More Real Estate Coverage
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November 26, 2024
Ex-Cleveland Politician Charged With Defrauding Nonprofits
A former Cleveland city councilor has been charged with conspiring to scam multiple nonprofits out of hundreds of thousands of dollars that he and his romantic partner ended up pocketing through real estate transactions he arranged under the guise of revitalizing the district he represented, Ohio federal prosecutors announced Monday.
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November 26, 2024
Utah, Farm Groups Can't Reopen Bears Ears Monument Case
A D.C. federal judge has denied a bid by the state of Utah and two farming groups to lift a more than three-year stay in a challenge to the Bears Ears National Monument, saying that pending independent proceedings weigh upon the case and that there's no evidence of a demonstrated hardship.
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November 26, 2024
Delta's Preemption Stance Flops In Seattle Jet Pollution Suit
A Washington federal judge has declined Delta and Alaska Airlines' bid to dismiss a proposed class action filed by neighbors of Seattle's primary airport over alleged flight-path pollution, saying it's too early to tell whether the claims will be preempted by federal regulations governing air travel or plane emissions.
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November 25, 2024
Judge Vacates Minnesota Mediation Order In Land Dispute
A federal district court judge on Monday vacated a mediation order in a dispute over more than 3,000 acres of land taken into trust for a Minnesota tribe after parties involved in the litigation said any settlement would require compromise on their legal positions or a voluntary remand.
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November 22, 2024
Insurer Says Property Co. On Hook For $250K Cyber Theft
An insurer for a Washington condominium association told a federal court that a property management services company must reimburse the carrier for nearly $250,000 its insured lost after cybercriminals allegedly hacked into the management company's computer system and made payment requests from the condo association's bank account.
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November 22, 2024
Washington Tribe Says City Can't Block Emergency Shelter
A Washington tribe is asking a federal district court judge to block the city of Toppenish from preventing it from opening a 24-hour emergency cold weather shelter, arguing that the attempt violates its inherent sovereign authority and treaty-reserved rights to govern its lands and people.
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November 22, 2024
Barnes & Thornburg Adds Real Estate Atty From Ice Miller
Barnes & Thornburg LLP has continued its string of adding new transactional attorneys in recent months with the hiring of a former Ice Miller LLP attorney who will serve in both Indianapolis and South Florida.
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November 22, 2024
Ga. Roofer Drops Unpaid Contracting Suit Involving Insurer
A Savannah, Georgia, roofing company agreed to drop its suit accusing a government contractor and an insurer of not paying for about $352,000 of labor and materials it contributed to a construction project at a U.S. Army base.
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November 21, 2024
Wash. Justices Unsure CARES Act Protects Violent Tenants
Two Washington Supreme Court justices on Thursday seemed to doubt whether the CARES Act blocked landlords from quickly evicting violent tenants, as opposed to just those behind on rent, a question that resulted in opposing opinions from two lower appellate panels.
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November 21, 2024
Insurer Seeks Subrogation Over Sprinkler Claims
An insurer for a contractor facing property damage claims told a New York federal court that a subcontractor and its insurers must pitch in for over $1.9 million the contractor's insurer has paid in coverage so far, even though it said the subcontractor failed to procure insurance covering the contractor.
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November 21, 2024
Ohio City Tax Exemption Isn't Retroactive, Court Affirms
An Ohio property in a reinvestment area is not eligible for a city's tax exemption offered to remodeled homes, as the remodel was completed before the property was included in the reinvestment district, an Ohio appellate court affirmed Thursday.
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November 21, 2024
La. Parishes Can't Change Property Values After Court Rulings
Louisiana parish assessors lack the authority to unilaterally change a property's assessment if they become aware of an error in the assessment after a local board or the state Tax Commission sets the property's value, the state attorney general's office said.
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November 20, 2024
Ohio Mortgage Co. Gets Rival To Change Name In TM Fight
A Michigan mortgage company has agreed to change its name to end a trademark infringement lawsuit brought by a rival business in Ohio that claimed it was fielding complaints from confused customers over allegedly questionable telemarketing practices.
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November 20, 2024
Real Estate Atty Stays Local With Move To Buchanan Ingersoll
A commercial real estate attorney's plan to expand his regional reach has led him to join Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC's Philadelphia office after practicing for more than two years at Armstrong Teasdale LLP.
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November 20, 2024
Bill Aimed At Creating Ga.'s First National Park Moves Ahead
The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources voted Tuesday to advance a bill that would establish Georgia's first national park, upgrading the ancestral home of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma from its national monument status while also offering protections for Native American burial mounds.
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November 20, 2024
McCarter Partner, Former Miami Official On AI In Land Use
From planning for mega storms to streamlining zoning approvals, artificial intelligence tools are bringing efficiency and new modeling capabilities to local governments.
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November 19, 2024
Argentina Must Face $54M Sewage Award Suit, Judge Says
Argentina must face Webuild's lawsuit to enforce a more than $54 million arbitral award it won more than a decade ago in a dispute over a water and sewage service concession, after a Washington, D.C., federal judge rejected the country's argument that the Italian construction giant had missed a crucial deadline.
