Residential
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January 13, 2025
Ky. House Bill Seeks Referendum Toward Axing Property Tax
Kentucky would put forward a referendum asking voters to give lawmakers the power to eliminate the state's property tax by exempting all property classes from tax under a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives.
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January 13, 2025
4 Firms Guide $445M Deal To Renovate Harlem Public Housing
The New York City Housing Authority wrapped up $445 million in financing that will go toward renovating the public housing authority's Manhattanville Houses residential complex in transactions worked on by Sidley Austin, Ballard Spahr, Nixon Peabody and Buchalter PC.
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January 13, 2025
Kramer Levin Elevates Partner To Land-Use Co-chair
New York City law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP has promoted James P. Power to co-chair of its land use department. The leadership update comes at a time of dramatic changes to land use in New York City, and Power said he expects there to be a lot of development activity.
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January 13, 2025
Justices Want Solicitor General To Weigh Alaska Land Feud
The U.S. Supreme Court asked the solicitor general Monday to weigh in on a review petition filed by an Alaskan property owner embroiled in a land feud with his neighbor.
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January 13, 2025
BMO Unit To Pay SEC $40M Over Bond Desk Supervision
BMO Capital Markets has agreed to pay $40 million to end a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into the broker-dealer's supervision of its mortgage-back bonds salespeople, with the SEC saying Monday that the brokerage firm failed to stop employees from providing inaccurate information about the bonds.
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January 13, 2025
Justices Won't Hear Bid To Quash Antitrust Probe Of Realtors
The Supreme Court refused on Monday to review the National Association of Realtors' bid to block a reopened U.S. Department of Justice antitrust investigation of the trade group's rules.
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January 10, 2025
DOJ Sues Airbnb After Host Denied Rental To Mom With Kids
The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday accused Airbnb of violating the Fair Housing Act over allegations that one of the company's hosts refused to rent an apartment in Alabama to a mother because she had three school-aged children.
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January 10, 2025
NJ Justices Say Private Lienholders Can Be State Actors
The Garden State's highest court has ruled that a previous version of the New Jersey Tax Sale Law is unconstitutional, pointing to U.S. Supreme Court precedent in concluding that private lienholders are not entitled to surplus equity in property that exceeds the debt owed.
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January 10, 2025
NC Co. Sues State, Duke Energy Over Lake Bed Compensation
A North Carolina company is suing the state and Duke Energy Carolinas LLC in North Carolina federal court for compensation, after a state high court took away its lake bed parcel following a land dispute with the energy company and other parties.
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January 10, 2025
Fair Housing Group Accuses Landlord Of Disability Bias
An Ohio-based fair housing organization filed a federal suit against a rental owner and operator in a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, on Friday, alleging a fair housing tester posing as a renter had been told they would have to pay an additional fee for a service animal.
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January 10, 2025
Ga. Solar Farm Damages Fight Settles Ahead Of April Trial
A Georgia couple has reached a settlement with the owners and developers of a neighboring solar farm and their contractor just two months after a judge ordered that a second trial was needed to determine damages in the multimillion-dollar case.
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January 10, 2025
Property Plays: Palladius, Tishman Speyer, Stockdale
Property Plays is a weekly roundup of the latest loans, leases, sales and projects around the country. Send your tips — all confidential — to realestate@law360.com.
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January 10, 2025
LA Fire Insured Damages Could Top $20B, JP Morgan Says
Insured losses from wildfires still blazing through Los Angeles could exceed $20 billion, J.P. Morgan analysts said in client notes, a steep increase from the more than $12 billion California insurers incurred from the next costliest spate of wildfires in 2018.
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January 10, 2025
Sidley Austin Guides $244.3M Financing For Two Trees Tower
Two Trees Management secured $244.3 million in financing for its doughnut-shaped luxury tower at 325 Kent Ave. that's part of its Domino Sugars development in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, in a transaction advised by Sidley Austin LLP.
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January 10, 2025
Feds Say Rocket Mortgage Can't Avoid Race Bias Suit
The federal government has pushed back against Rocket Mortgage LLC's motion to dismiss a racial discrimination suit accusing the company and other parties of undervaluing a Black woman's Denver duplex after she applied for refinancing.
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January 09, 2025
Surprise NC Downzoning Ban Hamstrings Local Gov. Control
An unassuming provision tacked onto the end of a hodgepodge year-end bill in North Carolina has had a chilling effect on real estate development across the state amid fears for its sweeping consequences.
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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.
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January 09, 2025
Fla. Condos Tied To Sanctioned Russians Transferred To Feds
The U.S. government has taken ownership of two Florida luxury condominiums allegedly tied to Russians sanctioned for their roles in the annexation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea in 2014 and for their involvement in the properties being used to launder rental proceeds.
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January 09, 2025
Calif. Reinsurance Plan Spurs Mixed Feelings As Fires Spread
One week before the Los Angeles wildfires began, California's insurance regulator said insurers would soon be required to increase coverage in areas deemed high-risk for wildfires, leaving experts split over whether the regulation is an overdue update or an opportunity to pass costs onto policyholders.
