Commercial

  • April 22, 2024

    Mo. Tax Board Says Horse Breeding Farm Is Agricultural Land

    A Missouri property used to breed and care for horses that are shown at shows should have been classified as agricultural instead of commercial, the state tax commission ruled.

  • April 22, 2024

    Latham-Led CoStar To Buy Matterport In $1.6B Deal

    Latham & Watkins LLP-advised CoStar Group said Monday it has agreed to buy 3D spacial-capture technology company Matterport at an estimated enterprise value of $1.6 billion, in a deal that will add its virtual property tour technology to CoStar's existing real estate information and analytics offerings. 

  • April 19, 2024

    Attys Wary Of 'Zero Tolerance' Approach In New PFAS Rule

    With Friday's finalization of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rule designating two "forever chemicals" as hazardous, the stakes just got higher for real property due diligence work.

  • April 19, 2024

    Casino SPAC Can Return Money, Not Shares, Chancery Rules

    Stockholders in a blank-check company that failed to merge with a Philippines-based casino are entitled to a distribution from $37.5 million sitting in trust, but the company may not redeem any shares until an investor's Delaware lawsuit plays out, a Chancery Court vice chancellor said Friday.

  • April 19, 2024

    Insurers Push To Arbitrate Hurricane Damage Case

    An arbitrator should decide whether a Louisiana property owner's hurricane damage claims must be arbitrated, a group of surplus lines insurers argued in urging the Second Circuit to reject a New York district court's reliance on the circuit's precedent to find the arbitration clause at issue unenforceable.

  • April 19, 2024

    NY AG Doubts Trump Insurer Can Cover $175M Bond

    The New York Attorney General's Office told a Manhattan court Friday it has doubts about a California insurer's ability to cover a $175 million bond imposed on Donald Trump after a civil trial in which he was found responsible for conspiring to inflate his wealth for financial gain.

  • April 19, 2024

    US Trustee Balks At 22% Rate On Petersen Health DIP Loan

    The U.S. Trustee's Office objected Friday to senior living company Petersen Health Care's proposed bankruptcy financing, telling a Delaware judge that the combined 22% interest rate on the $45 million debtor-in-possession loan is "above market."

  • April 19, 2024

    Pillsbury Makes Longtime Commitment To 'Iconic' SF Building

    Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP has extended the lease on its San Francisco offices for 11 more years, the firm announced Friday.

  • April 19, 2024

    Polsinelli Adds Shareholder To Tax Credit Practice In Dallas

    An attorney who spent more than a decade developing a niche practice specializing in tax credit financing has moved her practice to Polsinelli PC's Dallas office after five years at Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr PC.

  • April 19, 2024

    The Week In Trump: NY Trial And A High Court Date Loom

    Despite a few snags, jury selection for Donald Trump's hush money trial in Manhattan unfolded relatively quickly, clearing the way for opening statements Monday in the historic case as the former president prepped for a U.S. Supreme Court debate over his supposed immunity.

  • April 19, 2024

    Fried Frank Advises $632M Hotel Portfolio Refinancing

    Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP advised hotel operator MCR and developer Building and Land Technology on a $632 million refinancing of a portfolio of 53 hotels in more than a dozen states.

  • April 19, 2024

    EPA Says 2 'Forever Chemicals' Are Hazardous Substances

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday officially declared two "forever chemicals" to be hazardous materials under federal law, which could bring a host of consequences for Superfund site cleanups and development projects.

  • April 18, 2024

    What 4 Real Estate Leaders Said At NYU's REIT Symposium

    The public real estate investment trust sector will bounce back from its current troubles "at some point," said Jon Gray, Blackstone's president. He was not the only company executive who sounded hopeful about the industry's future at New York University's 28th annual REIT symposium.