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November 19, 2024
Ga. Panel Says 190-Year-Old Marshland Grant Is Valid
A Georgia appellate court has sided with a company seeking to retain ownership of 1,000 acres of Georgia coastal marshland by using an 1834 document in which the state granted the land to the company's predecessor-in-title.
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November 18, 2024
8th Circ. Set For Arguments In Oil Lease Termination Row
The Eighth Circuit set arguments on Friday for Dec. 18 in an appeal over a North Dakota federal judge's decision to throw out Denver-based Prima Exploration Inc.'s lawsuit alleging the Bureau of Indian Affairs schemed with two rival companies to end its lease on land within the Fort Berthold Reservation.
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November 14, 2024
Biden Admin Backs Controversial Alaskan Land Swap, Road
The Biden administration is backing a federal land swap that will allow a road to be built through Alaska's Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, while conservation groups and tribes say the move will cause major impacts to the area's migratory birds and cut off a food source for Indigenous communities.
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November 12, 2024
Catfished Ex-NBA Player Says Atty Stole Cash, Blew Film Deal
A former NBA player is suing his longtime attorney for legal malpractice in Colorado state court, claiming the attorney stole his money and failed to protect his intellectual property rights while negotiating the terms of a documentary deal about his victimization in an elaborate online catfishing scheme.
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November 08, 2024
Investors Duped By Opportunity Zone Promises, Colo. Says
Colorado's securities commissioner accused a California businessman on Thursday of selling investors on a project ostensibly meant to purchase single-family homes using a federal program for revitalizing economically distressed areas, while instead using company assets as a "personal piggy bank."
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November 08, 2024
Mass. Hay Farm Not Eligible For Ag Tax Break, Court Affirms
A Massachusetts land parcel that is used for growing and harvesting hay is not eligible for a reduced tax assessment as agricultural land because not enough of the parcel is devoted to the haying operation, the state Court of Appeals affirmed Friday.
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November 06, 2024
What Trump's Victory Portends For Commercial Real Estate
President-elect Donald Trump's victory could clear up uncertainty for investors who had been waiting out the election, but the commercial real estate industry may see challenges ahead from some of his proposed "protectionist" policies, attorneys and experts said Wednesday.
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November 06, 2024
Clerk Targeted During Trump Civil Trial Is Elected Judge
A law clerk under New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron who faced death threats after being singled out by now President-elect Donald Trump during his civil fraud trial last year has been elected as a judge.
Expert Analysis
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Contract Disputes Recap: Perils Of Perfunctory Interpretation
Attorneys at Seyfarth examine three recent decisions in which the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals and the Federal Circuit ruthlessly dismantled arguments that rely on superficial understandings of different contract terms.
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3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less
Today’s junior lawyers are experiencing a skills gap due to pandemic-era disruptions, but firms can help bring them up to speed by offering high-impact skill building content in bite-sized, interactive training sessions, say Stacey Schwartz at Katten, Diane Costigan at Winston & Strawn and Lauren Tierney at Freshfields.
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The Bar Needs More Clarity On The Discovery Objection Rule
Almost 10 years after Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 was amended, attorneys still seem confused about what they should include in objections to discovery requests, and until the rules committee provides additional clarity, practitioners must beware the steep costs of noncompliance, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law Office.
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Conservation Easement Cases Weave Web Of Uncertainty
Much of the IRS and Justice Department’s recent success in prosecuting syndicated conservation easement cases can be attributed to the government’s focus on the so-called PropCo ratio, which could indicate treacherous waters ahead for participants and their advisers, even under the incoming Trump administration, say attorneys at Polsinelli.
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So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?
Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.
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Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Metadata
Several recent rulings reflect the competing considerations that arise when parties dispute the form of production for electronically stored information, underscoring that counsel must carefully consider how to produce and request reasonably usable data, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Striking A Balance Between AI Use And Attorney Well-Being
As the legal industry increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence tools to boost efficiency, leaders must note the hidden costs of increased productivity, and work to protect attorneys’ well-being while unlocking AI’s full potential, says Ed Sohn at Factor.
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How Judiciary Can Minimize AI Risks In Secondary Sources
Because courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence and other safeguards do not address the risk of hallucinations in secondary source materials, the judiciary should consider enlisting legal publishers and database hosts to protect against AI-generated inaccuracies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.
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How Attorneys Can Break Free From Career Enmeshment
Ambitious attorneys can sometimes experience career enmeshment — when your sense of self-worth becomes unhealthily tangled up in your legal vocation — but taking the time to discover and realign with your core personal values can help you recover your identity, says Janna Koretz at Azimuth Psychological.
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Lawyers With Disabilities Are Seeking Equity, Not Pity
Attorneys living with disabilities face extra challenges — including the need for special accommodations, the fear of stigmatization and the risk of being tokenized — but if given equitable opportunities, they can still rise to the top of their field, says Kate Reder Sheikh, a former attorney and legal recruiter at Major Lindsey & Africa.
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Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules
The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.
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The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO
The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.