Residential
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June 18, 2025
State Farm Likely To Face 200K Calif. Homeowner Class
A California federal judge indicated Wednesday that he'll likely certify a class of nearly 200,000 homeowners in litigation alleging that State Farm underpays property insurance claims by depreciating sales tax when calculating replacement costs, saying a common issue predominates and noting he'd sided with plaintiffs in a similar 2017 case.
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June 18, 2025
Attorneys Say Look Before Leaping Back Into Senior Housing
Attorneys advising on senior housing deals are seeing more interest from investors and developers, due to demographic trends and the post-pandemic recovery, but emphasize the unique legal considerations of a sector that straddles healthcare and real estate.
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June 18, 2025
NY High Court Stands By Kingston Rent Stabilization Opt-In
New York's highest court on Wednesday affirmed the city of Kingston's decision to opt in to rent stabilization, confirming the standard for municipal vacancy surveys underpinning such decisions while stopping short of ruling on Kingston's historic decision to roll rents back by 15%.
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June 18, 2025
Phillips Lytle Forms Land Use, Permitting, Zoning Group
Phillips Lytle LLP has created a team of 11 attorneys who will focus on land use, obtaining permits and zoning matters, the firm announced Tuesday.
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June 18, 2025
Colo. Judge Trims REIT's Antitrust MDL Coverage Dispute
A Colorado federal court trimmed a real estate investment trust's suit seeking coverage for antitrust multidistrict litigation, saying the trust's statutory bad faith claim under Colorado law could not proceed because of a New York choice-of-law provision in its primary policy.
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June 18, 2025
PNC Closes $208M Affordable Housing Fund
PNC Bank closed a low-income housing tax credits fund that will invest more than $208 million into developing and rehabilitating affordable housing in the U.S., the bank announced Wednesday.
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June 18, 2025
Ex-Yankee Scores $222K Jury Award In Moldy Mansion Trial
A Connecticut federal jury on Wednesday awarded retired New York Yankees third baseman Joshua Donaldson more than $222,000 in a dispute with a former landlord he blamed for the presence of mold in a Greenwich mansion, and a judge is expected to double a substantial portion of that amount.
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June 18, 2025
Lender Registers $20M Win For Mobile Home Loans Suit
A lender has registered in North Carolina district court its nearly $20 million victory in a Georgia federal suit accusing a manufactured homes company and its affiliates of defaulting on loans used to buy more than 600 manufactured homes.
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June 18, 2025
Mich. Housing Co-Op Suit On Hold After Disclosure Exemption
A Michigan federal judge hit pause on a lawsuit from a group of housing cooperatives to escape requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act after the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said it would give U.S.-based entities a break from the rules.
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June 18, 2025
Dentons Global Hospitality Leader Sees Underwriting Caution
As President Donald Trump's trade war continues, lenders are increasingly exercising caution in underwriting deals for hotels, particularly in areas that depend on a steady influx of international travel, Dentons' global hospitality leader told Law360 in a recent interview.
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June 18, 2025
Calif. Eyes Urban Infill Housing, Sidestepping CEQA Overhaul
California state lawmakers faced with an ongoing housing crisis have backed a measure to boost new urban projects, even while avoiding other confrontations over a long-cited obstacle to housing construction.
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June 18, 2025
Okla. Apartments Not Subject To Property Tax Bump Transfer
An Oklahoma apartment complex is not subject to the county's increased tax assessment that is allowed when a property's title is transferred just because the limited partnership that owns the complex changed ownership, the state Supreme Court ruled.
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June 17, 2025
Ex-Yankee Makes Final Pitch To Jury In Moldy Mansion Suit
A retired New York Yankees third baseman incurred hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs after he rented a Connecticut mansion that turned out to have a mold problem, and his landlord should pay up after failing to act quickly, his attorney told a federal jury in Hartford on Tuesday.
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June 17, 2025
Baker Tilly Hit With Investor Suit Over Failed LA Projects
Two investors have sued accounting firm Baker Tilly US LLP, its subsidiary Squar Milner LLP, a Los Angeles developer and others in California state court, accusing them of deceiving the investors on a pair of real estate projects that ultimately failed.
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June 17, 2025
Florida Lawmakers Approve Ending Business Rent Tax
Florida would eliminate its business rent tax and require a study on whether the state could eliminate or reduce residential property taxes under budget-related legislation the state Legislature approved.
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June 17, 2025
Ill. Increases Sports Betting, Tobacco Tax And Taxes Airbnbs
Illinois increased its tax on sports betting and tobacco products and extended its tax on hotel operators to include short-term rentals like Airbnbs and Vrbos under a budget bill approved by the governor.
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June 17, 2025
Tax Court Slashes Conservation Easement Value By $11M
The U.S. Tax Court on Tuesday lopped off nearly $11 million of the claimed value of a property donated as a conservation easement, saying the land's best use case would be for low-density residential housing, timber and recreation, not a vacation resort.
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June 17, 2025
NYC Real Estate Firm Founder Says Ex-Partner Ruined Firm
The founding partner of a now-dissolved New York City boutique real estate firm is suing a former partner who he'd mentored for years, alleging he schemed to undermine the firm and orchestrate a client exodus that ultimately plunged the firm into financial ruin and forced it to dissolve.
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June 17, 2025
Construction Attorneys Brace For Impact Of Tariff Uncertainty
With the industry's reliance on materials and tight project schedules, anyone involved in construction has to be keeping a close eye on developments in the current trade wars, lawyers in the field told Law360 Real Estate Authority.
