More Real Estate Coverage
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April 22, 2024
Mo. Tax Board Says Horse Breeding Farm Is Agricultural Land
A Missouri property used to breed and care for horses that are shown at shows should have been classified as agricultural instead of commercial, the state tax commission ruled.
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April 22, 2024
Okla. To Expand Property, Income Tax Break For Airports
Oklahoma will expand a property and income tax exemption for municipally owned airports in the state under a bill signed by the governor.
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April 19, 2024
Up Next At High Court: Abortions & Presidential Immunity
The U.S. Supreme Court will return Monday for the term's final week of oral arguments, during which it will consider several high-stakes disputes, including whether a federal healthcare law can preempt state abortion bans and whether former President Donald Trump is entitled to immunity from criminal charges related to official acts.
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April 19, 2024
Quinn Emanuel Faces Class Action Over Fla. Fee Agreements
The wife of luxury home developer Nir Meir, who was charged with falsifying records and defrauding investors, is hoping to avoid paying more than $360,000 in attorney fees to Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP in a proposed class action, saying her husband forged her signature on a fee agreement with the firm.
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April 19, 2024
EPA Says 2 'Forever Chemicals' Are Hazardous Substances
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday officially declared two "forever chemicals" to be hazardous materials under federal law, which could bring a host of consequences for Superfund site cleanups and development projects.
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April 18, 2024
What 4 Real Estate Leaders Said At NYU's REIT Symposium
The public real estate investment trust sector will bounce back from its current troubles "at some point," said Jon Gray, Blackstone's president. He was not the only company executive who sounded hopeful about the industry's future at New York University's 28th annual REIT symposium.
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April 18, 2024
Hedge Fund Says Its $100M Award Over Peru Bonds Is Valid
A hedge fund has asked a D.C. federal judge not to throw out its suit seeking to enforce a $100 million arbitral award it secured over Peru's valuation of old government bonds, saying the country wants to relitigate claims that were already rejected by the arbitrators.
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April 18, 2024
Ohio Ex-Atty Gets Prison For Bilking Real Estate Clients
A former real estate attorney has been sentenced to four to six years of prison on charges he used his title company to steal from clients, the Ohio attorney general's office said Thursday.
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April 18, 2024
Smith Gambrell Hires Ex-Jacksonville, Fla., Deputy GC
Smith Gambrell & Russell LLP has added a longtime deputy general counsel for the city of Jacksonville, Florida, as counsel within its real estate group and as the head of the Jacksonville office's government affairs practice.
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April 17, 2024
PG&E Sued For $225 Million Dixie Fire Forest Damage
Owners of the Collins Almanor Forest in Northern California have slapped PG&E with a complaint alleging that they incurred more than $225 million in damage after the Dixie Fire ripped through approximately 55,000 acres of their forest lands in July 2021.
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April 17, 2024
Okla. Lawmakers OK Wider Tax Break For Municipal Airports
Oklahoma would expand a property and income tax exemption for municipally owned airports in the state under a bill passed by the state Senate and headed to the governor.
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April 17, 2024
9th Circ. Tosses $3.9M Tax Foreclosure Appeal As Premature
The Ninth Circuit dismissed a man's challenge to a court order that he believed allowed the government to foreclose on his property to pay his son's tax liabilities of more than $3.9 million, saying Wednesday that the appeal was premature because the order wasn't final.
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April 16, 2024
3 Takeaways From Urban Land Institute's Resilience Summit
Real estate professionals across the country convened in New York City last week to talk about how to navigate an inconvenient truth in real estate — that extreme weather and climate change must be factored into investments. Here are three takeaways from the conference.
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April 15, 2024
Oil Co. Warns NC Justices Of 'Unfair' Results In Taking Case
An oil company and two other former plaintiffs from a settled state government land-taking proposed class action have warned the North Carolina Supreme Court that if the justices affirm an intermediate appellate ruling in a similar case, they would be reinforcing "unfair, unequal, disparate and divergent" treatment of property owners.
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April 15, 2024
9th Circ. Says Court Must Consider Pay In Navajo Benefits Bid
The Ninth Circuit has vacated a ruling that a Navajo Nation member failed to prove he was wrongfully denied relocation benefits after the U.S. gave his ancestral lands to the Hopi Tribe, with a split panel remanding the case to federal district court with instructions to consider evidence of his income.
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April 15, 2024
4th Circ. Upholds W.Va.'s Win In Coal Mine Cleanup Suit
The Fourth Circuit on Monday affirmed a West Virginia federal court's order ending developers' allegations that the state's environmental regulators' reclamation efforts at an old coal mining site constituted illegal dumping, finding the lower court correctly concluded the efforts are exempt from regulations prohibiting open dumps.
