Residential
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July 18, 2025
Student Housing Investor Says Partner Flouted LLC Contract
A Tennessee-based company with a stake in a property manager for a Colorado student housing property has lodged a breach of contract suit against its Denver-based business partner, alleging the partner failed to provide more than $3.6 million to improve and repair the property and wrongfully refused to sell its membership interest after not putting up the funds.
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July 17, 2025
Top Legal Developments That Could Impact LA Fire Aftermath
While the full consequences of a series of devastating wildfires that struck Los Angeles in January are still becoming clear, insurance experts and attorneys have pointed to a series of lawsuits and decisions as having important implications for the city's recovery.
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July 17, 2025
Insurer Says No Coverage For $1.7M Apartment Damage
A property insurer for an apartment complex owner told a Washington federal court it owes no coverage for a "wind-driven rain" claim that the owner said totals more than $1.7 million in repair costs, alleging that the owner's prior insurer already denied coverage for the same claim.
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July 17, 2025
Calif. Accuses Airbnb Of Price-Gouging During Wildfires
California accused Airbnb in a state court lawsuit of price-gouging residents of Los Angeles and Ventura counties as the Palisades and Eaton fires raged and in the weeks that followed, despite warnings from the state's attorney general.
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July 17, 2025
Tarter Krinsky Adds Real Estate Atty To New Texas Office
Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP has added a commercial real estate attorney who joined the firm from private practice following several stints of working with the firm on a contractual basis.
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July 17, 2025
Mass Deportations Could Raise Insurance Costs, Profs Say
The Trump administration's mass deportation program could increase costs for insurance carriers and homeowners by reducing the number of undocumented immigrants so critical to the construction industry, business and insurance professors say.
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July 17, 2025
Mortgage Co. Says Military Service Rule Bars Interest Lawsuit
A mortgage loan servicer accused of charging military members interest rates that exceeded a federal statutory cap says the leader of a proposed class action didn't perform qualifying service under the statute he invoked and his Connecticut federal case should probably be dismissed.
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July 17, 2025
Firm Named Lead Counsel For REIT Securities Fraud Class
The Rosen Law Firm PA will serve as lead counsel for a proposed class of Sun Communities investors who claim the real estate investment trust failed to disclose that its CEO received a loan from a board member's relatives.
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July 16, 2025
Wells Fargo Sued Over 'Flippant' Mortgage Fee Refunds
A Wells Fargo mortgage borrower has filed a proposed class action against the bank, alleging the bank made an "inadequate" effort to resolve purported mortgage origination fee errors it has vaguely alerted certain borrowers to.
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July 16, 2025
4th Circ. Upends Gated Community's Win In Fair Housing Row
The owner of several assisted-living group homes for seniors won a second chance Tuesday to press claims that his Maryland gated community is illegally refusing to let him open a new home there, with the Fourth Circuit ruling that a reasonable jury could find violations of the federal Fair Housing Act.
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July 16, 2025
AvalonBay Looks To Exit DC's RealPage Case Again
Real estate investment trust AvalonBay has asked to end the claims against it in the D.C. attorney general's case accusing RealPage of helping more than a dozen building owners inflate rental prices by using its software, after enforcers renewed their claims against the landlord earlier this year.
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July 16, 2025
Senior Placement Co. Wants Out Of False Ad Suit
A company that places senior citizens in retirement homes has asked a Georgia federal judge to toss a proposed class action alleging it falsely advertised free services and steered business away from communities that declined to participate in its "pay-to-play" business model, arguing the claims were just "speculation and conjecture."
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July 16, 2025
Attys Tout 3 Real Estate Investment Wins In Federal Budget
Real estate investors can breathe a collective sigh of relief seeing the final version of the "One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act" that President Donald Trump signed into law this month, as it is largely favorable to the industry and keeps several much-admired tax breaks alive.
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July 16, 2025
Related Nets $46M Loan For NY Residential Development
Related Companies obtained a $46.2 million senior secured loan for its 1,200-acre residential community project in Tuxedo, New York, the lender announced Wednesday.
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July 16, 2025
K&L Gates Hires CRE Finance Atty From Dechert
K&L Gates LLP has brought on an ex-Dechert LLP attorney who specializes in commercial real estate finance as a partner in its Charlotte, North Carolina, office, the firm announced Tuesday.
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July 16, 2025
Wells Fargo Says JPMorgan No Victim In $481M CMBS Suit
Wells Fargo has told a New York federal court that it need only prove that JPMorgan knew a seller falsified financial data underlying a $481 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan, not that it was aware of any fraud, in a suit seeking to hold the bank liable for the defaulted loan.
