge loans on 28 apartment properties in 16 states, in a transaction advised by Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP and Sidley Austin LLP.
Expert Analysis
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NJ Justices Clarify First-Party Indemnification Availability
In Boyle v. Huff, the New Jersey Supreme Court recently held that indemnification can be available in first-party claims, resolving an open question and setting up contracting parties for careful negotiations around indemnity clauses, says Todd Leon at Marshall Dennehey.
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Fla. HOA Reforms Bring Major Wins For Homeowners
A recently signed law brings broad changes for homeowners associations in Florida, alleviating some pressure imposed by overly restrictive rules and potentially setting up litigation surrounding how HOAs enforce their governing documents, says Christopher Miller at Varnum.
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Addressing Labor Shortages In The Construction Industry
As the construction industry's ongoing struggle with finding sufficient skilled workers continues, companies should consider a range of solutions including a commitment to in-house training and creative contracting protocols, say Brenda Radmacher and Allison Etkin at Akerman.
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A Framework For Investigating Commercial Loan Fraud
As commercial loan transactions are increasingly subject to sophisticated fraud schemes, lenders must adopt dynamic strategies to detect, investigate and mitigate these schemes, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.
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How NY Co-Ops Can Minimize Sale Rejections Based On Price
New York co-op sales are regularly rejected for being below undisclosed price minimums, and co-op boards should address this problem by sharing information more transparently and allowing some flexibility for below-market sales, say Pierre Debbas and Seth Feldman at Romer Debbas.
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Money, Money, Money: Limiting White Collar Wealth Evidence
As courts increasingly recognize that allowing unfettered evidence of wealth could prejudice a jury against a defendant, white collar defense counsel should consider several avenues for excluding visual evidence of a lavish lifestyle at trial, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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High Court's BofA Ruling Leaves State Preemption Questions
A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Cantero v. Bank of America sheds light on whether certain state banking regulations apply to federally chartered banks, but a circuit split could still force the Supreme Court to take a more direct position, says Brett Garver at Moritt Hock.
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How A Bumblebee Got Under Calif. Wildlife Regulator's Bonnet
A California bumblebee's listing as an endangered species could lead to a regulatory quagmire as California Department of Fish and Wildlife permits now routinely include survey requirements for the bee, but the regulator has yet to determine what the species needs for conservation, says David Smith at Manatt.
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The Clock Is Ticking For Fla. Construction Defect Claims
Ahead of the fast-approaching July 1 deadline for filing construction defect claims in Florida, Sean Ravenel at Foran Glennon discusses how the state's new statute of repose has changed the timeline, and highlights several related issues that property owners should be aware of.
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Wiretap Use In Cartel Probes Likely To Remain An Exception
Although the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division has recently signaled interest in wiretaps, the use of this technology to capture evidence of antitrust conspiracies and pursue monopolization as a criminal matter has been rare historically, and is likely to remain so, say Carsten Reichel and Will Conway at DLA Piper.
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Debate Over CFPB Definition Of Credit Is Just Beginning
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has recently worked to expand the meaning of credit, so anyone operating on the edges of the credit markets, or even those who assumed they were safely outside the scope of this regulatory perimeter, should pay close attention as legal challenges to broad interpretations of the definition unfold, says John Coleman at Orrick.
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A Closer Look At Feds' Proposed Banker Compensation Rule
A recently proposed rule to limit financial institutions' ability to award incentive-based compensation for risk-taking may progress through the rulemaking process slowly due to the sheer number of regulators collaborating on the rule and the number of issues under consideration, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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The FTC And DOJ Should Backtrack On RealPage
The antitrust agencies ought to reverse course on their enforcement actions against RealPage, which are based on a faulty legal premise, risk further property shortages and threaten the use of algorithms that are central to the U.S. economy, says Thomas Stratmann at George Mason University.