Commercial

  • September 30, 2024

    Akerman Guides Developer's $165M Fla. Land Purchase

    Akerman LLP advised developer GT USA on the company's $165 million purchase of over 2,300 acres of Lake County, Florida, land, the law firm announced on Monday.

  • September 30, 2024

    DC Circ. Urged To Revisit Retroactive FARA Registration

    The U.S. Department of Justice is pressing the D.C. Circuit to reconsider a ruling that barred the federal government from suing to compel former foreign agents to register their onetime foreign influence efforts, arguing that the precedent behind the ruling wrongly hamstrings the DOJ's ability to enforce the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

  • September 30, 2024

    4 Firms Guide Verizon's $3.3B Wireless Comms Towers Sale

    Verizon has sold 6,339 wireless communications towers to a communications-focused real estate investment trust for $3.3 billion in a deal guided by Jones Day, Greenberg Traurig, Simpson Thacher and Mayer Brown, Verizon announced Monday.

  • September 30, 2024

    NYC Real Estate Week In Review

    A boutique Manhattan real estate firm handled two of the four largest New York City deals that hit public records last week, a slow period that saw only four transactions north of $20 million become public.

  • September 30, 2024

    Adams Asks To Toss Bribery Charge, Citing Top Court Ruling

    New York City Mayor Eric Adams moved swiftly to dismiss the bribery charge from his federal indictment on Monday, arguing that evidence of Turkish officials' gifts to curry favor with him fails to meet a high legal standard laid out by the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • September 27, 2024

    New Orleans Inspector Indicted For Bribing Top City Official

    A New Orleans resident and his home inspection company were indicted in Louisiana federal court Friday on charges that he operated a yearslong scheme of taking bribes to let unlicensed electricians work on hundreds of homes and bribing top city officials to look the other way.

  • September 27, 2024

    NYC Affiliates Of Troubled Miami Office Owner File Ch. 11

    Two entities related to The Gateway at Wynwood, an office building in a hip Miami neighborhood whose owner went bankrupt in July, are now themselves seeking Chapter 11 protection in New York, each claiming a bit over $52 million in liabilities.

  • September 27, 2024

    Feds Subpoena NYC Mayor's Top Aide, DA Seizes Phone

    A senior aide and confidante of New York City Mayor Eric Adams had her phone and records seized by state prosecutors and was separately subpoenaed by federal agents on Friday, the same day Adams was arraigned on federal corruption charges.

  • September 27, 2024

    Hurricane Helene Losses Could Exceed $5B: Market Analyst

    The losses from Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 storm that slammed into Florida's panhandle Thursday evening, could exceed $5 billion and challenge insurers dealing with high reinsurance costs, according to an early estimate from the insurer credit rating company AM Best.

  • September 27, 2024

    Deal Cools Sale Broker's Beef With Cold-Cheese Pizzeria

    A Pittsburgh cold-cheese pizzeria's beef with a real estate broker over the commission on what was almost a $2.1 million sale has cooled, with the parties telling a Pennsylvania state court they have settled the case.

  • September 27, 2024

    Miami Approves $12.5M Deal To End Little Havana Bar's Suit

    The city of Miami has agreed to pay $12.5 million to settle claims from the owners of several popular Little Havana businesses who alleged city officials repeatedly harassed them and deliberately crafted ordinances to destroy their business rights.

  • September 27, 2024

    Property Plays: Gencom, A. Walker & Co., Capital Square

    Property Plays is a weekly roundup of the latest loans, leases, sales and projects around the country. Send your tips — all confidential — to realestate@law360.com.

  • September 27, 2024

    Ashford Says Reverse Stock Split Will Prevent NYSE Delisting

    Hotel owner Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc. said it will conduct a reverse stock split to avoid being removed from the New York Stock Exchange.

  • September 27, 2024

    REIT Seeks Receivership For Pot Biz Over $116M Defaults

    A real estate investment trust that lends to cannabis businesses accused a California grower and distributor of failing to pay off $116 million of loans and urged a state court to appoint a receiver to take control of the company.

  • September 27, 2024

    Seward & Kissel Adds Ex-A&O Shearman Counsel In NY

    Seward & Kissel LLP announced on Thursday the hiring of a former attorney at Allen Overy Shearman Sterling as special counsel in its real estate group out of New York.

  • September 27, 2024

    Adams Pleads Not Guilty As Atty Mocks Charges

    New York City Mayor Eric Adams pled not guilty to federal corruption charges Friday in a packed courtroom in Lower Manhattan, with his attorney deriding the indictment outside the courthouse as not "a real case" and vowing to file a motion to dismiss.

  • September 26, 2024

    Cannabis REIT Beats Investor Class Action For Good

    A New Jersey federal judge has allowed a cannabis-focused real estate investment trust and certain executives to permanently escape a proposed class action brought by the company's shareholders, finding the lawsuit failed to allege the defendants did not conduct proper due diligence on a major tenant accused of engaging in fraud.

  • September 26, 2024

    Round Up: Insurance Highlights At Climate Week NYC

    The value of insurer climate risk disclosures, strengthening infrastructure and communicating climate risks were among the top issues that insurance industry officials, elected officials, and regulators highlighted at this year's edition of Climate Week in New York City.

  • September 26, 2024

    Oil Co. Can Escape Most Claims In Shell Fraud Suit

    A federal judge trimmed most of the claims from a lawsuit brought by a group of Western Pennsylvania landowners who say a Royal Dutch Shell PLC subsidiary fraudulently sold off $9.5 billion of its assets to avoid the possibility of being subject to a judgment in a separate lawsuit.

