More Real Estate Coverage
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March 27, 2025
Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill For Georgia's First National Park
Four U.S. lawmakers from Georgia have reintroduced a federal act that would establish the Ocmulgee Mounds and surrounding areas as the state's first national park, saying the bipartisan bill's introduction follows years of lobbying by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
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March 27, 2025
Whistleblowers Seek Bigger Cut Of Tetra Tech Deal With Navy
Seven whistleblowers told a California federal judge on Thursday they deserve a cut of the total $97 million settlement the government inked over allegations a Tetra Tech unit billed the Navy for radiation remediation that was not done, and not a smaller share covering only the government's False Claims Act claims.
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March 27, 2025
Western Leaders Oppose Cuts To Public Land Protections
More than 300 local Western leaders have urged the Trump administration and Congress to reject the sale of public lands in the latest budget resolution package passed by the U.S. House, saying they must oppose attempts to reduce the size of national monuments.
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March 27, 2025
Pa. Coal Co. Gets OK For $23.5M Asset Sale In Ch. 11
A Pennsylvania bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved the sale of assets of bankrupt Corsa Coal Corp. for $23.5 million, overriding arguments against including litigation claims in the sale and for earmarking proceeds for environmental cleanup.
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March 26, 2025
Sotomayor Urges Caution On Nondelegation Doctrine Revamp
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor cautioned her colleagues during oral arguments Wednesday against using a challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's administration of a broadband subsidy program as a way to resurrect the long-dormant nondelegation doctrine. Several conservative justices, however, seemed willing to disregard that admonition.
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March 26, 2025
Court Can't Hear Everglades Water Dispute, 11th Circ. Says
Sugar companies challenging the stand-alone use of an Everglades reservoir component that will allegedly reduce water supplies can't raise the dispute in court because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hasn't made a final decision on its operation, according to an Eleventh Circuit opinion.
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March 25, 2025
NJ Judge Upholds Mansion Tax On Sale Of Doomed House
A New Jersey company that bought a property for $4.7 million after obtaining approval to demolish an uninhabitable farmhouse on the land and use the property for industrial purposes owes the state's so-called mansion tax on the purchase, the state Tax Court ruled Tuesday.
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March 25, 2025
Contractor Drops $1.1M Bond Dispute Against Liberty Mutual
A Delaware-based plumbing and HVAC company has withdrawn its federal suit claiming that a general contractor and Liberty Mutual improperly withheld $1.1 million in payments for work the company completed on a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers elementary school project.
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March 24, 2025
Ore. Tribe Backs Hydro Utility's Eminent Domain Bid At Falls
The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians has asked an Oregon federal judge to approve a utility company's attempt to condemn five acres of public land for the operation of a hydroelectric project, saying another tribe believes wrongly that condemnation would eliminate its fishing platform.
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March 24, 2025
Investor Says It Was Conned Out Of $42M In Real Estate Deals
A Las Vegas investment company alleged that four businessmen fleeced it out of more than $42 million by convincing the company to invest in a Washington real estate project that collapsed when the developer was convicted of rape and also luring the firm into another bad deal under false promises.
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March 21, 2025
Md. Nonprofit's Property Used As Home Isn't Exempt
A Maryland property owned by a nonprofit isn't exempt from property tax, because it's used as the founder's home and not mainly for charitable purposes, the state tax court affirmed.
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March 20, 2025
Property Owner Demands Appraisal Of $10.5M Hail Claim
A Tennessee property owner asked a federal court Thursday to order a Travelers unit to participate in an appraisal of its hail damage claim, alleging the insurer denied coverage even though an "independent evaluation" of the owner's damages estimated that the hail damage exceeded $10.5 million.
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March 20, 2025
Conn. AG Sues Builder, Companies For State Park Clear-Cut
A real estate builder and two of his companies have illegally clear-cut multiple acres of Connecticut state park land, installed fixtures including a basketball court and a guesthouse without permission and blocked public access to the area, according to an enforcement action brought by the state attorney general's office.
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March 20, 2025
La. Court Reinstates Cancer Center's Property Tax Appeal
The Louisiana Tax Commission must hear a refund claim brought by a cancer center that said it mistakenly paid assessed property taxes despite being exempt, a state appeals court ruled, finding the center had a right to appeal the assessment.
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March 20, 2025
ND Directs Lawmakers To Consider Tribal Land Tax Study
North Dakota directed state lawmakers to consider studying issues related to the taxation of land owned by enrolled tribal members who reside on Native American reservations under a bill signed by the governor.
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March 19, 2025
Interior Department Transfers 680 Acres To North Dakota Tribe
The Spirit Lake Nation and the U.S. Department of the Interior are hailing the recently completed transfer of 680 acres back to the North Dakota tribe — land taken by the federal government in a mid-19th-century territory treaty — as a change that will benefit the tribe and that the tribe has pursued for decades.
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March 19, 2025
10th Circ. Says 'Corner-Crossing' Hunters Didn't Trespass
A Tenth Circuit panel has ruled that Wyoming hunters who used an A-frame ladder to cross over private property to access public lands didn't trespass, finding an 1885 American frontier law protects the public's right to "corner-cross" and access public lands that are otherwise enclosed by private property.
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March 18, 2025
Tribe Members Complicate Tesoro Pipeline Row, 8th Circ. Told
Tesoro High Plains Pipeline Co. has urged the Eighth Circuit to deny landowning tribe members' bid to intervene in the company's lawsuit challenging the federal government's right-of-way trespassing claims against it, saying that the United States adequately represents their interests and that they would only complicate the case.
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March 18, 2025
Real Estate Duo Closes Boutique To Join Howard & Howard
A pair of attorneys operating a Chicago-based real estate-focused boutique recently closed the firm's doors and have joined Howard & Howard's office in the Windy City.
