Commercial
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August 02, 2024
Insurers Seek Quick Win In $2M Injury Coverage Suit
An AmTrust Financial unit and a Hartford unit each told a New York federal court that the other must solely cover a Manhattan property owner in a construction worker's $2 million injury action, disagreeing over whether the owner is an additional insured under the Hartford unit's policy covering a lessee.
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August 02, 2024
Ex-Loeb Tax Atty Latest Addition To Kilpatrick's NY Team
A former Loeb & Loeb LLP attorney is bringing his experience in U.S. federal tax matters and real estate transactions to Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, the firm announced Thursday.
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August 02, 2024
Land Sale Deals Allowed In Colo. Eminent Domain Dispute
A Colorado appeals court ruled against the city of Westminster in its eminent domain action, ruling that three comparable sales contracts and an adjacent land parcel's $51.5 million purchase and sale contract can be admitted as evidence in a valuation trial.
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August 02, 2024
Property Plays: VICI, Host Hotels, Tampa Bay Rays
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.
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August 02, 2024
Shartsis Friese Adds Real Estate Litigator In San Francisco
Shartsis Friese LLP has expanded its real estate team, announcing that it has brought in a litigator and bankruptcy expert from SSL Law Firm LLP as a partner in San Francisco.
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August 01, 2024
Lewis Brisbois Slams RICO Claims Alleging 'Sham' Suits
Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP has urged a California federal judge Tuesday to toss Chinese investors' accusations that its attorneys filed lawsuits to cover their failure to read "draconian" contract terms that led the investors to lose their $92.5 million stake in a $2.5 billion Los Angeles mixed-used development.
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August 01, 2024
Host Hotels & Resorts Buys Up NYC Hotel For $265M
Hospitality-focused real estate investment trust Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. acquired a 234-room New York City hotel for $265 million in an all-cash transaction, the REIT announced on Aug. 1 during an earnings call for 2024's second quarter.
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August 01, 2024
Senate Advances Bipartisan Bill To End Hotel 'Junk' Fees
The U.S. Senate voted to advance a bill out of committee that would crack down on "junk fees," or hidden fees tacked on to hotel or short-term rental bookings, an idea that has drawn bipartisan support.
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August 01, 2024
VICI Passes On Caesars Indianapolis Racino
VICI Properties Inc., a real estate investment trust focused on gaming and resorts real estate, said Aug. 1 in a call with analysts that it would not pursue a deal to purchase an Indianapolis racino and said it is well-prepared for potential mergers and acquisitions of its casino operators.
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August 01, 2024
Bahamas Resort Developer Seeks $1.5B In Builder Fraud Trial
Counsel for the now-defunct developer of the Bahamian luxury resort Baha Mar opened a bench trial in New York state court Thursday arguing the company lost more than $1.5 billion because of a Chinese state-owned construction firm's "lies, competing agendas and broken promises."
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August 01, 2024
Real Estate Lawyers On The Move
Honigman and Gordon Rees are among the firms that have made recent real estate or construction hires.
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August 01, 2024
Office REIT To Liquidate After Facing Investor Pressure
The president of Equity Commonwealth announced that the company will sell its four remaining office properties and wind down operations, after the real estate investment trust faced multiple calls to liquidate by activist stockholders.
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August 01, 2024
Investor Hits Arbor Realty With Securities Fraud Claims
An investor accused real estate investment trust Arbor Realty Trust Inc. in New York federal court of misleading its investors about how the REIT was doing financially.
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August 01, 2024
3 Firms Advise JV To Build Downtown Denver Data Center
Infrastructure investment firm Stonepeak said it has reached an agreement with American Tower affiliate CoreSite to build a $250 million multiphase data center in downtown Denver, Colorado, in a deal advised by Sidley Austin LLP, Sullivan & Worcester LLP and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.
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July 31, 2024
Top California Real Estate News In 2024 So Far
Catch up on the hottest real estate news out of California so far this year, from homeless policy shifts and rent algorithm disputes to a $5 billion mixed-use project and a shareholder activist campaign.
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July 31, 2024
Steward Health Care Gets OK To Close 2 Mass. Hospitals
A Texas bankruptcy judge Wednesday approved the closure of two Massachusetts hospitals owned by Steward Health Care after the debtor said that it was unable to find buyers for them.
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July 31, 2024
Separate Easement Contribution Docs Critical, IRS Atty Says
Conservation easement donors must always keep separate documents from their donees that acknowledge the gifted property to qualify for a charitable tax deduction in the event the IRS requests such information during an audit, according to an agency counsel Wednesday.
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July 31, 2024
Public Storage Sees Declining Move-In Rents Abate In Q2
Public Storage is continuing to see a slump in incoming rent from tenants moving into new storage units compared to last year, though the losses are decreasing quarter-over-quarter, according to executives in a Wednesday earnings call.
