More Real Estate Coverage
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December 01, 2023
Texas Firm Can't Duck Fla. Estate Planning Malpractice Suit
A Florida federal judge has shot down a Texas law firm's bid to toss a malpractice lawsuit alleging it bungled property transfers that ended up increasing its former client's property taxes.
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December 01, 2023
Property Plays: Venterra, Bank OZK, McCraney
Venterra Realty has picked up a Florida multifamily property, Bank OZK has loaned $173.5 million for a Florida residential condo project and McCraney Property has landed $80 million in financing for a Georgia industrial park.
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December 01, 2023
Buchalter Adds RE Boutique Trainor Fairbrook In Sacramento
Buchalter PC announced Friday that it has joined with real estate and estate planning boutique Trainor Fairbrook, adding six attorneys to the firm's Sacramento office.
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December 01, 2023
GSA To Investigate Site Selection Of New FBI Headquarters
The inspector general of the U.S. General Services Administration has announced an evaluation of the process for selecting a Maryland site for the FBI's new headquarters after a cohort of Virginia congressional delegates led by U.S. Sen. Mark Warner claimed the Maryland site had won out because of "political interference."
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December 01, 2023
Weil Reps Brookfield On Historic $30B Infrastructure Fund
Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP-advised Brookfield Asset Management clinched its fifth flagship global infrastructure equity fund and related co-investment vehicles after securing $30 billion in commitments, marking not only the firm's largest fund ever raised but the largest closed-ended private infrastructure fund ever, according to a Friday statement.
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November 30, 2023
Norfolk Southern Asks Justices To Undo STB Immunity Ruling
Norfolk Southern Railway Co. has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of a Surface Transportation Board opinion that found the rail giant lacks authority to control a Virginia railway and, therefore, has no immunity against antitrust claims, telling the justices a D.C. Circuit panel concocted its own reasoning for upholding the federal agency's "prior authorization" rule.
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November 30, 2023
Va. Tax Head Disallows Subtraction Of Distributions, Gains
Certain Virginia residents may not subtract any portion of their retirement distributions or capital gains for state income tax purposes, the tax commissioner said, finding no evidence that the residents qualified for a subtraction.
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November 30, 2023
EPA Proposes Removing All Lead Pipes In Next Decade
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a proposal Thursday aimed at replacing all lead pipes throughout the country within the next 10 years to protect the public from the significant, and irreversible, health effects tied to exposure to lead in drinking water.
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November 29, 2023
Virginia Pipeline Challengers Seek Freeze From High Court
Virginia landowners challenging the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline have returned to the U.S. Supreme Court, imploring Chief Justice John Roberts to stop the natural-gas pipeline work from harming their property while litigation over the constitutionality of land seized for the project plays out in the lower courts.
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November 29, 2023
Berkshire Hathaway Unit Hit With Water Pollution Suit In NC
A Berkshire Hathaway-owned developer polluted creeks with harmful sediment while repeatedly failing inspections that warned about inadequate environmental safety measures at a 216-acre housing development in North Carolina, environmentalists alleged in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday.
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November 29, 2023
4th Circ. Remands Railway Eminent Domain Fight To Va.
Norfolk Southern Railway Co. should never have been allowed to pull its eminent domain fight with Zayo Group over a lease to run fiber optic cables from before the Virginia State Corporation Commission and into federal court, the Fourth Circuit has ruled, sending the dispute back there.
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November 28, 2023
Insurer Seeks Exit From U. of Wash. COVID Coverage Suit
A Liberty Mutual insurer is trying to derail a University of Washington lawsuit seeking coverage of hundreds of millions of dollars in pandemic-driven losses and expenses, saying the university is relying on recent state Supreme Court decisions that don't support its theory that its facilities suffered a covered "loss of functionality."
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November 28, 2023
Real Estate Agents Nab Final Approval In $3M OT Deal
A real estate brokerage operator will pay $3 million to end a suit in California federal court alleging it misclassified agents as independent contractors and cheated them out of overtime after a federal judge approved the deal Tuesday.
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November 28, 2023
Norfolk Southern Wants To See Pa. Crossing Suit Derailed
Railroad giant Norfolk Southern urged a Pennsylvania federal court Tuesday to toss a lawsuit alleging its trains block traffic at a grade crossing, claiming that the U.S. solicitor general had argued in a similar case that federal regulation preempts state law in the matter.
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November 28, 2023
Nossaman Atty Rejoins Lewis Brisbois As Enviro Co-Leader
Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP has welcomed back as a partner an environmental litigator from Nossaman LLP who was previously head of the California Environmental Protection Agency's Department of Toxic Substances Control, the firm said Tuesday.
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November 28, 2023
Akerman Elevates Trio Of Miami Attys To Special Counsel
Akerman LLP has three new special counsel after promoting a trio of Miami attorneys this week.
