Residential

  • September 29, 2026

    Late Notice Can't Void Rent Control Exemption, Judge Rules

    A New Jersey federal judge has sided with the owners of two apartment towers on Jersey City's waterfront, ruling that the buildings qualify for an exemption from rent control under state law despite the city's contention that the owners failed to meet a notice requirement.

  • September 29, 2026

    Zillow Tells DC Court To Toss Junk Fees Suit

    Zillow Group Inc. has urged a Washington, D.C., federal court to toss a "meritless" proposed junk fees class action, arguing that the challenged rent payment fees are disclosed to residential tenants, and it offers a fee-free payment option.

  • September 29, 2026

    Agency Says Indicted Ex-Boss Can't Use Home For Bond

    The former executive director of two Connecticut housing authorities cannot use his home to secure a $500,000 bond in his federal wire fraud case, the Groton Housing Authority and related entities told the state court judge overseeing a civil case arising from his alleged theft.

  • September 29, 2026

    Detroit Beats Takings Claims Over Fire Insurance Withholding

    A Michigan federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a proposed class action accusing Detroit of unconstitutionally withholding residents' fire insurance proceeds, finding that a property owner had no protected interest in a potential $24,000 insurance payout because the policy was subject to Michigan's decades-old Fire Insurance Withholding Program.

  • September 29, 2026

    Gibson Dunn Hires NY-Based Structured Finance Co-Chair

    Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP has added an attorney previously with Clifford Chance LLP who specializes in the energy and infrastructure sectors as co-chair of its structured finance practice group.

  • September 29, 2026

    NY, Brooklyn Landlord Settle Rent Stabilization Suit

    New York has agreed to settle a state court lawsuit against a Brooklyn landlord whom it accused of failing to register his rent-stabilized units with the state government, the New York Attorney General's Office announced.

  • September 28, 2026

    Arnold & Porter Guides BCB's $205M Sale Of Problem Loans

    BCB Bancorp Inc. subsidiary BCB Community Bank, guided by Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, has agreed to sell off $205.3 million worth of problem loan portfolios to six buyers, the company announced.

  • September 28, 2026

    Walker & Dunlop Lines Up $238M Fla. Multifamily Refi

    Walker & Dunlop Inc. has arranged a $238 million floating-interest-rate, interest-only bridge loan to refinance a 631-unit multifamily community in Doral, Florida, the commercial real estate financier announced Monday.

  • September 28, 2026

    'Survivor' Winner Asks 1st Circ. To Vacate $3.3M Tax Ruling

    The First Circuit should vacate a Rhode Island federal court's $3.3 million tax judgment against the first "Survivor" winner, he told the appeals court, saying a senior U.S. district judge improperly refused to review an objection he filed challenging his tax debt.

  • September 28, 2026

    NYC Real Estate Week In Review

    Sonnenschein Sherman and Milbank landed work on the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, with an $83.5 million Brooklyn deal leading the way.

  • September 28, 2026

    Renters Seek Final OK For $360M RealPage Antitrust Deals

    Renter plaintiffs have told a Tennessee federal court to grant final approval for more than $359 million worth of settlements that aim to resolve their antitrust claims against multiple landlords accused of using property management software company RealPage Inc.'s revenue management software for rent price-fixing.

  • September 25, 2026

    X.AI Sued Over Memphis-Area Data Center Noise

    Elon Musk's Colossus data centers and other xAI-operated facilities are "wreaking havoc" on Memphis-area communities, according to a federal lawsuit filed by homeowners who claim they are "plagued by excessive and offensive noise" at all hours.

  • September 25, 2026

    Holland & Knight Report: Housing Top Target Of CEQA Suits

    More than a quarter of recent California Environmental Quality Act appeals have targeted Golden State housing projects, with residential projects accounting for the largest share of such litigation, according to a report from Holland & Knight.

  • September 25, 2026

    Wilentz Goldman Adds Land Use, Real Estate Ace In NJ

    Wilentz Goldman & Spitzer PA has hired ex-Prime Tuvel & Miceli partner Danielle N. Kinback to be a shareholder for its environmental, land use and redevelopment teams in New Jersey.

  • September 25, 2026

    Investor Says Colo. Real Estate Firm Hid PE Priority Deal

    An investor claimed in state court that a Colorado industrial real estate company secretly gave an outside private equity firm a priority stake in exchange for a $26.5 million investment after enticing existing limited partners not to cash out.

  • September 25, 2026

    2nd Circ. Rules $7.25M Mansion Belongs In Guo's Ch. 11

    The Second Circuit on Friday upheld a Connecticut bankruptcy court decision that folded a $7.25 million mansion into the Chapter 11 estate of convicted fraudster Miles Guo, turning away his wife's argument that she actually controlled the property's corporate owner.

  • September 25, 2026

    UDR Settles Wash. AG's Claims Of Illegal Rent Hikes

    Multifamily real estate investment trust UDR Inc. will pay more than $1.6 million in order to settle a suit filed by the Washington State Office of the Attorney General, which accused the REIT in state court of illegally hiking rents on its tenants.

  • September 25, 2026

    Insurer Owes Fla. Condo $1.4M For Irma Damage, Interest

    A Florida federal judge said an insurer must pay about $1.4 million to a condominium association to fulfill an appraisal award for property damage from Hurricane Irma, finding the insurer must also pay prejudgment interest on the remaining balance.

  • September 25, 2026

    Simpson Thacher Steers JLL Plan To Launch Nontraded REIT

    Brokerage JLL plans to focus on handling commercial real estate debt with the launch of a new nontraded real estate investment trust advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.

  • September 24, 2026

    Calif. Smoke Damage Laws Aimed At Insurance Law Clarity

    New Golden State law on smoke-damaged homes could help bring clarity to a contentious area of insurance litigation. Standards for testing will help determine the bottom line for insurers.