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July 31, 2024
Bank Of America Expects Easing Of Office Loan Losses In '24
Bank of America said it saw losses on its office loans slow down in the second quarter and predicted fewer write-offs in the second half of 2024 in announcing earnings recently.
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July 31, 2024
Calif. Real Estate Pros Expect More Distress, Fewer Projects
A majority of surveyed California real estate professionals foresee rising distress levels and a significant decline in new developments in the coming years, according to a new report.
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July 31, 2024
Minn. Tax Court Agrees Parking Lot's Value Is $4M, Not $10M
A Minneapolis parking lot would be best valued as a buy-and-hold investment property and thus its assessed value should be lowered from $10.3 million to $3.9 million, the Minnesota Tax Court said.
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July 31, 2024
Minn. Shopping Center's $97M Value Upheld By State Justices
A Minnesota shopping center was correctly valued for tax purposes at nearly $97 million, the state Supreme Court said Wednesday, rejecting the property owner's argument that the valuation should consider a calculation of effective rent instead of market rent.
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July 31, 2024
Fox Rothschild Faces Malpractice Suit Over Land Row
Two siblings have brought legal malpractice claims against Fox Rothschild LLP and a firm partner in New Jersey state court, accusing the lawyer of bungling a 1984 property deed and a 1993 trust belonging to their stepfather.
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July 31, 2024
Public Interest Firm Adds K&L Gates Ex-Partner As Managing Atty
The Fairness Center, a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based nonprofit legal services organization representing public-sector union employees against union officials, has expanded its leadership team this week by adding a former K&L Gates partner as a managing attorney.
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July 31, 2024
Ohio Tax Board Says Two McDonald's Properties Overvalued
Two Ohio McDonald's restaurants were overvalued by the Lorain County Board of Revision, the state tax appeals board ruled, agreeing with the company's appraisal taking into consideration comparable properties.
Expert Analysis
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SEC Climate Rules Create Unique Challenges For CRE
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently adopted final rules concerning climate-related disclosures for public companies are likely to affect even real estate companies that are not publicly traded, since they may be required to provide information to entities that are subject to the rules, says Laura Truesdale at Moore & Van Allen.
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New Proposal Signals Sharper Enforcement Focus At CFIUS
Last week's proposed rule aimed at broadening the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' enforcement authority over foreign investments and increasing penalties for violations signals that CFIUS intends to continue expanding its aggressive monitoring of national security issues, say attorneys at Kirkland.
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How Retail Tenants Can Avoid Paying Rent Prematurely
When negotiating leases for spaces in shopping centers, retail tenants should ensure that the language specifies they only need to begin paying rent when the center is substantially occupied as a whole, as it can be difficult to modify leases that are executed without co-tenancy requirements or termination rights, say Joshua Bernstein and Benjamin Joelson at Akerman.
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Weisselberg's Perjury At Trial Spotlights Atty Ethics Issues
Former Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg’s recent guilty plea for perjury in the New York attorney general's civil fraud trial should serve as a reminder to attorneys of their ethical duties when they know a client has lied or plans to lie in court, and the potential penalties for not fulfilling those obligations, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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Climate Disclosure Mandates Demand A Big-Picture Approach
As carbon emissions disclosure requirements from the European Union, California and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission take effect, the best practice for companies is not targeted compliance with a given reporting regime, but rather a comprehensive approach to systems assessment and management, says David Smith at Manatt.
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Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.
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Trump's NY Civil Fraud Trial Spotlights Long-Criticized Law
A New York court’s recent decision holding former President Donald Trump liable for fraud brought old criticisms of the state law used against him back into the limelight — including its strikingly broad scope and its major departures from the traditional elements of common law fraud, say Mark Kelley and Lois Ahn at MoloLamken.
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$175M Bond Refiled By Trump Is Still Substantively Flawed
The corrected $175 million bond posted by former President Donald Trump on Thursday to stave off enforcement of the New York attorney general's fraud judgment against him remains substantively and procedurally flawed, as well as inadequately secured, says Adam Pollock of Pollock Cohen.
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Calif. Ruling Shows Limits Of Exculpatory Lease Clauses
A California court's recent decision in Epochal Enterprises v. LF Encinitas Properties, finding a landlord liable for failing to disclose the presence of asbestos on the subject property, underscores the limits of exculpatory clauses' ability to safeguard landlords from liability where known hazards are present, say Fawaz Bham and Javier De Luna at Hunton.
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Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer
Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.
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Payment Provision Lessons From NJ Construction Ruling
A New Jersey appellate court's decision in Bil-Jim v. Wyncrest, holding that an American Institute of Architects contract was not an installment contract, highlights both the complexities of statute of limitations calculations and the significant consequences that can arise from minor differences in contract language, say Mitchell Taraschi and Zac Brower at Connell Foley.
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Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.
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A Legal Playbook For Stadium Construction Agreements
As a new wave of construction in the professional sports arena space gets underway, owners must carefully consider the unique considerations and risks associated with these large-scale projects and draft agreements accordingly, say attorneys at Akerman.