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July 16, 2025
Utah Judge Ends Startup's Antitrust Suit Against NAR, Brokerages
A Utah federal judge permanently tossed an antitrust suit lodged by a residential brokerage startup against the National Association of Realtors and multiple brokerages, ruling that the claims were time-barred.
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July 16, 2025
Nixon Peabody Adds Former HUD Managing Attorney
Nixon Peabody LLP bolstered its affordable housing and real estate practice by hiring an attorney who most recently served on the leadership team for the southwest regional office for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
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July 15, 2025
HomeServices, Douglas Elliman Nix Broker Fee Antitrust Suit
HomeServices of America and Douglas Elliman escaped homebuyers' proposed antitrust class action alleging real estate agents conspired to artificially inflate broke service commissions for home sales, after a Florida federal judge ruled the buyers lacked standing since home sellers are the ones who paid those commission fees.
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July 15, 2025
Ex-NY Attorney Pleads Guilty To Stealing $4.7M From Clients
A former New York lawyer admitted to stealing millions from clients, including draining more than $4.4 million from the attorney escrow account of a company seeking to buy 500,000 boxes of hard-to-find latex gloves during the COVID-19 pandemic, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr., announced Tuesday.
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July 15, 2025
Calif. Homeowners Win Cert. In State Farm Underpayment Suit
A California federal court certified a class of nearly 200,000 homeowners alleging State Farm systematically underpaid property insurance claims in violation of the state's insurance code, ruling Tuesday that the plaintiffs offered a feasible methodology for calculating damages classwide and demonstrated that class members are identifiable.
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July 15, 2025
Ex-Yankee Wants $69K Tacked Onto Moldy Mansion Trial Win
A retired New York Yankees player is seeking nearly $70,000 in prejudgment interest after a Connecticut federal jury handed him a $222,000 win in his suit that sought to hold his former landlord liable for mold in a Greenwich mansion.
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July 15, 2025
State Farm 'Maliciously' Denied Property Coverage, Court Told
A California property owner accused State Farm of "maliciously" denying its property insurance claim in a lawsuit removed to federal court, further alleging that the insurer intentionally ignored evidence of the extent of the property damage.
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July 15, 2025
Property Co. Says Storm Coverage Row Can't Be Arbitrated
The owner of a New Orleans luxury apartment and retail complex urged the Fifth Circuit to affirm a lower court's decision to vacate a previous order forcing it to arbitrate its $7 million Hurricane Ida damage claims against a group of domestic insurers, saying Louisiana law applies and bars arbitration.
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July 15, 2025
Denver Defends Affordable Housing Fees, Citing Alternatives
The city of Denver has urged a Colorado federal court to toss a homebuilder's suit challenging the constitutionality of an affordable housing fee for new development, arguing the developer's claims overlook a clause that allows it to construct affordable housing as an alternative.
Expert Analysis
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A Comparison Of FDIC, OCC Proposed Merger Approaches
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.
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Tax Assessment: Recapping Georgia's Legislative Session
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.
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11th Circ. Ruling May Foreshadow Ch. 15 Clashes
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.
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A Look At New IRS Rules For Domestically Controlled REITs
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.
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What CRA Deadline Means For Biden Admin. Rulemaking
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.
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How New Rule Would Change CFIUS Enforcement Powers
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.
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2nd Circ. Eminent Domain Ruling Empowers Municipalities
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.
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SEC Should Be Allowed To Equip Investors With Climate Info
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.
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8 Fla. Statutes That Construction Cos. Should Prepare For
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.
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Time To Fix NYC's Broken Property Assessment System
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.
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Understanding The IRC's Excessive Refund Claim Penalty
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.
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Bankruptcy Ruling Shifts Lease Rejection Claim Calculation
A New York federal court’s recent ruling in In re: Cortlandt provides guidance on how to calculate a landlord's damages claim when a bankruptcy debtor rejects a lease, changing from an approach that considers the remaining rent due under the lease to one that considers the remaining time, say Bethany Simmons and Noah Weingarten at Loeb & Loeb.
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Do Not Overstate Fla. Condo Termination Ruling's Impact
A close look at the unique language at issue in Avila v. Biscayne, in which a Florida appellate court deemed a condo termination to be invalid, shows that the case is unlikely to significantly affect other potential terminations, say Barry Lapides and Edward Baker at Berger Singerman.