Residential

  • October 21, 2025

    Apartments.com Operator CoStar Beats Video Privacy Suit

    A Missouri federal judge tossed a proposed class action alleging the operator of Apartments.com unlawfully shared data about the visitors to the rental website, holding that CoStar Realty isn't covered by the federal Video Privacy Protection Act because it's not a videotape business.

  • October 21, 2025

    9th Circ. Doubts Finance Guru's Stance In Timeshare Exit Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel signaled on Tuesday that it's unlikely to force arbitration in a proposed class action accusing celebrity financial planner Dave Ramsey of roping his radio show's listeners into a timeshare exit scheme, with two judges emphasizing that Ramsey's argument hinges on a contract that he never signed.

  • October 21, 2025

    Mich. Court Denies Gov't's Foreclosure Suit Atty Fee Bid

    A Michigan appellate panel on Monday determined governments that foreclose on tax-delinquent properties aren't entitled to attorney fees and expenses racked up during litigation over how the surplus proceeds of the property sale are paid out.

  • October 21, 2025

    NYC Mayor Unveils Jewel Streets Affordable Housing Plan

    New York City's mayor announced on Tuesday plans to improve the Jewel Streets area in Brooklyn and Queens by building 1,400 affordable and mixed-income homes, undertaking a rezoning plan that aims to develop an additional 3,600 homes, and investing $146 million to improve local infrastructure.

  • October 21, 2025

    Ex-Housing Worker Defends $2.3M Hostile Workplace Verdict

    A former homeownership coordinator for the public housing authority in Charlotte, North Carolina, has urged a federal judge to let stand her $2.3 million hostile work environment verdict, saying there was more than enough evidence at trial to support the jury's decision.

  • October 21, 2025

    Arkansas Banks Shoulder Heavy Construction Debt Burden

    Several of the nation's most highly leveraged construction lenders are Arkansas banks, as state regulators have greenlighted construction debt levels of more than 10% of total assets at a trio of institutions, according to an investigation by Law360 Real Estate Authority.

  • October 21, 2025

    Belkin Burden Nabs Condo & Co-Op Expert In Hiring Spree

    Belkin Burden Goldman LLP added a condominium and co-op expert to its bench, noting that the new partner has expertise in corporate governance, operations disputes and building management issues.

  • October 21, 2025

    J&J Appeals $25M Loss In Conn. Builder's Asbestos Case

    Johnson & Johnson has appealed its losses in a Connecticut real estate developer's asbestos lawsuit, telling state trial and appellate courts that it plans to challenge denials of multiple bids to reverse a $15 million jury verdict plus an additional $10 million in punitive damages awarded by a judge.

  • October 20, 2025

    NYC Real Estate Week In Review

    Fried Frank, Sheppard Mullin, Gibson Dunn and Morgan Lewis are among the law firms that guided the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, with two Manhattan trades north of $200 million leading the way.

  • October 20, 2025

    Wells Fargo Borrowers Defend Mortgage Application Fees Suit

    A proposed class of Wells Fargo borrowers is fighting the bank's dismissal bid of their suit, which accuses the bank of wrongfully charging them mortgage application fees and failing to provide proper refunds, arguing in California federal court that Wells Fargo's dismissal motion "mischaracterizes" the named plaintiff's claims.

  • October 20, 2025

    Miami Board Gives Key Approval For $2B Mixed-Use Project

    Rosso Development, Midtown Development and Proper Hospitality, guided by Greenberg Traurig, have secured approval from Miami officials for a $2 billion mixed-use project in the city's Midtown Park neighborhood, setting the stage for construction to begin in 2026.

  • October 20, 2025

    9th Circ. Nixes Class' Appeal For Reverse Mortgage Loan Suit

    The Ninth Circuit tossed an appeal and a related rehearing bid for a proposed class action that accused a company of running an unlawful reverse mortgage loan scheme, ruling that the proposed class of homeowners has agreed with the company to voluntarily drop their appeal.

