Commercial

  • March 31, 2025

    NYC Fights Group's Claim Of Biased Property Tax System

    An organization that says New York City's property tax regime discriminates against minorities can't proceed with its claim, the city told the state appellate court, saying that further discovery or trial is needed.

  • March 31, 2025

    Gibson Dunn Pilots Hudson Pacific's $475M Office Financing

    Hudson Pacific Properties, advised by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, obtained a $475 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan backed by a portfolio of six office buildings on the West Coast, the company said Monday.

  • March 31, 2025

    Denver Defeats Landlord's Challenge To Energy Standards

    A Colorado federal judge tossed a suit challenging state and Denver laws that set target dates for certain properties to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, saying the trade groups that brought the claims lacked standing.

  • March 31, 2025

    NYC Real Estate Week In Review

    Goldberg Weprin and Hirschen Singer are among the law firms that scored work on the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, a slow period that saw only two deals above the $15 million mark become public.

  • March 31, 2025

    Wachtell, S&C Build Mechanics Bank, HomeStreet Merger

    Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz LLP-advised Mechanics Bank on Monday announced plans to merge with Sullivan & Cromwell LLP-led HomeStreet Bank in a deal that will create a combined company with 168 branches and $23 billion in assets.

  • March 31, 2025

    Utah Requires Min. Property Tax Rate Consensus Certification

    Utah will require a minimum property tax rate imposed by school districts to be certified by the state's tax commission, the governor's Office of Planning and Budget and the state Legislature's Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst under a bill signed by the governor.

  • March 31, 2025

    Eric Adams Urges Speedy Dismissal As NYC Primaries Loom

    New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Monday urged a Manhattan federal judge to promptly throw out his bribery and corruption charges, pointing to an upcoming mayoral election filing deadline and the court's previous vows to rule quickly.

  • March 28, 2025

    Property Plays: GSA, JP Morgan REIT, Related

    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.

  • March 28, 2025

    Minors Sue Over Alleged Trafficking At Metro-Atlanta Hotels

    Two unidentified minors have filed separate suits in federal court alleging the owners and operators of two Atlanta area hotels knew the minors were being sex trafficked but did nothing to stop it.

  • March 28, 2025

    NY Ski Resort Co. Appealing Court's Antitrust Ruling

    A New York ski resort operator told a state court on Friday that it's appealing the state's victory in its antitrust suit, which alleged that the operator purposefully closed a local competitor after acquiring it.

  • March 28, 2025

    Judge Ends $400M Air Force Base PFAS Contamination Case

    A Court of Federal Claims judge has dismissed a $400 million lawsuit from New Mexico landowners alleging that PFAS runoff from a nearby U.S. Air Force base contaminated their land, saying they hadn't shown any taking by the government.

  • March 28, 2025

    9th Circ. Affirms Maui County's Win In Religious Land-Use Suit

    The Ninth Circuit is backing a Hawaii county's jury trial victory over a nonprofit's Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act lawsuit, ruling on Friday that the lower court rightfully sided with the county even though it erred by including a certain jury instruction.

  • March 28, 2025

    Masonry Exec Charged In Plot To Bribe Amtrak Official

    The president of an Illinois-based masonry contractor awarded a $58 million federal contract to renovate Philadelphia's historic 30th Street Station has been charged with conspiring to bribe an Amtrak official, the U.S. attorney's office in the city said Friday.

  • March 28, 2025

    Property Owners Sue NYC Over Sidewalk Shed Legislation

    A group of New York City property owners hit the city with a proposed class action alleging sidewalk shed regulations amount to an unconstitutional taking, one day after the city council approved a package of bills aiming to reform the policies.

  • March 28, 2025

    NYC Margaritaville Ch. 11 Plan OK'd After Buffett Hit Played

    A New York bankruptcy judge on Friday confirmed the Chapter 11 plan of the developer of the Margaritaville resort in Times Square, as he played the resort's namesake song during a hearing.

  • March 28, 2025

    Shutts & Bowen Accused Of Sinking Florida Country Club Sale

    A real estate corporation is suing Florida firm Shutts & Bowen LLP and one of its partners for malpractice, alleging that as part of a fee dispute, they scuttled a deal for the sale of a country club that the business had been negotiating.

  • March 28, 2025

    Calif. Tenants Claim REIT Charged Extra For Pests, Trash

    A proposed class of California tenants accused real estate investment trust Equity Residential and two of its subsidiaries of unlawfully charging them separate fees for pest control and trash collection.

  • March 28, 2025

    Rockwood Buys $153M DC Office Building From Brookfield

    Rockwood Capital has scooped up a nine-story office building in Washington, D.C., from Brookfield Properties for $153 million and secured $113.4 million in financing for the deal through a German bank, with help from King & Spalding LLP, property records show.

  • March 28, 2025

    Taxation With Representation: Norton Rose, Latham, Ashurst

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, Dollar Tree sells its Family Dollar business to private equity firms, eye care company Alcon buys medical technology company Lensar and Ithaca Energy PLC buys the U.K. subsidiary of Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd.

  • March 27, 2025

    Sticky's Seeks To Pluck Ch. 11 Victory From Jaws Of Defeat

    Popular New York-area chicken restaurant chain Sticky's has asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge for permission to enter deals with a Southern-style restaurant chain and an investment firm in a last-ditch attempt to sell off the debtor's assets in its Chapter 11 case.

