Commercial
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August 19, 2024
Fraud Trial Waylaid By Last-Minute Bid For Remote Testimony
A Florida federal judge on Monday delayed a bench trial in a lawsuit over real estate investment fraud claims after the alleged victims brought an emergency motion to testify remotely from Africa, with the judge saying she'd have to consider whether rules allow the case to proceed despite their absence.
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August 19, 2024
Gould & Ratner Rehires Construction Atty For Chicago Office
Gould & Ratner LLP rehired Ellen M. Chapelle, who previously worked there as a partner on the construction team, for another stint as a construction partner and a new role as the chair of the insurance counseling and recovery team, the firm announced.
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August 19, 2024
Citibank Sues NYC Developer Over $180M In Defaulted Loans
Citibank and JPMorgan Chase Bank NA are seeking to foreclose on a midtown Manhattan property owned by developer RFR Holding LLC, after the borrower failed to pay off $180 million in debt that matured in June.
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August 19, 2024
Mont. Tax Board Restores $1M Value To Commercial Property
A commercial property in Montana was correctly valued at about $1 million, the state's tax appeals board said, reversing a county tax board and upholding the income approach to the valuation used by the state revenue department.
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August 19, 2024
Insurer Blames Panda Express Grease For $176K Water Leak
An insurer demanded Chinese fast food chain Panda Express Inc. repay it more than $176,000 for damages allegedly caused when the restaurant's grease-filled pipes backed up, leaking water into a clothing store covered by the insurer, in a case the eatery moved to Washington federal court.
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August 19, 2024
Kasowitz Urges NY Court To Toss Supertall Tower Suit
Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP asked a New York state court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by two limited liability companies tied to AmBase Corp. over Manhattan's troubled supertall Steinway Tower.
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August 19, 2024
Emerge Law RE Atty Brings Cannabis Talent To Tarter Krinsky
Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP is adding expertise in cannabis law to its ranks with a real estate lawyer from Emerge Law Group, the firm announced on Monday.
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August 19, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Wachtel Missry and Hunton Andrews Kurth were among the law firms that guided the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, a slow period that saw only five transactions above $15 million become public.
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August 16, 2024
Receiver Went Too Far In Settling Nate Paul Entity Dispute
A Texas appeals court found this week that a receiver acted beyond the scope of his authority when he settled a dispute between a lender and an entity associated with embattled real estate developer Nate Paul.
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August 16, 2024
NYC's Beth Israel Hospital Still Can't Close Amid Legal Fight
A New York state judge on Friday renewed a temporary restraining order that has delayed the shutdown of Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital, citing community members' concerns that its closure would create a healthcare desert in lower Manhattan.
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August 16, 2024
NJ Office Building Seeks Ch. 11 Following '22 Default Actions
A New Jersey office property owned by New York developer Moshe Gold filed for federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after facing a foreclosure action and an involuntary bankruptcy petition that paused a sheriff's sale as a result of the building defaulting on $16.8 million worth of loans in 2022.
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August 16, 2024
Atty Gets 32 Months In Prison For Bribing Chicago Alderman
An Illinois federal judge on Friday sentenced an immigration attorney and real estate developer convicted of bribing former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke to two years and eight months in prison, maintaining prison time is warranted because the lawyer initiated the bribe and tried to hide it from federal agents and the grand jury.
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August 16, 2024
Ex-Goodwin Atty Takes RE Practice To Nelson Mullins
A former Goodwin Procter LLP attorney has chosen Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP to be the new home of his practice focused on real estate private equity and joint venture transactions, the firm has announced.
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August 15, 2024
Green Group Backs Feds' Denial Of Water Co.'s Right-Of-Way
Save Our Forest Association urged a D.C. federal judge on Thursday to reject the company behind Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water's attempt to block the federal government from requiring it cease operation of its 23,000-foot-long water pipeline in Berkeley, California's Strawberry Canyon.
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August 15, 2024
Judge Rejects GE's Bid To Pull Plug On Contamination Suit
A Louisiana federal judge on Wednesday refused to let General Electric escape a lawsuit alleging it is liable for widespread environmental contamination caused by a now-closed pressure valve manufacturing facility that GE used to own.
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August 15, 2024
Hospital REIT Closes $86M Sale Of 11 Colo. Facilities
Medical Properties Trust Inc. sold 11 Colorado healthcare facilities to University of Colorado Health for $86 million, the hospital-focused real estate investment trust announced.
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August 15, 2024
Retail, Office May Drive CMBS Distress Metric To Double
Appraisal reduction amounts for struggling commercial mortgage-backed securities loans have climbed in tandem with delinquency rates and may be on track to double rates seen in 2024, per a report from KBRA.
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August 15, 2024
Baha Mar Builder Blames Developer Debt As $1.5B Trial Wraps
Counsel for the Chinese state-owned construction firm that built the Bahamian luxury resort Baha Mar closed out a bench trial in New York state court on Thursday arguing that it was the resort developer's overleveraged debt, not delays in the building process, that led to $1.5 billion in losses.
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August 15, 2024
Tax Pros Navigate Chaos, Rewards In Climate Law's 2nd Year
Energy tax attorneys have been knee-deep in project finance deals for the past year since the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 triggered a flurry of clean energy investments, but the work, they say, has been fulfilling as part of broader efforts to save the environment.
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August 14, 2024
Top Stories From Real Estate's Latest Quarterly Updates
Catch up on the headlines made by the largest public real estate companies during their latest quarterly earnings calls with investors, from data centers and lease deals to market forecasts and casinos.