  • October 20, 2025

    NY Passes Rent Algorithm Ban In Housing Package

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed a package of bills designed to encourage homeownership and protect renters, including a statewide ban on the use of algorithmic rent-setting software and a partial tax exemption for home sales to low-income households.

  • October 20, 2025

    Justices Won't Review Optional NAR Rule In Zillow Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to review claims that Zillow and the National Association of Realtors blocked competition through an optional association rule that relegated a defunct brokerage platform's listings to a secondary tab on Zillow's site.

  • October 17, 2025

    Texas Appeals Court Clears River Authority Of Flood Claim

    A Texas appeals court found that the San Jacinto River Authority had governmental immunity when it decided to release water from its Lake Conroe reservoir during a hurricane, saying it took a good faith action even though the decision damaged some properties.

  • October 17, 2025

    Feds Say Housing Activist Used Homeless For Medicaid Fraud

    Federal prosecutors in North Carolina have accused a Charlotte housing advocate of using the Medicaid beneficiary numbers of unhoused individuals to orchestrate a multimillion-dollar fraud on the government, court records show.

  • October 17, 2025

    Taxation With Representation: Latham, Kirkland, Wachtell

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, the Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership, MGX, and BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners acquire Aligned Data Centers from Macquarie Asset Management and co-investors; Rayonier Inc. and PotlatchDeltic Corp. merge to create a timber and wood products giant; and a Lone Star Funds affiliate acquires industrial processing equipment provider Hillenbrand Inc.

  • October 16, 2025

    Why Ethics Complaints Against Halligan Face 'Very High Bar'

    Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan for the Eastern District of Virginia could face bar disciplinary action or court sanctions if the prosecutions she's pursuing at President Donald Trump's behest are found to be politically motivated or baseless, although proving ethics allegations will be an uphill battle, experts say.

  • October 16, 2025

    Ex-Va. Federal Prosecutor Joins NY AG James' Defense Team

    The former deputy criminal chief for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Norfolk, Virginia, on Oct. 16 joined the team defending New York Attorney General Letitia James in the government's case accusing her of mortgage-related fraud, filed after the president encouraged prosecutors to take action against his "guilty as hell" political opponents.

  • October 16, 2025

    LA Developers Charged In Homeless Housing Fund Fraud

    A pair of real estate developers have been charged in separate fraud cases alleging that they misused millions of dollars meant to build and operate affordable housing for people experiencing homelessness, the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Central District of California announced Oct. 16.

  • October 16, 2025

    Insurers Settle Bid To Arbitrate $7M La. Hurricane Ida Case

    A group of domestic and foreign insurers including underwriters at Lloyd's of London have asked a Louisiana federal judge to dismiss their lawsuit seeking an order to arbitrate a $7 million Hurricane Ida damage claim, saying they have settled the dispute.

  • October 16, 2025

    Latham Guides $1.8B Deal For Spanish Senior Home Operator

    The real estate arm of StepStone Group Inc. and European real estate investment firm Greykite have announced a €1.5 billion ($1.8 billion) deal to acquire and recapitalize Vitalia, Spain's second largest owner-operator of senior care homes.

  • October 16, 2025

    Mass. Board Upholds Tax Value Of Boston Home

    A Boston property owner failed to prove that the city overassessed her four-bedroom, 2,900-square-foot home, the state's Appellate Tax Board said, finding the city's assessment of $724,000 for the 2022 tax year was reasonable.

  • October 16, 2025

    Justices Urged To Hear Mich. Tax Foreclosure Case

    A property owner has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on her case alleging a Michigan county improperly kept the excess proceeds of her tax-foreclosed home sale, arguing the justices should settle a conflict among circuits and calling the state's process to claim such proceeds too restrictive.

  • October 16, 2025

    Mich. Tribunal Denies Religious Tax Break For Rental Property

    A Michigan town correctly revoked a religious tax exemption for a property rented out through short-term rental platforms, the state Tax Tribunal ruled, adding that there was no evidence that Christian activities held on the property reflected the property owner's faith.

