Commercial
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February 18, 2025
Dechert, Paul Hastings Guide Barings' Takeover Of Artemis
Barings, advised by Dechert LLP, inked an agreement to snap up Paul Hastings LLP-led Artemis Real Estate Partners, an investment firm managing over $11 billion of assets, according to a Tuesday announcement.
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February 14, 2025
Morgan & Morgan Atty Accused Of Setting Up Rape Charges
Three men, including a real estate executive and a broker, facing sexual assault charges are asking a Florida court to force prosecutors to hand over reports by the victim's attorney at Morgan & Morgan PA, who the defendants say became part of the prosecution team and helped bring the charges.
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February 14, 2025
Maine Judge Denies Challenge To Corporate Transparency Act
A Maine federal judge upheld the Corporate Transparency Act, rejecting one of several challenges across federal courts claiming Congress lacked the power to require companies to disclose their real owners.
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February 14, 2025
Calif. Insurance Chief Backs Wildfire Mitigation, Recovery Bills
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced his support Friday for a slew of bills aimed at addressing wildfire mitigation and recovery, including measures to maximize insurance claim payouts and stabilize the state's insurer of last resort.
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February 14, 2025
Adams Case Careens Toward 'Messy' Hearing, Experts Say
The Manhattan federal judge overseeing the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams is unlikely to rubber stamp a request from the U.S. Department of Justice to toss the case and may instead hold a hearing on the matter, which could get "messy" and "embarrassing," experts say.
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February 14, 2025
DOJ Files Motion To Drop Adams Case After Prosecutors Exit
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, following a flood of resignations by government lawyers who defied a top DOJ official's orders to drop the charges for political reasons.
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February 14, 2025
Akerman Brings On GC For Land Developer In Miami
Akerman LLP has expanded its real estate practice in Miami with a partner who formerly served as general counsel for the land developer of a master-planned community in South Florida.
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February 14, 2025
Developers Break Ground On New Orleans Office Project
Cypress Equities and Lauricella Land Co. announced that they have broken ground on an eight-story office tower in New Orleans' River District, adding that the project is the first Class A office building built within city limits since 1989.
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February 14, 2025
Data Center Execs See DeepSeek, Efficient AI As A Positive
Heads of two of the biggest data center companies said over the past week that the efficiencies of DeepSeek's artificial intelligence models are a boon for them and their industry, comments that come after their stock prices oscillated following news of the Chinese startup's product.
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February 14, 2025
Simpson Guides KKR On $850M-Plus Real Estate Credit Fund
Global investment giant KKR, advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, announced on Friday it had clinched its second opportunistic real estate credit fund, raising over $850 million for a dedicated strategy of investments in senior loans and real estate securities in the U.S. and Western Europe.
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February 14, 2025
What REITs Should Know About ESG Under Trump
Public companies in the real estate space should heed President Donald Trump's orders dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and think about what those directives mean for their environmental, social and corporate governance practices, a Sidley Austin LLP practice leader said.
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February 13, 2025
Calif. Fire Debris Ruling Raises LA Blaze Recovery Concerns
A California appellate court's ruling that two homeowners didn't have a covered claim for wildfire debris in their home has raised policyholder concerns that the decision could restrict coverage for Los Angeles fire victims, but some carrier lawyers say the ruling's impact could be limited to claims for lighter damage.
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February 13, 2025
Eric Adams Donor Accused Of Stealing COVID Housing Funds
A New York City hotel owner with ties to Mayor Eric Adams was among three individuals accused of scheming to steal tens of millions of dollars from a program intended to get certain incarcerated individuals out of detention centers during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.
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February 13, 2025
Exec Cops To Conspiring To Overbill Gov't In Station Project
A former executive for a masonry contractor involved in the multimillion-dollar restoration of Philadelphia's historic 30th Street Station has admitted to a scheme that involved bribing an Amtrak employee to overcharge the federal government $2 million for the project, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia said Thursday.
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February 13, 2025
NC Biz Court Bulletin: Defaulted Notes, EB-5 Investor Fraud
The North Carolina Business Court has been handed in the first half of February a receivership case involving a defaulted $17.5 million promissory note, a fraud suit by Chinese EB-5 investors and a request to depose the chief legal officer of Smithfield Foods Inc.
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February 13, 2025
Ashford Closes $580M Mortgage Loan Secured By 16 Hotels
Dallas-based Ashford Hospitality Trust said it has secured $580 million in financing to pay off debt coming due this summer with a new loan secured by 16 properties, part of a nearly $1 billion portfolio in default after a 2018 deal.
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February 13, 2025
Profs Back Hotel Guests In 3rd Circ. Algorithmic Pricing Case
A group of academics has joined antimonopoly groups to support hotel guests accusing several Atlantic City casino hotels of using shared software to fix room rates in their Third Circuit fight to revive their suit.
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February 13, 2025
Brookfield Eyes Data Centers In Optimistic Market Outlook
Canadian asset manager Brookfield Corp. said Feb. 13 in its fourth-quarter earnings call it expects the real estate market to recover, and sees big investment opportunities at the intersection of infrastructure and renewable power for data centers.
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February 13, 2025
Buyer Seeks $3.5M Price Cut Over Bungled Conn. Mill Cleanup
A property developer has asked a Connecticut Superior Court judge to lower the purchase price of a polluted industrial site in Branford from $6 million to $2.5 million, saying the seller failed to develop legitimate remediation plans and breached a settlement agreement that ended prior litigation.
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February 13, 2025
Three Firms Guide $375M Data Center Bridge Financing
Applied Digital Corp. closed on a $375 million financing with SMBC in a deal guided by Milbank, Lowenstein Sandler and Paul Hastings, a loan that the company says will help it pay down a senior secured note and continue construction on a North Dakota campus.