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April 15, 2024
Conn. Atty Aided $1.4M Transfer Scam, Developer Says
Connecticut attorney Carole W. Briggs "intentionally orchestrated and participated in" a business email compromise scam that stole more than $1.4 million from a New Jersey-based real estate development company last year, according to a civil lawsuit in federal court.
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April 15, 2024
High Court Won't Hear California Tribal Casino Dispute
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied a bid by an anti-casino advocacy group seeking to overturn a Ninth Circuit decision that dismissed their case after determining that the Ione Band of Miwok Indians is eligible to go forward with its project in California.
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April 12, 2024
Peru Says Gramercy's $100M Bond Arbitration Bid Too Late
Peru is hitting back at Connecticut-based hedge fund Gramercy's bid to enforce a $100 million arbitral award that it secured over the country's valuation of old government bonds, telling a D.C. federal court that the investor had failed to bring its challenge within three years of learning of the alleged misconduct as required by a bilateral trade agreement.
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April 12, 2024
Mich. High Court Snapshot: Atty Sanctions Kick Off April
The Michigan Supreme Court returns Tuesday for its April session, hearing oral arguments about judges' ability to sanction lawyers for past attorneys' work in a case, what defendants say could be double recovery in wrongful death cases, and an attempt to use a Larry Nassar-inspired law to sue Catholic priests for decades-old abuse allegations.
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April 12, 2024
La. Board Says Private Foundation Buildings Are Tax-Exempt
The Louisiana tax appeals board ruled that four buildings owned by a private foundation and leased to commercial tenants are exempt from property tax, as they support research opportunities at the University of New Orleans.
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April 12, 2024
Colo. House Panel OKs Affordable Housing Credit Expansion
Colorado would increase the amount of money allocated to the state's affordable housing tax credit under a bill approved by the state House Finance Committee.
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April 11, 2024
DOI Lowers Fees For Solar, Wind Projects On Public Lands
The U.S. Department of the Interior unveiled finalized updates to its renewable energy regulations on Thursday that are aimed at promoting the development of solar and wind energy on public lands by lowering the associated fees.
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April 11, 2024
Spencer Fane Expands In Dallas With Pair Of Real Estate Pros
Spencer Fane LLP has added two new real estate partners to its Dallas office, including a former in-house general counsel at a marina company and a former Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP attorney.
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April 10, 2024
FBI, GSA Face Criticism Over Response To HQ Site Probe
Republican lawmakers continued to criticize the FBI and General Services Administration on Wednesday over contentious plans for a new FBI headquarters, citing concerns over the planned site and size of the facility, and the agencies' responses to a related investigation.
Expert Analysis
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AI Isn't The Wild West, So Prepare Now For Bias Risks
In addition to President Joe Biden's recent historic executive order on safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence, there are existing federal and state laws prohibiting fraud, defamation and even discrimination, so companies considering using or developing AI should take steps to minimize legal and business risks, says civil rights attorney Farhana Khera.
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Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information
As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.
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Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD
Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.
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Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence
Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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1st Tax Easement Convictions Will Likely Embolden DOJ, IRS
After recent convictions in the first criminal tax fraud trial over allegedly abusive syndicated conservation easements, the IRS and U.S. Department of Justice will likely pursue other promoters for similar alleged conspiracies — though one acquittal may help attorneys better evaluate their clients' exposure, say Bill Curtis and Lauren DeSantis-Then at Polsinelli.
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ESG Around The World: The UK
Following Brexit, the U.K. has adopted a different approach to regulating environmental, social and governance factors from the European Union — an approach that focuses on climate disclosures by U.K.-regulated entities, while steering clear of the more ambitious objectives pursued by the EU, say attorneys at Dechert.
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Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes
Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.
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Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys
Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.
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Rebuilding The Construction Industry With AI
Artificial intelligence in the construction industry will usher in a new era of innovation and efficiency, leading to cheaper, safer and more environmentally conscious building practices, but it will also bring concerns related to data security, workforce training and job displacement, say Josephine Bahn and Jeffery Mullen at Cozen O'Connor.
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The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'
The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.
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What Panama Canal Award Ruling Means For Int'l Arbitration
As the prevalence of international arbitration grows, the Eighth Circuit’s recent decision in Grupo Unidos v. Canal de Panama may change how practitioners decide what remedies to seek and where to raise them if claims are rejected, says Jerry Roth at FedArb.
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Newman Suspension Shows Need For Judicial Reform
The recent suspension of U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman following her alleged refusal to participate in a disability inquiry reveals the need for judicial misconduct reforms to ensure that judges step down when they can no longer serve effectively, says Aliza Shatzman at The Legal Accountability Project.
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ESG Around The World: Japan
Japan is witnessing rapid developments in environmental, social and corporate governance policies by making efforts to adopt a soft law approach, which has been effective in encouraging companies to embrace ESG practices and address the diversity of boards of directors, say Akira Karasawa and Landry Guesdon at Iwata Godo.