Expert Analysis

  • New NY Residential Real Estate Rules May Be Overbroad

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    New legislation imposing a 90-day-waiting period and tax deduction restrictions on certain New York real estate investors may have broad effects and unintended consequences, creating impediments for a wide range of corporate and other transactions, says Libin Zhang at Fried Frank.

  • Compliance Is A New Competitive Edge For Mortgage Lenders

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    So far, 2025 has introduced state and federal regulatory turbulence that is pressuring mortgage lenders to reevaluate the balance between competitive and compliant employee and customer recruiting practices, necessitating a compliance recalibration that prioritizes five key strategies, say attorneys at Mitchell Sandler.

  • What Developers Can Glean From Miami Condo Ruling

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    A Florida state appeals court's recent denial of a Miami condo redevelopment bid offers a detailed blueprint of what future developers must address when they evaluate the condominium's governing declaration and seek to terminate a condominium, say attorneys at Shubin Law.

  • 6 Questions We Should Ask About The Trump Trade Deals

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    Whenever the text becomes available, certain questions will help determine whether the Trump administration’s trade deals with U.S. trading partners have been crafted to form durable economic relationships, or ephemeral ties likely to break upon interpretive disagreement or a change in political will, says Ted Posner at Baker Botts.

  • CEQA Reform May Spur More Housing, But Devil Is In Details

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    A recently enacted law reforming the California Environmental Quality Act has been touted by state leaders as a fix for the state's housing crisis — but provisions including a new theoretically optional traffic mitigation fee could offset any potential benefits, says attorney David Smith.

  • Wells Fargo Suit Shows Consumer Protection Limits In Mass.

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    The Massachusetts Appeals Court's May decision in Wells Fargo Bank v. Coulsey underscores that consumer rights are balanced against the need for closure, and even the broad protections of state consumer protection law will not open the door to relitigating the same claims, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

  • What Calif. Insurance Ruling Means For Smoke Damage Limits

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    As California continues to grapple with an increasing number of wildfire claims, a state court's recent Aliff v. California FAIR Plan decision serves as a clear directive to insurers that policy language that narrows the scope of fire coverage below the California Insurance Code's minimum standards is impermissible, say attorneys at Wood Smith.

  • The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine

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    The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • What 9th Circ. Ruling Shows About Rebutting SEC Comments

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    The Ninth Circuit's June opinion in Pino v. Cardone Capital suggests that a company's lack of pushback to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission comment may be evidence of its state of mind for evaluating potential liability, meaning companies should consider including additional disclosure in SEC response letters, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • 2 NY Cases May Clarify Foreclosure Law Retroactivity

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    Two pending cases may soon provide the long-awaited resolution to the question of whether retroactive application of the New York Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act violates the state Constitution, providing a guide for New York courts inundated with motions in foreclosure and quiet title actions, says Fernando Rivera Maissonet at Hinshaw & Culbertson.

  • Yacht Broker Case Highlights Industry Groups' Antitrust Risk

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    The Eleventh Circuit recently revived class claims against the International Yacht Brokers Association, signaling that commission-driven industries beyond real estate are vulnerable to antitrust challenges after the National Association of Realtors settled similar allegations last year, says Miles Santiago at the Southern University Law Center and Alex Hebert at Southern Compass.

  • A Look At Trump Admin's Shifting Strategies To Curtail CFPB

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    The Trump administration has so far carried out its goal of minimizing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's authority and footprint via an individualized approach comprising rule rollbacks, litigation moves and administrative tools, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • How Trump Admin Treasury Policies Are Reaching Banks

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    The Treasury Department has emerged as an important facilitator of the Trump administration's financial policies affecting banks, which are now facing deregulation domestically and the use of international economic authorities in cross-border trade and investment, say attorneys at Davis Polk.