Residential

  • May 12, 2025

    Will Justices Finally Rein In Universal Injunctions?

    The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to address for the first time Thursday the propriety of universal injunctions, a tool federal judges have increasingly used to broadly halt presidential orders and policy initiatives, and whose validity has haunted the high court's merits and emergency dockets for more than a decade.

  • May 12, 2025

    Toll Bros. Must Face Counterclaims In $12M Security Sale Suit

    The home security arm of Pennsylvania-based homebuilder Toll Brothers can't make any further cuts to the counterclaims from Security Systems Inc. in a $12 million lawsuit over the latter's purchase of nearly 10,000 customer accounts, a Connecticut state court judge ruled Friday.

  • May 12, 2025

    SC Condo Board Inks $1.2M Deal In Owners' Lawsuit

    A putative class of current and former South Carolina condominium unit owners is ready to settle its claims that the property's board hid the building's deteriorating conditions for years, saddling the residents with millions of dollars worth of repair assessments as a result.

  • May 12, 2025

    Capital Group Inks $18.7M Deal With Conn. Housing Authority

    Titan Capital ID LLC on Monday accepted $18.7 million to settle a damages feud with a nonprofit tied to a Connecticut public housing authority, agreeing to drop an interest rate from 24% to 12% on an underlying $16.2 million promissory note while waiving an 8% late fee.

  • May 12, 2025

    Homeowners, Title Co. Settle Excessive Notary Fees Suit

    Two homeowners and Equity National Title informed a Pennsylvania federal court that the parties have reached a settlement in the homeowners' proposed class action alleging the title company charged excessive notary fees.

  • May 09, 2025

    NYC Deed Theft Schemer Convicted On 18 Counts

    The final of five co-conspirators accused of running a deed theft ring that stole three properties worth $1 million from elderly homeowners was convicted by a Queens jury, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on Friday.

  • May 09, 2025

    Treasury Pushes To Ax Shareholders' FHFA Director Suit

    The federal government has said a Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholder complaint should be dismissed because it is "devoid of any allegations" that tenure protections for the Federal Housing Finance Agency's director affected their dividend payments. 

  • May 09, 2025

    New Orleans Wants Out Of Airbnb's Short-Term Rentals Suit

    New Orleans urged a Louisiana federal court on Friday to toss a suit brought by Airbnb Inc. and multiple property owners challenging several of the city's short-term rental ordinances.

  • May 09, 2025

    Vanbarton Plans Resi Conversion Of NYC Catholic Office

    Real estate firm Vanbarton Group has submitted plans for a residential conversion of the Archdiocese of New York's former Midtown East headquarters building, according to documents filed this week.

  • May 09, 2025

    Investment Firm Buys SC Multifamily Property For $58.5M

    URS Capital Partners acquired a 288-unit Class A multifamily community located in Charleston, South Carolina, for $58.5 million, the real estate investment firm announced.

  • May 09, 2025

    NY Developer Cops To Stealing $13M From Investors

    A real estate developer pled guilty in New York federal court Friday to using sham projects to solicit $13 million from investors to make up for a downturn in legitimate business.

  • May 09, 2025

    Condo Counsel Disqualified In Suit Against Miami Hotel Owner

    A Miami judge disqualified a law firm from representing a condo association in claims against a hotel owned by Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega due to the firm's work for the hotel on an unrelated case.

  • May 09, 2025

    NY Boosts Payroll Tax For Large Biz, Cuts Income Tax Rates

    New York will reduce income taxes on lower- to middle-income taxpayers, increase payroll taxes for big businesses in the New York City metro area and allow tax liabilities to be pushed out to partners under a budget bill that Gov. Kathy Hochul signed Friday.

  • May 08, 2025

    Smoke Concerns Persist Following Top Calif. Court Ruling

    A decision from California's top court to allow litigants to cite a February ruling finding that two homeowners didn't have a covered fire debris claim could be used by insurers to try to limit coverage in other smoke and fire contexts, consumers advocates say, but industry leaders see the ruling as limiting frivolous claims.

  • May 08, 2025

    Couple Slams 'Ping-Pong' Brief In Conn. Waterfront Feud

    A married Bridgeport, Connecticut, couple are urging a state court to strike a post-trial reply brief that was filed by companies that the couple are suing over local waterfront access, arguing that counsel for both sides previously agreed to only make one set of post-trial filings simultaneously.

  • May 08, 2025

    Calif. Apartment Owner Files Ch. 11 With $46M Debt

    The owner of a 53-unit Corona, California, apartment complex has filed for Chapter 11 protection in California bankruptcy court ahead of a foreclosure proceeding with nearly $46 million in debt.

  • May 08, 2025

    3rd Circ. Signs Off On Philly Apartment Foreclosure Sale

    A Third Circuit panel on Thursday affirmed a district court's refusal to stop U.S. Bank from selling a Pennsylvania apartment building following a borrower's default, ruling that, although the lender's route to a judgment in its favor was "unintuitive," it correctly followed the governing state laws.

  • May 08, 2025

    Coverage Uncertain For LA Fire Soil Remediation, Pros Say 

    Dangerous toxins are being detected in the soil around homes affected by the Los Angeles fires, but experts say that insurance coverage for soil remediation would likely be limited, even if certain policies or provisions could offer some compensation.

  • May 08, 2025

    11th Circ. Judge Frowns On New Arguments In Easement Case

    An Eleventh Circuit judge disapproved of a Georgia partnership raising new arguments on appeal as it pursues a tax deduction for a conservation easement donation, saying Thursday that perhaps "we wouldn't be here" if the partnership had argued the points before the lower court.

