Highest And Best Use In Land Valuation Cases

New York's General Municipal Law § 239-m requires municipal boards to refer certain planning and zoning actions to county planning boards before approval. What happens when a multi-million-dollar development project moves forward without this crucial referral, and can the damage be undone?

As professional developers and ambitious property owners seek ways to profit from real estate, they will often look at options to convert lots with a single home into real estate that allows for the sale of multiple homes or multi-family developments. In other words, they try to create “more bang for their buck”, so to speak.

Tennessee's mechanic's lien laws provide powerful payment protection for construction industry participants, but strict procedural requirements can make or break a claim. Understanding the critical deadlines, documentation standards, and common pitfalls that cause otherwise valid lien claims to fail is essential for contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers seeking to preserve their payment rights.

The Eminent Domain Report provides comprehensive coverage and analysis of eminent domain law, condemnation proceedings, and property rights issues. This resource offers insights into legal developments, case law, and regulatory changes affecting property owners, government entities, and legal practitioners in the field of eminent domain.

New York City faces a critical housing shortage, and developers are increasingly turning to contaminated brownfield sites as opportunities for affordable housing development. This episode explores the complex intersection of environmental remediation, financial incentives, and policy reforms that make building on these challenging properties possible.

Conservation easements are a common tool for protecting agricultural land, open space, wildlife habitat, and other natural resources throughout California. While frequently associated with conservation efforts, conservation easements are fundamentally a property-rights mechanism that allows landowners to limit future development while retaining ownership of their land.

When a hurricane warning is issued and your HOA faces immediate damage requiring emergency repairs, can your board legally authorize unbudgeted expenditures without a full meeting? This analysis examines the legal framework governing emergency authority for North Carolina community association boards, exploring how boards can act decisively during crises while maintaining proper documentation and fiduciary compliance.

Courtney A. Simmons of Davis Malm shares her perspective on the future of commercial real estate, highlighting adaptive reuse and sustainability as transformative strategies. She explores how emerging technologies can revitalize older industrial and commercial buildings to meet modern demands.

When siblings inherit a family home together in Massachusetts, disputes over renovations and improvements are common. Can one co-owner legally hire contractors and make substantial changes without the others' consent? This analysis examines the legal framework governing tenancies in common, the critical distinction between necessary repairs and discretionary improvements...

The Fairfax County, Virginia, Board of Supervisors voted on August 25, 2026, to place the "Suburban Village Centers" Comprehensive Plan amendment at a Tier 1 (priority) status on the county's Comprehensive Plan Amendment Work Program. This initiative, which builds on the county's sweeping "Plan Forward" policy update adopted in December 2025, would have major implications for the future of suburban commercial properties throughout the county.

The Federal Trade Commission has reached a proposed $12 million settlement with Humboldt Merchant Services based on allegations that it processed payments for merchants that were shell companies or engaged in fraud. This enforcement action highlights the FTC's scrutiny of payment processors and their obligations to identify and prevent fraudulent merchant activity.

FINRA member firms are rapidly deploying AI tools for employee use, creating new opportunities for misuse and compliance challenges. Drawing on decades of internal review experience, this analysis identifies key risk areas that broker-dealer firms should evaluate as AI adoption accelerates across their organizations.

The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled on whether political expression and parody can justify the unauthorized use of a reputed trademark, examining the balance between intellectual property rights and freedom of speech. The case arose from a Belgian political party's immigration campaign that adopted IKEA's branding without permission, prompting Inter IKEA to bring infringement proceedings.

El Ejecutivo Federal presentó el Paquete Económico 2027 ante el Congreso, proponiendo cambios significativos en la Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta y la Ley de Ingresos de la Federación. ¿Cómo afectarán las nuevas limitaciones a deducciones, pérdidas fiscales e intereses la tasa efectiva de tributación de las empresas mexicanas?

DigiNovations, Inc. brought a nine-count complaint in Massachusetts Superior Court against its former executive vice president, Wales, former employee Mackos, and the competing company they founded...

Employers increasingly rely on AI-enabled recruiting tools to streamline hiring, but these technologies introduce new litigation risks under employment discrimination laws and emerging AI regulations. Understanding the legal landscape, discovery implications, and governance strategies is essential for organizations implementing AI-assisted hiring systems.

A California federal court ruled that plaintiffs cannot avoid arbitration simply by labeling their claims as "sexual harassment." The decision requires plaintiffs to plausibly allege conduct that actually constitutes sexual harassment under governing law before the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act applies. This ruling establishes important limits on attempts to circumvent arbitration agreements through strategic claim labeling.

The IRS and Treasury Department have proposed sweeping new regulations that could strip tax-exempt status from private schools using race-based criteria in admissions, scholarships, or programs—even when designed to promote diversity or remedy historical discrimination. These proposed rules would affect an estimated 18,000 educational institutions nationwide and create significant compliance challenges for schools, their donors, and holders of tax-exempt bonds financing educational facilities.

The Court of Appeal's recent decision in Thomas v. Nicholas provides critical guidance on how the locality principle operates within the tort of private nuisance under English law. This analysis examines the implications for real estate finance transactions, where a borrower's use of financed assets may be disrupted by neighbouring landowners or where the borrower's own activities create liability risks that affect asset value, liquidity, and lender security.

Nikki Dobay and Glenn Newman explore New York City's controversial pied-à-terre tax, examining its rushed implementation, administrative challenges, and potential constitutional vulnerabilities. The discussion reveals how this new surcharge on high-value non-primary residences may face legal challenges while setting a precedent for similar taxes nationwide.