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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Colorful Lessons From NYC's Emotional Support Parrot Suit
A recently settled lawsuit in New York federal court concerning housing discrimination claims from a resident who had emotional support parrots highlights the importance of housing providers treating accomodation questions seriously even if they may appear unusual or questionable, say attorneys at Seyfarth.
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Recent Securities Cases Highlight Risks In AI Disclosures
Increasing public disclosure about the use and risks of artificial intelligence, and related litigation asserting that such disclosures are false or misleading, suggest that issuers need to exercise great care with respect to how they describe the benefits of AI, say Richard Zelichov and Danny Tobey at DLA Piper.
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Consider Best Legal Practices For Commissioning Public Art
Commissioning public art for real estate projects can provide many benefits to real estate developers and the public, but it's important to understand the unique legal and contracting aspects of the process to ensure that projects are completed on time and on budget, says Sarah Conley Odenkirk at ArtConverge.
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Proposed Mortgage Assistance Rule: Tips For Servicers
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent proposal to alter Regulation X mortgage servicing procedures to broadly construe requests for assistance, and stay foreclosure proceedings during loss mitigation review, will, if finalized, require mortgage servicers to make notable procedural changes to comply, says Louis Manetti at Locke Lord.
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How Multifamily Property Owners Can Plan For The EV Future
As the electric vehicle market expands, and federal and state incentives and mandates intended to promote EV use come into effect, owners and operators of multifamily residential properties should be prepared to meet the growing demand for onsite EV charging infrastructure, say Sydney Tucker and Andreas Wokutch at Frost Brown.
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Fla. Insurer-Breach Cases Split On Unrepaired Property Issue
A Florida appellate court's recent decision in Universal v. Qureshi is directly at odds with a 2020 decision from another Florida appellate court, and raises important questions for policyholders and insurers about the proper measure of damages in breach claims involving unrepaired property, say Andrea DeField and Yaniel Abreu at Hunton.
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Colorado Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3
In the third quarter of 2024, Colorado's banking and financial services sector faced both regulatory updates and changes to state law due to recent federal court decisions — with consequences for local governments, mortgage lenders, state-chartered trust companies and federally chartered lenders serving Colorado consumers, says Sarah Auchterlonie at Brownstein Hyatt.
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In The CFPB Playbook: No Lazy, Hazy Days Of Summer
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is headed for a brisk fall season, on the heels of a heated summer, which included the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that the CFPB funding structure is constitutional, and in advance of the November election, says Eamonn Moran at Holland & Knight.
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Basel Endgame Rules: A Change Is Coming
The Federal Reserve Board's recently announced recalibration of the Basel endgame proposal begins a critical chapter in the evolution of not only the safety and soundness of U.S. banks, but also of banks' abilities to lend and support American businesses and consumers, say attorneys at Davis Wright.
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Reassessing Lease Provisions To Account For ESG Initiatives
As companies seek to build ESG considerations into their businesses, it's crucial to understand how such initiatives can quickly become significant enough to compel reassessment of lease agreement provisions, and how best to modify leases accordingly, say Julian Freeman and Gabe Pitassi at Cox Castle.
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Avoid Getting Burned By Agencies' Solar Financing Spotlight
Recently coordinated reports and advisories from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission maximize the spotlight on the consumer solar financing market and highlight pitfalls for lenders to avoid in this burgeoning field, says Mercedes Tunstall at Cadwalader.
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Assessing Algorithmic Versus Generative AI Pricing Tools
A comparison of traditional algorithmic pricing models and those powered by generative artificial intelligence can help regulators and practitioners weigh the pros and cons of relying on large language models to price products or services, say Maxime Cohen at McGill University, and Tim Spittle and Jimmy Royer at Analysis Group.
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Navigating A Potpourri Of Possible Transparency Act Pitfalls
Despite the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's continued release of guidance for complying with the Corporate Transparency Act, its interpretation remains in flux, making it important for companies to understand potentially problematic areas of ambiguity in the practical application of the law, say attorneys at Sidley.