  • March 27, 2025

    Quarles & Brady Snag Land Banking Expert

    Quarles & Brady LLP announced Thursday that the firm added a partner to its real estate practice group, who joins Quarles & Brady from an in-house role at a residential real estate capital provider.

  • March 27, 2025

    Conrail Land Can't Go In Renewal Zone, NJ Court Says

    A New Jersey state appeals court has ruled that federal law bars Jersey City lawmakers from going forward with a redevelopment plan for local property owned by Consolidated Rail Corp.

  • March 27, 2025

    California Tribe Wants In On 70-Acre Casino Project Challenge

    A California tribe at the center of a challenge to an Interior Department decision to take 70 acres into trust for the construction of its hotel and casino project is asking a federal court to intervene in the dispute, arguing the plaintiff's anticompetitive behavior will impede its goal of self-governance.

  • March 27, 2025

    US Ranked Low At Fighting Real Estate Money Laundering

    The U.S. is the third-worst country when it comes to fighting money laundering in real estate because of a lack of regulations, according to a report ranking the national markets of 24 countries.

  • March 27, 2025

    Latham Guides $1B Hyatt Bond Offering

    Latham & Watkins LLP announced Thursday that it guided Hyatt Hotels Corporation's $1 billion bond offering, which the hospitality company plans to use to fund its $2.6 billion acquisition of a beachfront resort operator.

Expert Analysis

  • How CFIUS' Updated Framework Affects Global Investors

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    The recent change to the monitoring and enforcement regulations governing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States will broaden administrative practices around nonnotified transaction investigations, increase the scope of information demands from the committee and accelerate its ability to impose mitigation on parties, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Foreclosing Lenders Still Floating In Murky Legal Waters In NY

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    The New York foreclosure landscape remains in disarray after the state's highest court last month declined to weigh in on whether legal changes from 2022 that severely curtailed lenders' ability to bring successive foreclosure cases were retroactive, says Brian Rich at Barclay Damon.

  • NYC Hotel Licensing Law's Costs May Outweigh Its Benefits

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    A hotel licensing bill recently approved by New York's City Council could lead to the loss of many nonunionized hotels that cannot afford to comply, says Stuart Saft at Holland & Knight.

  • Calif. Ruling Offers Hope For Mitigated Negative Declarations

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    In Upland Community First v. City of Upland, a California appeals court upheld a warehouse development's mitigated negative declaration over its greenhouse gas emissions thresholds — a rare victory against this type of challenge providing reassurance that such declarations can be upheld, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • There's No Crying In Property Valuation Baseball Arbitration

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    The World Series is the perfect time to consider how the form of arbitration used for settling MLB salary disputes — in which each side offers competing valuations to an arbitrator, who must select one — is often ideal for resolving property valuation disputes, say Sean O’Donnell at Herrick Feinstein and Mark Dunec at FTI Consulting.

  • Webuild Ruling Complicates Arb. Award Enforcement In US

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    A Delaware federal court's recent decision in Sociedad Concesionaria Metropolitana de Salud v. Webuild, if read literally, could undercut the United States' image as a proarbitration jurisdiction by complicating creditors' efforts to enforce awards against property in this country, says Jeff Newton at Omni Bridgeway.

  • How To Avoid A Costly CPA Limitation Hidden In Most Leases

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    The lease audit rights clause is a seemingly innocuous provision in most commercial real estate leases that ends up costing tenants millions of dollars each year, as they have unwittingly agreed to retain only an accountant to investigate and settle financial issues, says Jason Aster at KBA Lease Services.

  • Navigating FEMA Grant Program For Slope Fixes After Storms

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    In the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, it is critical for governments, businesses and individuals to understand the legal requirements of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's grant programs to obtain funding for crucial repairs — including restoration of damaged infrastructure caused by landslides and slope failures, says Charles Schexnaildre at Baker Donelson.

  • Smith's New Trump Indictment Is Case Study In Superseding

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    Special counsel Jack Smith’s recently revised Jan. 6 charges against former President Donald Trump provide lessons for prosecutors on how to effectively draft superseding indictments in order to buttress or streamline their case, as necessary, says Jessica Roth at Cardozo Law School.

  • Consider Best Legal Practices For Commissioning Public Art

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    Commissioning public art for real estate projects can provide many benefits to real estate developers and the public, but it's important to understand the unique legal and contracting aspects of the process to ensure that projects are completed on time and on budget, says Sarah Conley Odenkirk at ArtConverge.

  • Applying High Court's Domestic Corruption Rulings To FCPA

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the domestic corruption statutes in three decisions over the past year and a half, it’s worth evaluating whether these rulings may have an impact on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, and if attorneys can use the court’s reasoning in international bribery cases, says James Koukios at MoFo.

  • Climate Among Many Factors Driving Up RE Insurance Costs

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    A proactive approach to risk management may determine the viability of the U.S. commercial real estate sector as weather crises and other factors drive insurance costs higher, says Ulrick Matsunaga at Crosbie Gliner.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Debriefings, Timeliness, Documentation

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    ​James Tucker at MoFo examines three recent decisions from the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims concerning an agency's decision not to hold post-award discussions, a timeliness trap in certain Federal Supply Schedule procurements and the importance of providing contemporaneous documentation in price-evaluation protests.