  • September 26, 2024

    Healthcare REIT Defeats Investor Suit For Good

    An Alabama federal judge on Thursday permanently tossed an investor suit against a healthcare-focused real estate investment trust, Medical Properties Trust Inc., that alleged the trust hid the poor performance of four acute care hospitals it owns in Pennsylvania, saying the plaintiff's asserted theory in the suit "is somewhat Jekyll and Hyde."

  • September 26, 2024

    County, Deputy Exit Calif. Cannabis Raid Case For Now

    With a ruling Friday, a California county and a sheriff's deputy have escaped — for now — claims they unlawfully searched a man's home and seized 60 pounds of marijuana, but still pending are claims of excessive force by means of a bean bag round shot at the plaintiff.

  • September 26, 2024

    Pa. Supreme Court Upholds Taxes On Like-Kind Exchanges

    A group of Pennsylvania real estate partners owe the state personal income tax assessed on their like-kind exchange, Pennsylvania's highest court ruled Thursday, with the majority upholding a lower court finding that the state Department of Revenue correctly issued the assessment.

  • September 26, 2024

    Colo. Property Tax Deferral Program Could Balloon, Panel Told

    Use of a property tax deferral program in Colorado is expected to rise under a recent legislative change opening it to nearly all property owners, the state's treasurer told a legislative commission Thursday, calling the extent of the program's growth difficult to predict.

  • September 26, 2024

    Feds Send Message To Adams' City Hall: Buckle Up

    The seizure of another of New York City Mayor Eric Adams' phones ahead of his corruption indictment Thursday and a prosecutor's cryptic vow to "hold more people accountable" suggest the landmark case may only just be getting started, experts say.

  • September 26, 2024

    Few Investors Say They Factor ESG In Real Estate Strategies

    About a quarter of surveyed fund managers and investment professionals said they considered environmental, social and corporate governance standards in real estate investments, a smaller portion than those who factor ESG in private equity strategies, a new study found.

Expert Analysis

  • The Basics Of Being A Knowledge Management Attorney

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Michael Lehet at Ogletree Deakins discusses the role of knowledge management attorneys at law firms, the common tasks they perform and practical tips for lawyers who may be considering becoming one.

  • Rising Interest Rates Bring Risk For Construction Contractors

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    With rising interest rates causing many construction projects to be slowed or halted, it's important for general contractors to implement safeguard measures against the risk of significant financial losses caused by owner-driven schedule modifications, says Kevin Riexinger at Gfeller Laurie.

  • Keys To Navigating The Post-Pandemic CRE Market

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    As the commercial real estate market continues to face repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic, lawyers should use office occupancy and leasing volume numbers to anticipate future trends and help guide clients through an uncertain landscape, says Joseph Calvanico at J2C Valuations.

  • To Hire And Keep Top Talent, Think Beyond Compensation

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    Firms seeking to appeal to sophisticated clients and top-level partners should promote mentorship, ensure that attorneys from diverse backgrounds feel valued, and clarify policies about at-home work, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.

  • How Rate Exportation Is Shifting Amid Regulatory Trends

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    All banks and their partners, including fintechs, that wish to lend to borrowers in multiple states and charge uniform interest rates should heed regulatory developments across the country and determine how best to mitigate risks in their efforts to offer credit to consumers on a nationwide basis, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • How The Commercial Real Estate Slump May Weigh On Banks

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    The continuing underperformance of the U.S. commercial real estate market has significant implications for the financial performance and disclosure requirements for various banks, especially regional ones with large debt exposures, say Atanu Saha and Yong Xu at StoneTurn.

  • Negotiating Material Escalation In Construction Contracts

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    As material price escalation clauses have remained popular in construction contracts despite an easing of recent supply chain issues, attorneys representing owners should understand key considerations for negotiating such clauses, and strategies to mitigate potential exploitation by contractors, says H. Arthur Black II at Brooks Pierce.

  • Landlords Should Prep As WeWork Faces Potential Ch. 11

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    After years of financial trouble and the recent announcement that it has substantial doubt that it would be able to continue as a going concern, WeWork may have a bankruptcy filing in its future that would have a significant impact on landlords and other stakeholders who are owed money by the company, say attorneys at Cadwalader.

  • Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure

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    Growing interest and controversy in litigation financing raise several salient concerns, but exploring recent compelled disclosure trends from courts around the country can help practitioners further their clients' interests, say Sean Callagy and Samuel Sokolsky at Arnold & Porter.

  • Key Drivers Behind Widespread Adoption Of NAV Financing

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    While net asset value-based lending has existed for years, NAV lending has only started to move into the mainstream recently — likely due to difficult market conditions faced by sponsors including persistent inflation, high interest rates and a lack of exit opportunities, say Matthew Kerfoot and Jinyoung Joo at Proskauer.

  • Conn. Ruling Highlights Keys To Certificate-Of-Need Appeals

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    The Connecticut Supreme Court's recent decision in High Watch Recovery Center v. Department of Public Health, rejecting rigid application of statutes concerning certificate-of-need procedure, provides important guidance on building an administrative record to support a finding that a case is contested, say attorneys at Robinson & Cole.

  • The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'

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    Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.

  • Pickleball Makes Waves In Fla. Real Estate, With Risks In Play

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    Pickleball's burgeoning popularity in Florida is catalyzing a transformation in the state's commercial real estate market, but investors must take steps to navigate legal challenges related to noise, insurance and community dynamics, says Emmanuelle Litvinov at DarrowEverett.