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Local governments have significant leeway to charge fees for services they provide their residents. But fee revenue sources can be attractive options for those local governments needing to fill budget gaps without raising taxes. State law limits fees that governments charge to the amounts reasonably necessary to cover the cost of the service or regulatory program. Fees designed to generate revenue or offset the costs of other government functions are unauthorized taxes. In New York, for example, litigation pending in the Suffolk County Supreme Court is challenging fees charged for tax map verifications on real estate instruments filed with the county clerk as unauthorized taxes.
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By Howard B. Epstein and Theodore A. Keyes
Many businesses have sought to recover their pandemic losses under commercial property insurance policies, only to be denied coverage. A significant number of policyholders have filed lawsuits challenging these disclaimers, primarily in state courts. But to the dismay of the insureds, a growing majority of high state courts have sided with the insurers in these disputes.
Navigating the Intersections of Commercial Real Estate and Eminent Domain Actions
By Ellen Smith and Elizabeth Story
For real estate attorneys, knowing how to navigate around eminent domain actions in the midst of various transactions and operations is critical to best position clients for the future condemnation conundrum.
A Prepackaged Bankruptcy Could Be the Answer to a Mortgage Default
By Timothy Little, Scott Vetri, Julie Lee and Peter Siddiqui
This article discusses the value of prepackaged bankruptcy as an alternative route for addressing commercial mortgage defaults in high tax jurisdictions.
NJ Supreme Court: Commercial Property Owners Have a Duty to Maintain Abutting Sidewalks
By Colleen Murphy
In a 4-3 decision on June 13, the New Jersey Supreme Court reversed an Appellate Division opinion in a slip-and-fall case, concluding that all commercial landowners have a duty to maintain public sidewalks and are liable to pedestrians who are injured as a result of their negligent failure to do so.