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January 09, 2025
Top Climate Stories For Insurance Attys To Watch In 2025
Climate change is fueling a national insurance crisis that is threatening housing markets, municipal tax revenues and the ability to adapt to extreme weather events. Here, Law360 examines the top climate stories attorneys should watch in 2025.
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January 09, 2025
DOJ Wants Time At 9th Circ. In Zillow, NAR Antitrust Case
The U.S. Department of Justice has asked the Ninth Circuit for permission to appear at oral arguments in an appeal looking to revive antitrust claims from a defunct brokerage platform against Zillow and the National Association of Realtors.
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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.
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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.
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January 09, 2025
Calif. Insurance Chief Blocks Policy Cancellation In Fire Zones
Insurance companies can't cancel or refuse to renew homeowners coverage for policyholders in the immediate vicinity of the Los Angeles wildfires for one year, the California Department of Insurance announced as fires continue to ravage Southern California.
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January 09, 2025
McGuireWoods Adds Commercial Litigator Amid Hiring Spree
A commercial litigator specializing in complex construction disputes has moved his practice to McGuireWoods LLP's Washington, D.C., office after more than 19 years at Jones Day, amid a flurry of new partner hires at the firm, it announced Jan. 9.
Expert Analysis
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2nd Circ. Ruling Clarifies When Demand Letters Are Claims
The Second Circuit’s decision last week in Pine Management v. Colony Insurance, affirming that an insurer had no obligation to defend an insured for claims made before the policy period, provides clarity on when presuit demands for relief constitute claims — an important issue that may be dispositive of coverage, says Bonnie Thompson at Lavin Rindner.
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Preparing For Possible Calif. Criminal Antitrust Enforcement
Though a recent announcement that the California Attorney General's Office will resume criminal prosecutions in support of its antitrust enforcement may be mere saber-rattling, companies and their counsel should nevertheless be prepared for interactions with the California AG's Antitrust Section that are not limited to civil liability issues, say Dylan Ballard and Lillian Sun at V&E.
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Conn. Loan Law Tweaks May Have 3 Major Effects On Lenders
Recently proposed minor amendments to Connecticut’s consumer protection laws could nonetheless mean major and unexpected changes to state consumer financial services regulations that dictate how lenders and their customer-facing service providers handle fee payments, mortgage servicer licensing and private student loans, says Jonathan Joshua at Joshua Law Firm.
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The Challenges SEC's Climate Disclosure Rule May Face
Attorneys at Debevoise examine potential legal challenges to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new climate-related disclosure rule — against which nine suits have already been filed — including arguments under the Administrative Procedure Act, the major questions doctrine, the First Amendment and the nondelegation doctrine.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: March Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four notable circuit court decisions on topics from consumer fraud to employment — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including coercive communications with putative class members and Article III standing at the class certification stage.
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How FinCEN Proposal Expands RE Transaction Obligations
Against a regulatory backdrop foreshadowing anti-money laundering efforts in the real estate sector, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's proposed rule significantly expands reporting requirements for certain nonfinanced residential real estate transfers and necessitates careful review, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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How Calif. Video Recording Ruling May Affect Insured Exams
A recent California appellate decision, Myasnyankin v. Nationwide, allowing policyholders to video record all parties to an insurance examination under oath, has changed the rules of the road for EUOs and potentially opened Pandora's box for future disputes, say John Edson and Preston Bennett at Sheppard Mullin.
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Unpacking FinCEN's Proposed Real Estate Transaction Rule
Phil Jelsma and Ulrick Matsunaga at Crosbie Gliner take a close look at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recently proposed rulemaking — which mandates new disclosures for professionals involved in all-cash real estate deals — and discuss best next steps for the broad range of businesses that could be affected.
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Texas Insurance Ruling Could Restore Finality To Appraisal
The Texas Supreme Court's decision in Rodriguez v. Safeco, determining that full payment of an appraisal award precludes recovery of attorney fees, indicates a potential return to an era in which timely payment undoubtedly disposes of all possible policyholder claims, says Karl Schulz at Cozen O'Connor.
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Contractors Need Protection From NJ Homeowner Protections
A recently passed New Jersey law, combined with the state's Consumer Fraud Act, is intended to protect innocent homeowners, but legislative action must be taken to prevent homeowners from abusing the law to avoid paying hardworking contractors, say Gary Strong and Madison Calkins at Gfeller Laurie.
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NY Shouldn't Pair 421-a Restoration And Good Cause Eviction
The good cause eviction system of rent control should not be imposed in New York, nor should its legislation be tied to renewal of the 421-a tax abatement program, which New York City desperately needs, says Alexander Lycoyannis at Holland & Knight.
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Setting The Stage For High Court BofA Escrow Interest Case
Dori Bailey and Curtis Johnson at Bond Schoeneck examine relevant legislation and case law dating back 200 years ahead of oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in Cantero v. Bank of America, the outcome of which will determine whether state laws governing mortgage escrow accounts can be enforced against national banks.
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DC's Housing Tax Break Proposal: What's In It, What's Missing
Proposed Washington, D.C., rules implementing the Housing in Downtown Tax Abatement program — for commercial property owners who convert properties into residential housing — thoroughly explain the process for submitting an application, but do not provide sufficient detail regarding the actual dollar value of the abatements, says Daniel Miktus at Akerman.