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February 13, 2025
NYC Man Pleads Guilty To $62.8M Crowdfunded CRE Scheme
A New York City man who raised $62.8 million through commercial real estate platform CrowdStreet for sham developments in Atlanta, Georgia, and Miami Beach, Florida, has pled guilty to a federal wire fraud charge.
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February 13, 2025
SDNY US Atty Resigns, Alleging Trump-Adams 'Quid Pro Quo'
Danielle R. Sassoon, the interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, resigned Thursday after she refused an order by U.S. Department of Justice officials to drop the federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams and expressed concern the move was part of an improper quid pro quo with President Donald Trump.
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February 13, 2025
Developer Starts $1B Fla. Mixed-Use Redevelopment Project
Terra started work on the first phase of its $1 billion redevelopment project that aims to turn the Dolphin Station Park-and-Ride Transit Terminal Facility in Miami-Dade County into a 47-acre, mixed-use community with transit options, homes and places to shop, the developer announced Feb 13.
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February 12, 2025
Avison Young CEO Urges Steadiness For Real Estate In 2025
The head of global commercial real estate services firm Avison Young on Wednesday encouraged keeping a focus on the cyclical nature of the industry and long-term principles in the face of numerous current uncertainties in the world.
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February 12, 2025
Rhodium Says Landlord Tried To 'Destroy' It In $300M Suit
Bankrupt Bitcoin mining company Rhodium Encore has filed a $300 million lawsuit in Texas bankruptcy court accusing competitor Riot Platforms and landlord and power provider Whinstone US Inc. of sabotaging its business and driving it into bankruptcy.
Expert Analysis
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The Challenges SEC's Climate Disclosure Rule May Face
Attorneys at Debevoise examine potential legal challenges to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new climate-related disclosure rule — against which nine suits have already been filed — including arguments under the Administrative Procedure Act, the major questions doctrine, the First Amendment and the nondelegation doctrine.
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How FinCEN Proposal Expands RE Transaction Obligations
Against a regulatory backdrop foreshadowing anti-money laundering efforts in the real estate sector, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's proposed rule significantly expands reporting requirements for certain nonfinanced residential real estate transfers and necessitates careful review, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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Unpacking FinCEN's Proposed Real Estate Transaction Rule
Phil Jelsma and Ulrick Matsunaga at Crosbie Gliner take a close look at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recently proposed rulemaking — which mandates new disclosures for professionals involved in all-cash real estate deals — and discuss best next steps for the broad range of businesses that could be affected.
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New FinCEN Guide Provides Useful BOI Context For Banks
Financial institutions should review a new Financial Crimes Enforcement Network compliance guide for helpful details about how the agency's beneficial ownership information database should be used, though questions remain about the access rule and whether it will truly streamline bank borrowers' Corporate Transparency Act due diligence, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.
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DC's Housing Tax Break Proposal: What's In It, What's Missing
Proposed Washington, D.C., rules implementing the Housing in Downtown Tax Abatement program — for commercial property owners who convert properties into residential housing — thoroughly explain the process for submitting an application, but do not provide sufficient detail regarding the actual dollar value of the abatements, says Daniel Miktus at Akerman.
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Contract Disputes Recap: The Terms Matter
Stephanie Magnell and Zachary Jacobson at Seyfarth examine recent decisions from the U.S. Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, which offer reminders about the importance of including contract terms to address the unexpected circumstances that may interfere with performance.
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Reducing Carbon Footprint Requires A Tricky Path For CRE
As real estate owners find themselves caught between rapidly evolving environmental, social and governance initiatives and complicated societal debate, they will need to carefully establish formal plans to remain both competitive and compliant, say Michael Kuhn and Mahira Khan at Jackson Walker.
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New CMS Rule Will Change Nursing Facility Disclosures
A new rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services significantly expands disclosure requirements for nursing facilities backed by private equity companies or real estate investment trusts, likely foreshadowing increased oversight that could include more targeted audits, say Janice Davis and Christopher Ronne at Morgan Lewis.
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What Shareholder Approval Rule Changes Mean For Cos.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently approved proposed rule changes to shareholder requirements by the New York Stock Exchange, an approval that will benefit listed companies in many ways, including by making it easier to raise capital from passive investors, say attorneys at Baker Botts.
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White Collar Plea Deals Are Rarely 'Knowing' And 'Voluntary'
Because prosecutors are not required to disclose exculpatory evidence during plea negotiations, white collar defendants often enter into plea deals that don’t meet the U.S. Supreme Court’s “knowing” and “voluntary” standard for trials — but individual courts and solutions judges could rectify the issue, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.
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ESG Around The World: Canada
In Canada, multiple statutes, regulations, common law and industry guidance address environmental, social and governance considerations, with debate over ESG in the business realm potentially growing on the horizon, say attorneys at Blakes.
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How Lease Obligations Can Affect Subchapter V Debt Cap
Two recent bankruptcy rulings in the Eastern District of Virginia and the Southern District of New York take opposite positions on whether unmatured lease obligations are considered noncontingent debt for the purposes of calculating debtors' Subchapter V eligibility, say Joseph Orbach and Henry Thomas at Thompson Coburn.
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Trends That Will Shape The Construction Industry In 2024
Though the outlook for the construction industry is mixed, it is clear that 2024 will bring evolving changes aimed at building projects more safely and efficiently under difficult circumstances, and stakeholders would be wise to prepare for the challenges and opportunities these trends will bring, say Josephine Bahn and Jeffery Mullen at Cozen O'Connor.