More Real Estate Coverage
-
January 10, 2025
Webuild Says $54M Argentina Award Must Be Enforced
Webuild wants a D.C. federal court to enforce a more than $54 million arbitral award it won more than a decade ago in a dispute with Argentina over a water and sewage service concession, saying the court has already rejected the country's one available defense.
-
January 09, 2025
Zillow Brings 'Goldman' Debate Over Class Cert. To 9th Circ.
Zillow Group Inc. is asking the Ninth Circuit to issue its first ruling on the correct application of a U.S. Supreme Court's Goldman decision to investor class certification bids, saying a lower court was wrong to certify a class of shareholders who alleged that the company misled them about the robustness of its now defunct home-flipping business.
-
January 09, 2025
Wash. Justices Won't Review $160M Seattle Property Tax Win
Seattle can keep $160 million in property taxes for waterfront improvements, after Washington's Supreme Court declined to review a lower appellate court's ruling rejecting property owners' bid to recalculate the tax to reflect the hit property values had taken from COVID-19.
-
January 09, 2025
Airlines Say 9th Circ. Should Mull Seattle Airport Pollution Suit
Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines have told a Washington federal court that the Ninth Circuit should immediately consider the jurisdictional and preemption issues raised in a proposed class action from property owners and residents over alleged flight-path pollution near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
-
January 09, 2025
Md. House Bill Seeks Special Tax On Commercial Property
Maryland would authorize local governments to establish a subclass of commercial and industrial property and impose a special tax on such property to fund transportation improvements and local education budgets as part of a bill introduced in the state House of Delegates.
-
January 09, 2025
Ind. Senate Bill Would End Annual Assessment Adjustments
Indiana would eliminate annual adjustments to the assessed value of some real property to reflect changing values under legislation introduced in the state Senate.
-
January 09, 2025
Indiana House Bill Would Abolish Property Taxes
Indiana would disallow the assessment of tangible property beginning in 2026 and end the imposition of property taxes beginning in 2027 under a bill introduced Thursday in the state House of Representatives.
-
January 09, 2025
Parker Hudson Expands In Atlanta With Real Estate Atty
Parker Hudson Rainer & Dobbs LLP has brought on a former Hartman Simons & Wood LLP partner in Atlanta, strengthening its national real estate practice with an attorney who's guided Home Depot on retail and warehousing real estate matters, the firm announced Thursday.
-
January 09, 2025
Ariz. Bill Seeks Tax Credits For Land Taken For Border Wall
Arizona property owners would be entitled to income tax credits equal to the fair market value of land that is used by the federal government for construction of a border wall under a bill prefiled in the state House of Representatives.
-
January 08, 2025
DOI's Arctic Refuge Oil Lease Sale Yields No Bidders
The U.S. Department of the Interior reported Wednesday that it has received no bids from companies to drill for oil and gas in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
-
January 08, 2025
Colo. Ballot Proposal Would Tax Vacant Properties
Colorado would impose a tax on vacant properties, with the revenue going to public school teacher bonuses, under a measure proposed for the November 2025 ballot.
-
January 07, 2025
Ex-Ill. Speaker Madigan Testifies In His Racketeering Trial
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan took the stand in his own defense Tuesday, testifying that he neither traded his public office for private gain nor demanded or accepted anything valuable in exchange for his official action, adding that he was "very angry" to learn that people who he'd recommended for jobs did little to no work.
-
January 07, 2025
Biden Designates Two New National Monuments In California
President Joe Biden on Tuesday designated two sites in California as national monuments amid years of calls from Native American tribes and state and federal lawmakers, in turn protecting 848,000 acres from development.
-
January 07, 2025
Mont. Bill Floats Mine, Data Center Property Tax Changes
Montana would lower the property tax rate imposed on metal mines, certain agricultural land and railroads but raise the rate on data center property as part of a bill introduced in the state Senate.
-
January 07, 2025
Mont. Bill Calls For Property Tax Appraisals Every 2 Years
Montana would require all real property to be reappraised every two years for tax purposes as part of a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives.
-
January 07, 2025
Developer Says Mass. Stalling $15M Brownfields Tax Credit
The developer of a 3.5-acre luxury condo and apartment complex in Boston's Seaport District is accusing the state of improperly second-guessing the work of its licensed environmental remediation consultant to deny a $15.3 million brownfields tax credit, then dragging its feet on an administrative appeal.
-
January 07, 2025
Title Insurer Says Atty Skipped Bills, Let Staff Steal IOLTA
Title insurer CATIC has fired back at a Connecticut attorney suing over his removal from the boards of two affiliated companies, accusing him of not paying bills, failing to prevent staffers from stealing money from his trust account, and breaching his duties to the company.
-
January 07, 2025
DC Circ. OKs FERC's Approval For Indiana Pipeline
A D.C. Circuit panel on Tuesday rejected a challenge to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approval of a 24-mile pipeline serving two new natural gas turbines in Indiana, ruling that an advocacy group wrongly suggested FERC could "second-guess" state regulators' choice of energy generation.
-
January 07, 2025
Osage Nation Asks Court To Confirm Reservation Boundaries
The Osage Nation has urged an Oklahoma federal court to acknowledge its reservation's continued existence, arguing that a conclusion the Tenth Circuit reached 15 years ago saying the tribe's boundaries were disestablished was based entirely on extratextual factors.