  • September 24, 2026

    Homebuilder Says Town Improperly Hiked Impact Fees By 70%

    A town in northern Colorado increased development impact fees by approximately 70% without conducting an analysis to support the change and repeatedly refused to meet with a Colorado homebuilder that paid the increased fees, the homebuilder alleged in state court.

  • September 24, 2026

    $16M Note Leads To Fraud Charges For Booted Housing Boss

    The former executive director of two Connecticut housing authorities pled not guilty Thursday to five counts of wire fraud and four counts alleging illegal money transactions after prosecutors accused him of pocketing about $824,000 from a loan tied to a $16.2 million promissory note.

  • September 24, 2026

    9th Circ. Backs Dual Deals Over Inaccessible LA Housing

    The Ninth Circuit found a whistleblower is not entitled to a portion of a $200 million settlement Los Angeles reached with federal officials to correct years of noncompliance with accessibility requirements in public housing after the plaintiff struck a separate deal in a fraud complaint over the city's conduct. 

  • September 24, 2026

    5 Circuit Splits To Watch At The High Court

    The U.S. Supreme Court has been deciding fewer and fewer cases over the past three decades, with its caseload reaching a historic low just last term. While attorneys believe several factors have contributed to that trend, they say one of the most consequential is the court's apparent declining interest in resolving circuit splits. 

  • September 24, 2026

    Mortgage Co. Escapes Ex-Workers' 401(k) Forfeiture Suit

    A Michigan federal judge shut down a suit claiming United Wholesale Mortgage cost employees millions in retirement savings by using forfeited 401(k) funds to pay for employer contributions rather than plan expenses, ruling the workers who sued can't ask the court to create a benefit they weren't owed.

Expert Analysis

  • How Litigants Are Testing Conversion Therapy Ruling's Scope

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    Litigants are already using the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Chiles v. Salazar ruling, which applied strict scrutiny to Colorado’s conversion therapy ban, to challenge laws limiting algorithmic rental pricing, artificial intelligence-based discrimination and anti-union employer speech, and courts must soon decide Chiles’ First Amendment limits, say attorneys at O'Melveny.

  • Future Of Fed Independence Shaky After Justices' Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Trump v. Cook preserved the Federal Reserve's formal independence but could invite the president to remove board members with just modest protections, leaving the central bank's autonomy uncertain and potentially setting up fresh clashes over other agencies, says Steven Schwinn at the University of Chicago.

  • Mich. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    The second quarter brought several notable financial services law developments to Michigan, including a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on state tax foreclosures, progress on a money transmission modernization bill package, and continued legislative momentum on cryptocurrency and mortgage lending, say attorneys at Dykema.

  • CFIUS' Mandate Misses Foreign Risk In Project Subcontracts

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    Recent calls for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to review equity transactions like the Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. deal miss a consequential oversight gap — CFIUS' inability to review the subcontracting layer of U.S. infrastructure projects, says Thibaut Giret at Alstef Group.

  • NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    The year's second quarter brought several notable banking law developments to New York, including a proposal to align state stablecoin rules with the federal Genius Act, fresh fair lending and cybersecurity guidance from state regulators, and a significant Second Circuit holding on preemption, say attorneys at Ashurst Perkins Coie.

  • What Ex-CFPB Head's Calif. Role May Foretell For Oversight

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    California Gov. Gavin Newsom's selection of former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra to lead a new consumer agency signals tougher state financial services oversight, especially for fintechs, as well as heightened enforcement activity and larger penalties, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • New Colo. Retainage Bonds Shift Construction Power Balance

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    A new Colorado law that can force property owners and developers to accept bonds from contractors in lieu of traditional cash retainage means owners’ practical leverage now derives from administering a risk-transfer mechanism, not from controlling cash, but key questions remain about who may assert a claim and how enforcing a bond actually works, say attorneys at Akerman.

  • 8 Ways 2026's Market Divide Is Rewriting Real Estate Risk

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    As construction activity increasingly concentrates in data centers, healthcare and other resilient sectors, real estate developers and their counsel in the second half of 2026 should consider earlier risk allocation and more protective contract terms, and expect greater pressure on labor, pricing and infrastructure, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • A Calif. Law May Aid Homeowner Recovery After LA Fires

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    Reconstruction bottlenecks following the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires mean that certain homeowners insurance gaps are only now emerging, and for counsel aiding policyholders in recovery, a regulation regarding insurers' replacement cost estimates may be critical to obtaining coverage, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Tracking The Rare 'Quick Look' Win In FTC's Zillow-Redfin Suit

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    The Federal Trade Commission’s suit claiming that Zillow illegally paid Redfin to exit the apartment rental market is one to watch because its early success under the less rigorous “quick look” standard of antitrust review could turn into a rare case won under the doctrine, say attorneys at Axinn.

  • How Reserve Studies Fit Into Condo Association Compliance

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    In the five years since the Surfside condominium collapse and as states like New Jersey establish related safety mandates, reserve planning has emerged as a central compliance concern for community associations, acting as a practical tool for responsible disclosure and managing long-term capital obligations, say attorneys at Dilworth Paxson.

  • Fannie, Freddie AI Rules Raise Stakes For Mortgage Lenders

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    Artificial intelligence governance frameworks recently released by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac impose monitoring and vendor oversight standards on mortgage lenders, potentially reshaping secondary-market eligibility, fair lending reviews and risk management as compliance deadlines approach, says Brendan Palfreyman at Harris Beach.

  • Lessons For Banks From Recent FCA Enforcement Trends

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    While government relief programs rely on financial institutions in times of economic uncertainty, recent enforcement shows that a government partnership may not protect banks from liability involving False Claims Act missteps, say attorneys at O'Melveny.