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March 14, 2025
Mich. Panel Revives Hangar's Property Tax Challenge
The Michigan Court of Appeals revived a company's argument that it is exempt from a city's tax on a hangar it leased from a regional airport authority, saying the state Tax Tribunal should have required the municipality to prove that a tax statute applied to the company.
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March 13, 2025
Watchdog Says Federal Landlord Used Prohibited Chinese Drone
The U.S. General Service Administration's Office of Inspector General on Thursday pressed the Public Buildings Service to tell one of its contractors to stop using a drone manufactured by a Chinese company that the U.S. Department of Defense has identified as a potential national security threat.
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March 13, 2025
Ore. Tribes Challenge Utility's Eminent Domain Bid
An Oregon Indigenous community is fighting a bid by Portland General Electric Co. to condemn five acres of public land for the maintenance and operation of its hydroelectric project, arguing that the move is a pretext to eliminate its ceremonial fishing platform at the state's largest waterfalls.
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March 13, 2025
Chaitman Wants NJ Malpractice Suit Axed For Delays
Chaitman LLP has asked a New Jersey state judge to dismiss a long-pending legal malpractice action stemming from real estate litigation, arguing its former clients who brought the suit have repeatedly failed to produce expert witnesses for depositions, "severely prejudicing the defendants."
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March 12, 2025
Comcast Fights CEO Deposition Order In Easement Spat
Comcast has told a Washington state judge that an order requiring CEO Brian Roberts to sit for a deposition in an easement dispute with a local landowner could expose him to a series of similar requests in the hundreds of lawsuits naming the telecommunications giant each year.
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March 12, 2025
Nelson Mullins Real Estate Ace Joins Kutak Rock In Fla.
A former Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP partner who has helped close more than $1 billion in real estate transactions in just the past two years has moved her practice to Kutak Rock LLP's Tallahassee, Florida, office.
Expert Analysis
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Offshore Wind Push Is Good News For NYC Building Owners
With a surge of federal and state support for offshore wind power in New York state, the projects now in development should greatly benefit New York City building owners seeking to comply with the city's Climate Mobilization Act, says Raymond Pomeroy at Stroock.
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Biden's Climate Agenda Means Oil, Gas Cos. Must Innovate
President Joe Biden's climate agenda, including changes to leasing of public lands, tax deductions and other policies, may impose significant hurdles on the oil and gas sector, but companies that take an innovative, multifaceted approach can rise to this challenge, say attorneys at Akin Gump.
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3 Key Environmental Takeaways From Biden's First 30 Days
President Joe Biden has heavily prioritized environmental policy during his first month in office, with three key themes emerging that will immediately change enforcement practices and affect regulated industries, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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The State Of Asylum Law After Trump — And What's Next
Kevin Gregg at Kurzban Kurzban discusses the impact of asylum decisions issued during the Trump administration's final year, the uncertainty underlying President Joe Biden’s tranche of immigration-related executive orders and reasons for cautious optimism within the immigration community.
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What Energy Sector Should Expect From Biden's Tax Policies
The energy sector may find new investment opportunities or the need to adjust holdings, depending on whether company goals align with the Biden administration's potential rollback of Trump-era tax reforms, and push for clean energy, reduced carbon emissions and increased domestic manufacturing, says Gregory Matlock at Mayer Brown.
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Unresolved Issues In Calexico Inverse Condemnation Ruling
A California federal court's recent decision in Calexico Auto Dismantlers v. City of Calexico, dismissing a business's inverse condemnation suit as untimely, does not properly address questions surrounding eminent domain notice and the statute of limitations, say Debra Garfinkle and Brad Kuhn at Nossaman.
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As Superfund Turns 40, Courts Are Still Puzzling Over It
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act just turned 40, but a review of several Superfund cases from 2020 demonstrates that courts are still regularly confronted with novel questions and issues related to the law, says Peter Keays at Hangley Aronchick.
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How To Reliably Value Income-Producing Real Estate
Amid the pandemic-fueled surge in tax appeals and loan workouts, using the income approach to calculate the present worth of a property's future income provides the most reliable indication of value and does not rely on subjective adjustments, say Mark Dunec at FTI Consulting and Anthony DellaPelle at McKirdy Riskin.
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IRS Continuity Safe Harbor Will Aid Renewable Projects
Recent Internal Revenue Service guidance expanding the continuity safe harbor to protect tax credit eligibility for qualified offshore and federal land renewable energy projects will provide certainty for developers who often face significant construction and permitting delays, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Buyers May Be Wary Of Climate-Driven PG&E Asset Sale
PG&E's plan to sell its Pleasant Creek natural gas storage field will allow the utility to avoid decommissioning and remediation costs, and it aligns with regulators' desire to see the company move in a climate-friendly direction — but buyers may be leery of such assets for the same reasons, say Vidhya Prabhakaran and Patrick Ferguson at Davis Wright.
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NY Tax Talk: 2020 In The Rearview
Craig Reilly at Hodgson Russ highlights New York City's and state's notable tax updates from the last year — many of them related to budget shortfalls due to COVID-19 — and wishes good riddance to 2020.
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Alaska Enviro Suit Shows Gov't Is A Tough Tort Defendant
The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Nanouk v. U.S. concerning environmental contamination near an Alaska military installation highlights the fact that discretionary government action that yields an unfortunate result does not necessarily give rise to a tort claim, says Brandon Matsnev at Manko Gold.
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Streamlining Power Transmission Siting To Help Renewables
It can take years and cost millions of dollars to secure state regulatory approval for electric transmission system upgrades needed to facilitate clean energy development, so it is important for states to create abbreviated siting processes for projects with limited anticipated impacts, says Andy Flavin at Troutman Pepper.