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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How Crypto-Friendly Bank Failures Will Change Tech Industry
The recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and Silvergate Capital are likely to result in significant shifts in how the global tech industry and its financial partners address legal, compliance, regulatory and business risks, says Erin Bryan at Dorsey & Whitney.
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Insureds Must Prep For Drought-Related Service Interruptions
Amid the ongoing U.S. water crisis, corporate policyholders must prepare for the emerging risk of service interruption property damage and time element loss, including through careful examination of their current and renewal property policies, says Micah Skidmore at Haynes Boone.
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How To Select The Right Arbitrator For A Construction Dispute
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
In construction disputes, selecting an arbitrator is a critical decision with many nuances to consider, as different types of potential panelists all come with their own experiences, views and possible biases, says Edward Gentilcore at Blank Rome.
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Liquefied Natural Gas Outlook: Industry Under Pressure
While last year saw a remarkable turnaround in the liquefied natural gas market, with strong demand for U.S. LNG projects, the industry must now confront problems including increased credit and construction costs, and the possibility of fewer LNG conversions due to higher prices, say Monica Hwang and Silvia Smith at O'Melveny.
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Bid Protest Spotlight: Lessons For Joint Ventures
In this month's bid protest roundup, Alissandra McCann at MoFo examines recent decisions from the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims of particular significance to joint ventures, concerning past performance evaluation and misrepresentation, and registration in the System for Award Management.
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India's Budget Proposals May Ease Entry For Certain Sectors
India’s recently released budget includes proposals to facilitate doing business in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City and moderate thousands of compliance requirements, opening up new opportunities for foreign businesses in the digital infrastructure, manufacturing and renewable energy sectors, say Mukesh Butani and Seema Kejriwal at BMR Legal.
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Key Considerations For Appointing A Real Estate Receiver
With commercial real estate loan distress expected to grow dramatically in the coming months, lenders should make sure to understand best practices for seeking appointment of a receiver over a defaulted property, say Dave Wald at Wald Realty Advisors and Mark Silverman at Locke Lord.
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Clean Energy Tax Credits' Wage, Apprentice Rules: Key Points
The Inflation Reduction Act's complicated prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements for clean energy facility construction tax credits recently took effect — and the learning curve will be more difficult for taxpayers who are not already familiar with such programs, say attorneys at Shearman.
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DOI Enviro Damage Assessment Proposal May Add Flexibility
The U.S. Department of the Interior's recently proposed overhaul of its natural resource damage assessment program suggests that current restrictive formulas may be replaced with a more flexible structure — which could bring major benefits to potentially responsible parties and natural resource trustees, says Brian Ferrasci-O’Malley at Nossaman.
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How Companies Could Define 'Social' In ESG Metrics
While the "social" prong of environmental, social and governance criteria is still hard to evaluate, a three-tiered approach similar to the framework for tracking greenhouse gas emissions could serve as a good basis for companies to develop goals and measure progress in a uniform way, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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Claims Court Ruling Puts New Spin On Blue & Gold
The Court of Federal Claims' unique procedural posture in SLS Federal Services v. U.S., in which it followed a trend toward narrowing the ambit of the Blue & Gold waiver, may have significant new implications for agencies that undertake corrective action in lieu of defending against protests, say attorneys at Seyfarth.
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New AML Law May Be Key Tool To Enforce Russia Sanctions
A new anti-money laundering law for the first time authorizes monetary rewards for tips leading to government enforcement against certain sanctions violations, and though many questions remain, it gives the U.S. an additional tool in the ongoing global battle against Russian aggression, say Daren Firestone and Kimberly Wehle at Levy Firestone.
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How Gov't Enviro Justice Push May Affect Developers
Attorneys at Crowell & Moring contextualize the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent guidance on environmental justice and permitting decisions, and the U.S. Department of Energy's requests for input on using grants to achieve EJ goals, highlighting practical implications for project developers and other industry participants.