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June 16, 2025
Fall FARA Trial Set For Ex-NY Gov. Aide As New Charges Loom
A Brooklyn federal judge on Monday set a fall trial date for a former top aide to two New York governors over allegations that she secretly acted as an agent of China's government in the U.S., while prosecutors intend to bring new charges within weeks.
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June 16, 2025
PE, Investment Firms Provide $140M Loan For NJ Community
Real estate private equity firm Madison Realty Capital and investment firm Pearlmark lined up a $140 million loan for real estate financier Procida Funding & Advisors so that a 507-unit community in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, can be completed, according to a Monday announcement.
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June 16, 2025
Woods Oviatt Guides Brookfield, KRE $125M Manhattan Refi
KRE Group and Brookfield Properties secured a $125 million refinancing for a Manhattan multifamily property from Equitable Financial Life Insurance Co. of America in a deal guided by Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP.
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June 16, 2025
Opendoor Investors Score $39M Deal In Hyped Algorithm Suit
Real estate firm Opendoor Technologies Inc. has agreed to pay $39 million as part of an investor settlement presented to an Arizona federal court for preliminary approval to resolve litigation accusing the company of overhyping its pricing algorithm software.
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June 16, 2025
NJ Judicial Privacy Act Suits Too Fuzzy On Details, Cos. Say
Companies accused by data security firm Atlas Data Privacy Corp. of violating New Jersey's judicial privacy law argued in federal court Monday that the suits should be dismissed because they lack enough facts to carry their claims.
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June 16, 2025
Fla. Court OKs Atty Fees To Associations In Rent Control Suit
A Florida state appellate court reinstated a lawsuit brought by real estate groups against a county rent control measure saying they're owed attorney fees and costs as a "collateral legal consequence" of a challenge to a local ordinance that is preempted by state law.
Expert Analysis
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The Story Of 2024's Biggest Bank Regs, And Their Fate In 2025
U.S. federal bank regulators were very active in 2024 with initiatives ranging from antitrust and capital to proposals regarding controlling shareholders and incentive-based compensation, but many regulations face an uncertain future under the new administration, say attorneys at Latham.
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Conducting A 'Reasonably Expected Market Area' Analysis
Regardless of whether the incoming administration scales back on redlining examinations and investigations, lenders should take steps to understand how regulators define "reasonably expected market areas," and how to conduct analyses of such areas, say attorneys at Mitchell Sandler.
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Adapting Force Majeure To A Predictably Unpredictable World
As the climate and political landscapes get more complicated, force majeure provisions will likely be triggered increasingly often, demanding an evolving understanding of when events and their impacts are truly unforeseeable, say attorneys at Nossaman.
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Impact Of Corporate Transparency Act Ambiguity On Banks
Even though banks generally needn't file beneficial ownership information reports, financial institutions must continue to monitor the status of the Corporate Transparency Act and understand its requirements in case the nationwide injunction that was issued against the CTA earlier this month is overturned, say attorneys at Armstrong Teasdale.
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Strategies For Home Equity Investment Providers In 2025
The home equity investment product market is thriving even amid consumer concerns, regulatory scrutiny and conflicting court decisions, setting the stage for a promising but challenging environment for providers in 2025, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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What Interest Rate Cuts Mean For Housing Markets
The Federal Reserve's recent reduction of interest rates may provide limited immediate relief for real estate sectors, but offers potential opportunities for commercial real estate investors and construction firms, which now face an environment ripe for new projects, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.
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California Supreme Court's Year In Review
Attorneys at Horvitz & Levy highlight notable decisions on major questions from the California Supreme Court's last term, including voter initiatives, hostile work environment and the economic loss rule.
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How CFIUS' Updated Framework Affects Global Investors
The recent change to the monitoring and enforcement regulations governing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States will broaden administrative practices around nonnotified transaction investigations, increase the scope of information demands from the committee and accelerate its ability to impose mitigation on parties, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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'Reverse Redlining' Suit Reveals Language Risks For Lenders
The Justice Department's case against consumer finance provider Colony Ridge highlights the government's focus on lending to consumers with limited English proficiency and the risks of generating marketing materials in other languages while conducting actual transactions in English, say attorneys at Goodwin.
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Hurricane Coverage Ruling Clarifies Appraisal Scope In Fla.
In a case involving property insurance for hurricane damage, a Florida federal court recently enforced policy limits despite an appraisal award exceeding those limits, underscoring the boundaries between valuation and coverage — a distinction that provides valuable guidance for insurers handling post-catastrophe claims, says Tiffany Bustamante at Cozen O’Connor.
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Feds May Have Overstepped In Suit Against Mortgage Lender
The U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit against Rocket Mortgage goes too far in attempting to combat racial bias and appears to fail on the fatal flaw that mortgage lenders should be at arm's length from appraisers, says Drew Ketterer at Ketterer & Ketterer.
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Foreclosing Lenders Still Floating In Murky Legal Waters In NY
The New York foreclosure landscape remains in disarray after the state's highest court last month declined to weigh in on whether legal changes from 2022 that severely curtailed lenders' ability to bring successive foreclosure cases were retroactive, says Brian Rich at Barclay Damon.
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Philly's Algorithmic Rent Ban Furthers Antitrust Policy Trends
A Philadelphia bill banning the use of algorithmic software to set rent prices and manage occupancy rates is indicative of growing scrutiny of this technology, and reflects broader policy trends of adapting traditional antitrust principles to respond to new technology, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.