Residential
-
September 18, 2025
Fire Risk Modelers See Promise In Advancing Calif. Bill
A recently approved California bill supporting the development of a public fire risk model could help boost transparency around methods insurers use to make coverage decisions, while advancing a complicated field of study full of uncertainties, experts say.
-
September 18, 2025
Homeowner Policies At Center Of Ga. Insurance Changes
As the Georgia House of Representatives continues to study the state's insurance rate-setting practices, profit margins and claims processing, insurance attorneys in the state evaluate the areas in which homeowners should be watching closely, including cosmetic exclusion triggers, third-party adjusters and the changes to come under April's tort reform legislation.
-
September 18, 2025
Microsoft Whistleblower Suit Can Proceed, Judge Says
A former Microsoft worker can keep pursuing his federal whistleblower claim in his suit accusing the company of firing him for flagging compliance issues and misconduct, a Texas federal court ruled in its order determining the employee's alleged failure to utilize administrative proceedings does not bar him from bringing the claims.
-
September 18, 2025
Feds Launch 'First Wave' Of Housing Fraud Cases In Minn.
Eight Minnesota residents ran separate wire fraud schemes that involved taking advantage of the state's Housing Stability Services Program in order to steal millions of dollars, federal prosecutors alleged on September 18 in what they described as the "first wave" of such cases.
-
September 18, 2025
Fla. Resi Developer Taps New GC
Greenpointe Holdings has selected Maryann Farhat to step in as the Florida developer's general counsel, noting that she will provide legal oversight and strategic guidance across the company's real estate development operations.
-
September 18, 2025
2 Firms Guide Kennedy Wilson's $347M Apt. Platform Buy
Real estate Investment company Kennedy Wilson announced Thursday that it will buy Toll Brothers Inc.'s multifamily development platform, significantly expanding Kennedy Wilson's presence along the East Coast and in Texas, in a $347 million deal guided by Latham & Watkins LLP and Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP.
-
September 18, 2025
Fox Rothschild Hires Rosenberg Atty As Real Estate Partner
Fox Rothschild LLP has hired a former Rosenberg & Estis PC counsel as its new real estate department partner in its New York City office, the firm announced.
-
September 18, 2025
Trump Asks High Court To Let Him Remove Fed's Cook
President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to allow him to move forward with firing Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook, escalating a fight over presidential removal power that will test the boundaries of the central bank's traditional independence.
-
September 17, 2025
Real Estate Pros React To Federal Interest Rate Cut
The Federal Reserve's long-awaited announcement Wednesday that it is cutting its benchmark interest rate by 0.25% drew measured reactions from real estate attorneys and professionals, who said the move definitely provides reason for optimism but had already largely been factored into markets and does not represent the major step some sought.
-
September 17, 2025
9th Circ. Judge Hints At Upholding Seattle Housing Ordinance
A Ninth Circuit judge suggested on Wednesday that a waiver provision written into a Seattle affordable housing policy is enough to "save" the ordinance from a homeowner's constitutional claim that it kept her from realizing her property's full value by adding townhomes. Â
-
September 17, 2025
4 Firms Guide $220M Financing Deal For Miami Resi Project
North Development has obtained $220 million worth of commercial property assessed clean energy and mortgage construction financing for its 35-story, 579-unit Miami residential project, in a deal advised by Goodkind & Florio PA, Rosenberg & Estis PC, Reed Smith LLP and Shutts & Bowen LLP, the developer said on Wednesday.
-
September 17, 2025
Security Holdings Nabs $400M Seattle Apartment Portfolio
Holland & Knight LLP-advised Security Properties acquired a Seattle portfolio of multifamily properties from Washington Holdings, in a $400.8 million deal, one of the largest multifamily transactions in the area this year, the buyer announced on Wednesday.
-
September 17, 2025
REIT Attys Say New Guidelines Improve On 'Patchwork'
State securities regulators at their annual confab in Arizona this month approved changes to their guidance for states reviewing securities issued by public nonlisted real estate investment trusts. Attorneys advising REITs said a uniform standard is better than the current system, even if REITs would prefer no concentration limits.
-
September 17, 2025
NC Loan Servicer Can't Escape Default Warning Letter Suit
Housing loan servicer Selene Finance LP must face most of a putative class action accusing it of sending false and deceptive notices regarding loan defaults, with a North Carolina court finding that the plaintiffs have shown various elements of deception.
-
September 17, 2025
NRP Group Joins Japanese Co. On $133M Las Vegas Build
Multifamily developer NRP Group on Wednesday announced the financial closing and groundbreaking of a $133 million, 390-unit project in Las Vegas that the company is developing in partnership with an affiliate of Japan's largest condominium builder.
-
September 17, 2025
Judge Won't Let Denver Slip Suit Over Bans On Gas Appliances
A Colorado federal judge partially granted environmentalist group Sierra Club's bid to dismiss a suit filed by a coalition of industry trade groups suing Denver over the city's restrictions on certain natural gas appliances.
-
September 17, 2025
Calif. Residents Look To Block Tribe's Recognition, Casino
A group of residents and a nonprofit are seeking an expedited order that would block a decision by the Interior Department to give federal recognition to California's Ione Band of Miwok Indians, arguing the federal government is delaying the case to make sure construction of the tribe's casino is completed.
-
September 17, 2025
Del. High Court Probes Reviving Gellert Seitz Malpractice Case
A Delaware justice took aim at an argument she seemed to suggest wasn't fleshed out enough in appellate filings as a homebuilder's attorney urged the state Supreme Court on Wednesday to undo Gellert Seitz Busenkell & Brown LLC's win in a legal malpractice case.