-
January 07, 2025
Landowner Gets Pot Farm Transport Easement Nixed
A California state appeals court has vacated a conditional use permit that the County of Santa Barbara issued to a cannabis farm, finding that a nearby landowner can deny the use of an easement on its property to transport the federally illegal goods.
-
January 07, 2025
Stoel Rives Adds San Diego Construction Atty As Partner
Stoel Rives LLP said construction and real estate attorney Kirsten Worley has joined the firm as a partner in its San Diego office.
-
January 06, 2025
Procopio Adds Land Use Leader From Shuttered Boutique
Procopio Cory Hargreaves & Savitch LLP announced Monday it has brought on a partner to lead its land use practice, who joins the firm after 25 years as a name partner at a recently shuttered boutique.
-
January 03, 2025
Wash. City Fights Order To Keep ER Tribal Shelter Open
The city of Toppenish, Washington, is asking a federal district court to withdraw an order allowing the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation to operate a 24-hour emergency shelter, arguing that the criminal nature of regulations governing the facility preclude the tribe's arguments on the present situation.
-
January 03, 2025
Attorney Sues Over Audit, Ouster From Title Insurer's Boards
Title insurer CATIC mishandled an audit of a law firm, sold services that didn't fix the alleged issues and ousted the firm's namesake attorney from the boards of two affiliated companies, a Connecticut real estate attorney has alleged in a 51-count complaint.
-
January 03, 2025
Ohio Appeals Court Backs Eightfold Boost In Property Value
An Ohio appeals court rejected a man's effort to cut the valuation of his property, upholding a state Board of Tax Appeals order that reinstated a valuation that rose eightfold from the previous year.
Expert Analysis
-
ESG Around The World: Brazil
Environmental, social and governance issues have increasingly translated into new legislation in Brazil since 2020, and in the wake of these recently enacted regulations, we are likely to see a growing number of legal disputes in the largest South American country related to ESG issues such as greenwashing if companies are not prepared to adequately adapt and comply, say attorneys at Mattos Filho.
-
ESG Around The World: Canada
In Canada, multiple statutes, regulations, common law and industry guidance address environmental, social and governance considerations, with debate over ESG in the business realm potentially growing on the horizon, say attorneys at Blakes.
-
Growing Green Tech Demand Spells Trouble For Groundwater
Increasing demand for green technology is depleting the groundwater reserves used to extract and process the necessary minerals, making a fundamental shift toward more sustainable water use practices necessary at both the state and federal levels, says Sarah Mangelsdorf at Goldberg Segalla.
-
ESG Around The World: South Africa
While South Africa has yet to mandate the reporting of nonfinancial and environmental, social, and corporate governance issues, policy documents and recent legislative developments are likely to have a material impact in the country's transition to a low-carbon economy and in meeting its international obligations, say Glynn Kent at Eversheds Sutherland.
-
Clean Water Act Jurisdiction Still Murky After A Choppy 2023
This year brought several important Clean Water Act jurisdictional developments, including multiple agency rules and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that substantially altered the definition of "waters of the United States," but a new wave of litigation challenges has already begun, with no clear end in sight, say attorneys at Nossaman.
-
'Brownfields' Definition Key To Energy Community Tax Credits
As the IRS rolls out guidance for claiming community energy tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act, a review of the long-standing statutory definition of "brownfields" reveals that it continues to serve the goal of creating opportunities for investment in abandoned properties, says Louise Dyble at Sheppard Mullin.
-
How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.
-
ESG Around The World: Singapore
Singapore is keen to establish itself as a leading international financial center and a key player in the sustainable finance ecosystem, and key initiatives led by its government and other regulatory bodies have helped the Asian nation progress from its initially guarded attitude toward ESG investment and reporting, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
-
Unpacking Long-Awaited Clean Energy Tax Credit Guidance
Recently proposed Internal Revenue Service regulations provide welcome confirmatory guidance on the application of investment tax credits as reworked by 2022's Inflation Reduction Act, prevailing wage and apprenticeship rules that are largely consistent with market expectations, and broader eligibility criteria that should please the wind power industry in particular, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
-
Understanding Discovery Obligations In Era Of Generative AI
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Attorneys and businesses must adapt to the unique discovery challenges presented by generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbot content and prompts, while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and compliance with legal obligations in federal civil litigation, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
-
Navigating USCIS' New Minimum EB-5 Investment Period
Recent significant modifications to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ EB-5 at-risk requirement are causing uncertainty for several reasons, but investors who consider certain key aspects of prospective projects can mitigate the immigration and investment risks, say Samuel Silverman at EB5AN, Ronald Klasko at Klasko Immigration, and Kate Kalmykov at Greenberg Traurig.
-
ESG Around The World: Mexico
ESG has yet to become part of the DNA of the Mexican business model, but huge strides are being made in that direction, as more stakeholders demand that companies adopt, at the least, a modicum of sustainability commitments and demonstrate how they will meet them, says Carlos Escoto at Galicia Abogados.
-
DC Ruling Provides Support For Builders Risk Claim Recovery
To deny coverage for builders risk claims, insurers have been increasingly relying on two arguments, both of which have been invalidated in the recent U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia decision, South Capitol Bridgebuilders v. Lexington, say Greg Podolak and Cheryl Kozdrey at Saxe Doernberger.