  • April 18, 2024

    Investors In Failed Manila Casino Deal Sue For SPAC Shares

    Shareholders in a blank-check company that failed to take a Philippines casino public have intervened in two Delaware Chancery Court lawsuits to recoup their failed investments, with one seeking to litigate damages from the busted $2.6 billion deal and the other pushing for the company's liquidation.

  • April 18, 2024

    Investor Says Healthcare REIT Ties Undercut Lease Terms

    An activist investor on Thursday urged shareholders to vote against two of National Health Investors Inc.'s incumbent board members at an annual meeting in May, alleging that conflicts of interest between directors on the board and the company's largest tenant are harming the real estate investment trust.

  • April 18, 2024

    Rexford Didn't Fear Competitors Would Get Blackstone Assets

    Rexford Industrial Realty wasn't terribly concerned that a 3 million-square-foot Blackstone industrial portfolio might go to one of its competitor REITs had the company not scooped up the properties earlier this year for roughly $1 billion, Rexford said on its first-quarter earnings call Thursday.

  • April 18, 2024

    Blackstone, Expecting CRE Rebound, Leans Into Deal-Making

    Executives at Blackstone, the world's largest landlord and alternative asset manager, said they see signs that commercial real estate is beginning to bounce back, despite macroeconomic challenges and a shift in how people use offices.

  • April 18, 2024

    Smith Gambrell Hires Ex-Jacksonville, Fla., Deputy GC

    Smith Gambrell & Russell LLP has added a longtime deputy general counsel for the city of Jacksonville, Florida, as counsel within its real estate group and as the head of the Jacksonville office's government affairs practice.

  • April 17, 2024

    Damages Still Possible In Lease Tax Reimbursement Row

    A Court of Federal Claims judge has ruled that the General Services Administration could unilaterally adjust the real estate tax reimbursement methodology under a lease for the Defense Health Agency's headquarters building, but the building owner may still be owed damages.

  • April 17, 2024

    Ga. Jury Finds Supplier At Fault For Botched Herbicide Job

    An Atlanta federal jury on Wednesday found a company hired to thin out woods on a rural Georgia property and a subcontractor brought in to spray the property with herbicide were responsible for wrecking a developer's plans for turning the location into a quail hunting retreat. 

  • April 17, 2024

    Wilmington Trust Wants $33M For Defaulted Mortgage

    Wilmington Trust accused a company in Delaware federal court of owing more than $33 million for a defaulted mortgage loan for a Wilmington, Delaware, property.

  • April 17, 2024

    Racetrack's Unlisted Use Unremarkable, Mich. Justice Says

    A Michigan Supreme Court justice said Wednesday it was not "particularly remarkable" that a zoning ordinance did not list all approved commercial uses, as residents push the court to restrict a race dragway's operations, noting that the law uses examples because it would be impossible to list everything allowed.

  • April 17, 2024

    Prologis Pins Lower Occupancy Rates On Southern California

    Prologis Inc. executives told investors Thursday that the logistics real estate investment trust saw occupancy rates and pricing at slightly lower than expected levels during the first quarter of 2024, driven down largely by lackluster performance in Southern California.

  • April 17, 2024

    SL Green And Vornado Extend, Modify NYC Office Loans

    SL Green Realty Corp. and Vornado Realty Trust modified, extended and partially repaid a $125 million mezzanine loan for a downtown Manhattan office building and also modified and extended a $1.075 billion securitized mortgage, the real estate investment trusts announced.

  • April 17, 2024

    Okla. Lawmakers OK Use Of Images For Property Inspections

    Oklahoma would allow county assessors to inspect property remotely using aerial images taken from airplanes after an initial in-person inspection under a bill passed by the state House of Representatives and headed to the governor.

Expert Analysis

  • Best Practices For Lenders To Limit Recourse Liability

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    As projects face loan maturities in a higher interest rate environment, lenders should diligently observe even seemingly innocuous formalities following an event of default in order to minimize potential recourse liability, especially when borrowers have certain covenants, say Ryan Goins and Matthias Kleinsasser at Winstead.

  • 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.