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August 14, 2024
Biz Says Mich. Cities Ignore Taxpayers In Fee-Or-Tax Fight
A pipe fitting business has urged the Michigan Supreme Court to reject municipal organizations' "histrionic" arguments that cities' financial stability will be in jeopardy if the top court finds Detroit's fire inspection fee is a disguised tax, saying the groups are disregarding citizens' rights to be free from illegal taxes.
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August 14, 2024
BP Unit Can't Escape Truck Stop Suit, Developers Claim
Companies suing a BP subsidiary for terminating their truck stop franchise agreement and leaving them stuck with unrecoverable development costs hit back against its "shotgun approach" to have their suit seeking more than $300 million in damages thrown out, telling an Ohio federal judge that their complaint is grounded in compelling claims.
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August 14, 2024
NY Judge Tosses Noise Suit Against Queens Tennis Club
A New York state judge on Tuesday dismissed a Queens nonprofit's nuisance suit against The West Side Tennis Club, which was accused of being responsible for excessive noise coming from concerts held at its century-old outdoor stadium in the borough's Forest Hills neighborhood.
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August 14, 2024
Rising Star: Kirkland's Michael Shultz
Michael Shultz of Kirkland & Ellis LLP has advised investor Blue Owl on several major transactions, including its $15 billion acquisition of real estate investment trust STORE Capital Corp. with Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC, earning him a spot among the real estate law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 14, 2024
NYC Hotel License Bill Rattles Hospitality Industry
A bill that would introduce licenses for hotels in New York City has the hospitality industry up in arms, and attorneys shared concerns with Law360 that the public safety messaging behind the proposal is a shield for measures that would drive up labor costs.
Expert Analysis
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Rare Reg A+ Fines Reflect New Era Of SEC Enforcement
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent announcement of civil penalties against 10 microcap companies for violations of Regulation A+ shows that as the SEC continues to expand its enforcement efforts, its focus remains on protecting investors of all sizes — including those investing in the historically less-scrutinized Reg A+ issuers, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Factors To Consider When Structuring Data Center Contracts
Data center leases and service agreements grant very similar rights and impose similar obligations, but they also hold notable differences and a range of factors that are important to consider when selecting which form of agreement to use, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Rethinking Mich. Slip-And-Fall Defense After Top Court Ruling
The Michigan Supreme Court recently overturned three decades of premises liability jurisprudence by ruling that the open and obvious danger defense is no longer part of a traditional duty analysis, posing the question of whether landowners will ever again win on a motion for summary dismissal, say John Stiglich and Meriam Choulagh at Wilson Elser.
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Subchapter V Eligibility Ruling Raises Uncertainty For Tenants
A Virginia bankruptcy court’s recent ruling in Macedon Consulting — that all remaining rent under a lease should be factored into a lessee's Subchapter V eligibility — raises the question, but does not address, how a court should calculate the amount of debt owed under a lease, creating significant risk for potential tenant debtors, says Sam Ashuraey at Ashuraey Law.
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Parsing Tax Implications Of NYC Office Leasing Transactions
Though New York City's tax laws generally do not require negotiated contractual risk allocation in the case of sublease and early lease termination transactions, it is still helpful for counsel to both landlords and tenants to understand the laws' nuances, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Caregiver Flexibility Is Crucial For Atty Engagement, Retention
As the battle for top talent continues post-pandemic, many firms are attempting to attract employees with progressive hybrid working environments — and supporting caregivers before, during and after an extended leave is a critically important way to retain top talent, says Manar Morales at The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.
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NY's Take On Premises Insurance Policies: What's In A Name?
A New York appellate court's recent decision in Wesco Insurance v. Fulmont Mutual Insurance — requiring insurance coverage for a property owner not named on the policy — strengthens a state case law trend creating a practical exception in premises liability cases to normally strict requirements for coverage, says Craig Rokuson at Traub Lieberman.
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Bankruptcy Ruling Shows Section 363's Magic Has Its Limits
The Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel's recent ruling in Groves demonstrates that Section 363 — which allows a debtor-in-possession to sell their property in order to generate cash — fails as a tool when it’s used to turn a nondebtor entities' property into property of a debtor's bankruptcy estate, says Brian Shaw at Cozen O'Connor.
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In-Office Engagement Is Essential To Associate Development
As law firms develop return-to-office policies that allow hybrid work arrangements, they should incorporate the specific types of in-person engagement likely to help associates develop attributes common among successful firm leaders, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.
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Shifts In The CRE Landscape Demand Creative Loan Solutions
An increase in commercial real estate loan workouts makes it critical for borrowers, lenders and other CRE participants to examine all the available options and remedies, including mortgage and mezzanine foreclosures, bankruptcy filings and property short sales, say attorneys at Goulston & Storrs.
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How To Recognize And Recover From Lawyer Loneliness
Law can be one of the loneliest professions, but there are practical steps that attorneys and their managers can take to help themselves and their peers improve their emotional health, strengthen their social bonds and protect their performance, says psychologist and attorney Traci Cipriano.
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A Smoother Process For CRE Receiverships In Conn.
A newly effective Connecticut law concerning distressed commercial real estate provides a number of opportunities and strategic considerations for creditors, and should be watched even by counsel in other states as adoption of the law could become more widespread, say John Loughnane and Steven Coury at White and Williams.
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What Came Of Texas Legislature's Long-Promised Tax Relief
Following promises of historic tax relief made possible by a record budget surplus, the Texas legislative session as a whole was one in which taxpayers that are large businesses could have done somewhat better, but the new legislation is clearly still a positive, say attorneys at Baker Botts.