-
September 17, 2025
5 Firms Ink $520M Financing For Tampa Hotel, Resi Project
Five firms guided a $290 million commercial-property assessed clean energy financing and a $230 million senior loan for Two Roads Development's construction of a mixed-use hotel and residential project underway in Tampa, Florida.
-
September 17, 2025
San Francisco Comes Up For Air
A few years ago, many in the real estate world said San Francisco was doomed, but thanks to the artificial intelligence boom and the city's shift toward more business-friendly politics, investors are betting on the Bay Area hub yet again.
-
September 17, 2025
CORRECTED: NYC Construction Co. Prez Gets 4 Years For Contract Fraud
The 65-year-old president of a New York City construction company has been sentenced to 48 months in prison after pleading guilty in New York federal court to being part of a fraud scheme involving NYC homeless shelter contracts worth $12 million, the New York City Department of Investigation announced.
-
September 17, 2025
These Banks Hold The Most Construction Debt On The Books
Eleven U.S. banks had more than $5 billion in construction debt on their books at the end of the year's first half, and one institution among the group is much more heavily weighted toward construction debt than the other 10.
-
September 16, 2025
Deaf Renters Secure Class Cert. In Building Safety Suit
A New York federal judge on Tuesday certified two classes of hearing-impaired or deaf residents at adjacent Manhattan buildings, amid a tenant's claims that the owners failed to install critical safety measures at the properties designed to house hearing-impaired residents.
-
September 16, 2025
Feds Can't Avoid Property Owners' Navy Flight Takings Claims
A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge rejected the government's attempt to shutter property owners' claims accusing the U.S. Navy of violating the Fifth Amendment by boosting flight operations at a Washington air strip, paving the way for a March trial.
-
September 16, 2025
Pulte, Insurers Settle Property Damage Coverage Dispute
Two PulteGroup Inc. subsidiaries have settled their property damage coverage suit against multiple insurers in New Mexico federal court, according to the presiding judge's order on Tuesday.
Expert Analysis
-
Texas Bill Could Still Boost Property Rights In Gov't Disputes
The passage of a bill in Texas that would provide litigants with access to a greater swath of judicial remedies in immunity disputes with government entities and officials would be an invaluable boon for property rights, says Nathan Vrazel at Munsch Hardt.
-
Va.'s Altered Surcharge Law Poses Constitutional Questions
Virginia's recently amended consumer protection law requiring sellers to display the total price rather than expressly prohibiting surcharges follows New York's recent revision of its antisurcharge statute and may raise similar First Amendment questions, says attorneys at Stinson.
-
Ore. High Court Ruling Widens Construction Defect Coverage
A recent Oregon Supreme Court decision, Twigg v. Admiral Insurance, dispels the myth that a contractor's liability for defective work is uninsurable if pursued as a breach of contract, say attorneys at Stoel Rives.
-
Spoliation Of Evidence Is A Risky And Shortsighted Strategy
Destroying self-incriminating evidence to avoid a large judgment may seem like an attractive option to some defendants, but it is a shortsighted strategy that affords the nonspoliating party potentially case-terminating remedies, and support for a direct assault on the spoliator’s credibility, say attorneys at Mandelbaum Barrett.
-
In 2nd Place, Va. 'Rocket Docket' Remains Old Reliable
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia was again one of the fastest civil trial courts in the nation last year, and an interview with the court’s newest judge provides insights into why it continues to soar, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
-
Operating Via Bank Charter Offers Perks Amid Industry Shift
As bank regulators become more receptive to streamlining barriers that have historically stood in the way of de novo bank formation, and as fintechs show more interest in chartering, attorneys at Goodwin outline the types of charters available and their benefits.
-
ÃÛÌÒÊÓÆµ Industry Impact Uncertain Amid Priority Shift, Staff Cuts
A recent enforcement memo outlines how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's regulatory agenda diverges from that of the previous administration, but, given the bureau's planned reduction in force, it is uncertain whether the agency will be able to enforce these new priorities, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
-
Opportunity Zone Revamp Could Improve The Program
If adopted, the budget bill's new iteration of the opportunity zone program could renew, refine and enhance the effectiveness and accountability of the original program by including structural reforms, expanded eligibility rules and incentives for rural investment, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
-
What To Know About New Wash. Community Association Law
A series of recent legislative updates that greatly expand application of the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act pose significant challenges to the volunteer board members who administer and operate condos and homeowners associations, but there are ways to lessen the newly imposed administrative burden, says Tim Feth at VF Law.
-
Mass. Suit Points To New Scrutiny For Home Equity Contracts
The Massachusetts attorney general’s recent charge that a lender sold unregulated reverse mortgages shows more regulators are scrutinizing mortgage alternatives like home equity contracts, but a similar case in the Ninth Circuit suggests more courts need to help develop a consensus on these products' legality, say attorneys at Weiner Brodsky.
-
Evolving Federal Rules Pose Further Obstacles To NY LLC Act
Following the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recent changes to beneficial ownership information reporting under the federal Corporate Transparency Act — dramatically reducing the number of companies required to make disclosures — the utility of New York's LLC Transparency Act becomes less apparent, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
-
4th Circ. 'Actionable Inaccuracy' Finding Deepens FCRA Split
The Fourth Circuit's March finding in Roberts v. Carter-Young Inc. that an actionable inaccuracy under the Fair Credit Reporting Act can be both legal and factual widens an existing circuit split and should prompt furnishers to review their processes for investigating readily verifiable information, say attorneys at Blank Rome.
-
What Banks Should Note As Regulators Plan To Nix CRA Rule
While federal bank regulators’ recently announced intent to rescind a Biden-era Community Reinvestment Act final rule will loosen the framework for evaluating banks’ lending, service and investing activities, the decision means industry innovations and changes will remain unaddressed, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.