  • May 08, 2025

    Miami Atty Disbarred Over Insistence Of Foreclosure Fraud

    The Florida Supreme Court disbarred a Miami attorney after accusations that he misled courts, impugned judges and brought frivolous pleadings over his insistence that clients' homes were fraudulently foreclosed, despite previous suspensions from allegations of similar conduct in the past.

  • May 08, 2025

    Ga. Mortgage Co. Can Arbitrate Loan Processor's OT Claims

    A loan processor manager's suit claiming a mortgage lender unlawfully considered her overtime-exempt will go to arbitration, a Georgia federal judge ruled, saying the company didn't waive its right to arbitrate and that the arbitration clause keeps her suit out of court.

  • May 08, 2025

    Tenn. Hotel Operators To Stop Collecting Tax After 30 Days

    Tennessee will require hotel operators to stop collecting occupancy taxes from people who stay for more than 30 days under a bill signed by the governor.

  • May 07, 2025

    HUD Blocked From Withholding Grants Over DEI Policies

    A Washington federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from forcing New York City, Boston, San Francisco and Seattle's county to adhere to policies against diversity, equity and inclusion or risk losing federal funds for homeless services, saying the strings attached are likely unconstitutional.

  • May 07, 2025

    Fla. Lawmakers Tackle Real Estate Issues, But Is It Enough?

    Real estate matters were once again top of mind during the Florida Legislature's 2025 session, but in a year marked by political tensions, it remains to be seen how successfully lawmakers resolved some major questions.

  • May 07, 2025

    'Preposterous' SEC Rule For Real Estate Could Be Dropped

    A proposed rule to make the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's custodial requirements for investment advisers apply to all assets, including real estate, could die under current Republican leadership. Some attorneys say the proposal lacked sense to begin with.

Expert Analysis

  • In The CFPB Playbook: Regulatory Aims Get High Court Assist

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    Newly emboldened after the U.S. Supreme Court last month found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding is constitutional, the bureau has likely experienced a psychic boost, allowing its already robust enforcement agenda to continue expanding, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • What's New In Kentucky's Financial Services Overhaul

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    Kentucky's H.B. 726 will go into effect in July and brings with it some significant restructuring to the Kentucky Financial Services Code, including changes to mortgage loan license fees and repeals of provisions relating to installment term loans and savings associations, say attorneys at Frost Brown.

  • A Comparison Of FDIC, OCC Proposed Merger Approaches

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    Max Bonici and Connor Webb at Venable take a closer look at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's respective bank merger proposals and highlight certain common themes and important differences, in light of regulators continually rethinking their approaches to bank mergers.

  • Tax Assessment: Recapping Georgia's Legislative Session

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    Jonathan Feldman and Alla Raykin at Eversheds Sutherland examine tax-related changes from Georgia’s General Assembly — such as the governor’s successful push to accelerate income tax cuts — and suggest steps to take before certain tax incentives are challenged in the state's next legislative session.

  • 11th Circ. Ruling May Foreshadow Ch. 15 Clashes

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    The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision in In re: Talal Qais Abdulmunem Al Zawawi has introduced a split from the Second Circuit regarding whether debtors in foreign proceedings must have a domicile, calling attention to the understudied nature of Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • A Look At New IRS Rules For Domestically Controlled REITs

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    The Internal Revenue Services' finalized Treasury Regulations addressing whether real estate investment trusts qualify as domestically controlled adopt the basic structure of previous proposals, but certain new and modified rules may mitigate the regulations' impact, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • What CRA Deadline Means For Biden Admin. Rulemaking

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    With the 2024 election rapidly approaching, the Biden administration must race to finalize proposed agency actions within the next few weeks, or be exposed to the chance that the following Congress will overturn the rules under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Covington.

  • How New Rule Would Change CFIUS Enforcement Powers

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    Before the May 15 comment deadline, companies may want to weigh in on proposed regulatory changes to enforcement and mitigation tools at the disposal of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, including broadened subpoena powers, difficult new mitigation timelines and higher maximum penalties, say attorneys at Venable.

  • 2nd Circ. Eminent Domain Ruling Empowers Municipalities

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    The Second Circuit's recent decision in Brinkmann v. Town of Southold, finding that a pretextual taking does not violate the Fifth Amendment's takings clause, gives municipalities a powerful tool with which to block unwanted development projects, even in bad faith, say James O'Connor and Benjamin Sugarman at Phillips Lytle.

  • SEC Should Be Allowed To Equip Investors With Climate Info

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new rule to require more climate-related disclosures will provide investors with much-needed clarity, despite opponents' attempts to challenge the rule with misused legal arguments, say Sarah Goetz at Democracy Forward and Cynthia Hanawalt at Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change.

  • 8 Fla. Statutes That Construction Cos. Should Prepare For

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    In this article, Jason Lambert at Hill Ward discusses a number of recent bills out of the Florida Legislature targeting construction companies in the Sunshine State that have been sent to the governor for signature, at least some of which will have broad impacts that affected companies should prepare for ahead of the July 1 effective date.

  • Time To Fix NYC's Broken Property Assessment System

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    A New York appellate court's decision to revive Tax Equity Now New York v. City of New York may force the city to revamp its outdated and unfair real estate tax assessment system, which could be fixed with a couple of simple changes, says Seth Feldman at Romer Debbas.

  • Understanding The IRC's Excessive Refund Claim Penalty

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    Taxpayers considering protective refund claims pending resolution of major questions in tax cases like Moore v. U.S., which is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, should understand how doing so may also leave them vulnerable to an excessive refund claim penalty under Internal Revenue Code Section 6676, say attorneys at McDermott.