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November 28, 2023
Australian Solar Energy Firm Raises Range For $45M US IPO
SolarJuice Co. Ltd., an Australian solar equipment provider being spun out of SPI Energy Co. Ltd., on Tuesday raised its fundraising target for its initial public offering to about $45 million, represented by Loeb & Loeb LLP and underwriters counsel Pryor Cashman LLP.
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November 28, 2023
Law Firm Leaders Cautiously Optimistic Heading Into 2024
Major U.S. law firms are steadfast in their commitment to the pursuit of further growth despite ongoing economic uncertainty. Here’s what the leaders of four Leaderboard firms have to say about how the legal industry is preparing for next year.
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November 28, 2023
The 2023 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard
Check out the Law360 Pulse Leaderboard to see which first-in-class firms made the list this year.
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November 27, 2023
2nd Circ. Remains Mum In Hearing Over Panama Discovery
The Second Circuit did little to tip its hand during oral arguments aimed at resolving whether federal courts can order discovery for arbitration before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, asking few questions during a 22-minute hearing concerning controversy over expanding the Panama Canal.
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November 27, 2023
Insurer Seeks $17.4M For Failed La. Dredging Projects
An insurer urged a Louisiana federal court Monday to award it over $17 million in damages following several dredging contractors' alleged abandonment of multiple public utility projects, arguing that the contractors failed to pay it back for bonds it issued under a 2014 indemnity agreement.
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November 27, 2023
NC Church Says Contract Dispute Doesn't Involve Religion
A Wilmington congregation pressed the North Carolina Court of Appeals to review its lawsuit alleging the state's United Methodist Church's governing body schemed to close the local church and take more than $2 million in property, arguing the court doesn't have to wade into religious doctrine to decide on the contract dispute.
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November 27, 2023
Pa. Justices Say Construction Bid Fight Belongs To PennDOT
Pennsylvania may block a construction firm accused of underpaying its workers from bidding on new construction contracts, as the state's Supreme Court ruled that the company must first contest any debarment with the state Department of Transportation before filing suit.
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November 27, 2023
Elliott Slams Crown Castle For 'Profound Lack Of Oversight'
Activist investor Elliott Investment Management LP on Monday took a jab at telecommunications company Crown Castle Inc., saying the company suffers from a "profound lack of oversight" and a "breathtaking magnitude" of underperformance, and calling for an executive shake-up if the company does not make significant changes.
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November 27, 2023
NC County Says Energy Co. Owes $1.6M For Failed Project
A North Carolina county said an energy company didn't follow through on its plan to build a natural gas electric generating facility, despite the county's significant investment in the project.
Expert Analysis
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Unpacking Long-Awaited Clean Energy Tax Credit Guidance
Recently proposed Internal Revenue Service regulations provide welcome confirmatory guidance on the application of investment tax credits as reworked by 2022's Inflation Reduction Act, prevailing wage and apprenticeship rules that are largely consistent with market expectations, and broader eligibility criteria that should please the wind power industry in particular, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Understanding Discovery Obligations In Era Of Generative AI
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Attorneys and businesses must adapt to the unique discovery challenges presented by generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbot content and prompts, while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and compliance with legal obligations in federal civil litigation, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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Navigating USCIS' New Minimum EB-5 Investment Period
Recent significant modifications to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ EB-5 at-risk requirement are causing uncertainty for several reasons, but investors who consider certain key aspects of prospective projects can mitigate the immigration and investment risks, say Samuel Silverman at EB5AN, Ronald Klasko at Klasko Immigration, and Kate Kalmykov at Greenberg Traurig.
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ESG Around The World: Mexico
ESG has yet to become part of the DNA of the Mexican business model, but huge strides are being made in that direction, as more stakeholders demand that companies adopt, at the least, a modicum of sustainability commitments and demonstrate how they will meet them, says Carlos Escoto at Galicia Abogados.
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The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms
In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.
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DC Ruling Provides Support For Builders Risk Claim Recovery
To deny coverage for builders risk claims, insurers have been increasingly relying on two arguments, both of which have been invalidated in the recent U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia decision, South Capitol Bridgebuilders v. Lexington, say Greg Podolak and Cheryl Kozdrey at Saxe Doernberger.
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What NJ's Green Remediation Guidance Means For Cleanups
Recent guidance from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection promoting greener approaches to restoring contaminated sites demonstrates the state's commitment to sustainability and environmental justice — but could also entail more complexity, higher costs and longer remediation timelines, say J. Michael Showalter and Bradley Rochlen at ArentFox Schiff.
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AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier
Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.
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Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World
As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.
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ESG Around The World: South Korea
Numerous ESG trends have materialized in South Korea in the past three years, with impacts ranging from greenwashing prevention and carbon neutrality measures to workplace harassment and board diversity initiatives, say Chang Wook Min and Hyun Chan Jung at Jipyong.
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General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI
With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.
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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.