Commercial
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July 08, 2024
Feds Aim To Expand Military Site List For Land Deal Reviews
The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Monday proposed putting 59 more military sites on its radar when it reviews real estate deals for national security issues, a move that comes on the heels of the White House's crackdown on a Chinese-owned cryptocurrency mine near a Wyoming air base.
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July 08, 2024
Morrison Cohen Launches Luxury Brands Practice
Morrison Cohen LLP announced Monday the launch of a luxury brands practice designed to offer more holistic counsel to high-end companies like Valentino, Louis Vuitton, Salvatore Ferragamo and more.
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July 08, 2024
Frost Brown Adds Former Solo Land Use Atty In Calif.
Frost Brown Todd LLP has brought on a former solo practitioner and veteran California attorney with expertise in the state's environmental quality act in the firm's San Francisco office, the firm announced Monday.
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July 08, 2024
Willkie Real Estate Ace Jumps To Gibson Dunn In NY
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP has added to its New York office an experienced attorney who previously chaired Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP's real estate finance practice and who also spent more than a decade at Dechert LLP.
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July 08, 2024
Landowners Defend Wyo. Antitrust Claims Against Anadarko
Wyoming landowners accusing an Occidental Petroleum Corp. unit of antitrust behavior are urging a federal judge to reject its bid for a win on their state law claims as the case heads toward a trial.
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July 08, 2024
Feds Seize $63M LA Estate Tied To Armenian Bribe Probe
The U.S. Department of Justice said Monday that it will seize a $63 million Los Angeles estate that it claims was bought with bribe payments for the family of a former Armenian government official.
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July 05, 2024
11th Circ. Won't Touch $9.7M College Hurricane Coverage Win
The Eleventh Circuit ruled Friday that a district court unlawfully certified a partial judgment in favor of The Baptist College of Florida for review in a $13 million insurance coverage dispute for hurricane damage costs.
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July 05, 2024
How Reshaped Circuit Courts Are Faring At The High Court
Seminal rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court's latest term will reshape many facets of American society in the coming years. Already, however, the rulings offer glimpses of how the justices view specific circuit courts, which have themselves been reshaped by an abundance of new judges.
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July 05, 2024
Breaking Down The Vote: The High Court Term In Review
The U.S. Supreme Court's lethargic pace of decision-making this term left the justices to issue a slew of highly anticipated and controversial rulings during the term's final week — rulings that put the court's ideological divisions on vivid display. Here, Law360 takes a data dive into the numbers behind this court term.
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July 05, 2024
High Court Flexes Muscle To Limit Administrative State
The U.S. Supreme Court's dismantling of a 40-year-old judicial deference doctrine, coupled with rulings stripping federal agencies of certain enforcement powers and exposing them to additional litigation, has established the October 2023 term as likely the most consequential in administrative law history.
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July 05, 2024
The Sharpest Dissents From The Supreme Court Term
The U.S. Supreme Court's session ended with a series of blockbuster cases that granted the president broad immunity, changed federal gun policy and kneecapped administrative agencies. And many of the biggest decisions fell along partisan lines.
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July 05, 2024
5 Moments That Shaped The Supreme Court's Jan. 6 Decision
When the high court limited the scope of a federal obstruction statute used to charge hundreds of rioters who stormed the Capitol, the justices did not vote along ideological lines. In a year marked by 6-3 splits, what accounts for the departure? Here are some moments from oral arguments that may have swayed the justices.
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July 05, 2024
The Funniest Moments Of The Supreme Court's Term
In a U.S. Supreme Court term teeming with serious showdowns, the august air at oral arguments filled with laughter after an attorney mentioned her plastic surgeon and a justice seemed to diss his colleagues, to cite just two of the term's mirthful moments. Here, we look at the funniest moments of the term.
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July 05, 2024
Robbins Geller, Rosen Law Firm Seek Lead Role In REIT Row
Two parties urged a California federal court to appoint them as the lead plaintiff and their legal representation as the lead counsel for a proposed securities class action that accuses Equinix Inc., a data-center focused real estate investment trust, or REIT, of artificially pumping up its financial metrics.
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July 05, 2024
Trade Groups Sue Denver Over Gas Stove Ban
A coalition of trade groups representing the restaurant, home construction, rental housing and propane gas industries have claimed in Colorado federal court that two Denver ordinances that restrict the use of gas appliances can't be enforced because they're preempted by federal law.
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July 05, 2024
NYC Developer To Pay $272M To Settle SEC Investment Suit
A New York City developer and his wife agreed on Friday to pay $272 million to settle claims brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that they'd schemed to raise money from hundreds of Chinese investors using false statements.
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July 05, 2024
Landfill Cos., La. Parish Score Partial Win In Landfill Suit
The operators of a Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, landfill and the parish itself have partially defeated claims filed in Louisiana federal court by local residents who say the landfill's "harmful and toxic odors and chemicals" caused them breathing problems, nausea and poor quality of life.
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July 05, 2024
Neb. Justices Decline To Rule On Property Value Appeal
The Nebraska Supreme Court said Friday it lacks jurisdiction to rule on a county board's appeal challenging decisions by the state's Tax Equalization and Review Commission that lowered valuations for a company's property, finding the board didn't meet a statutory requirement to institute judicial review proceedings.
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July 05, 2024
The Firms That Won Big At The Supreme Court
This U.S. Supreme Court term featured high-stakes oral arguments on issues including gerrymandering, abortion and federal agency authority, and a hot bench ever more willing to engage in a lengthy back-and-forth with advocates. Here's a look at the law firms that argued the most cases and how they fared.
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July 05, 2024
Willkie Advising Saks Fifth Avenue On $2.65B Neiman Deal
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP is advising Saks Fifth Avenue's parent company on its freshly inked deal to buy the Neiman Marcus Group, advised by Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, at an enterprise value of $2.65 billion.
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July 05, 2024
FTC Wants Second Look At $1.6B CoStar, Matterport Deal
The Federal Trade Commission has requested more information from CoStar Group and Matterport on a planned $1.6 billion merger that would round out CoStar's real estate analytics offerings with the latter company's virtual property tour platform.
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July 05, 2024
Mich. Tax Panel Drops Vacant Store's Value By $500K Per Year
The highest and best use of a vacant commercial property at the time of its assessment was to demolish the improvements and hold it for future development, a Michigan panel ruled, lowering the property's valuation by nearly $500,000 for each of two years.
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July 03, 2024
Wash. Mall, Retail Center Seek $1.3M In Property Tax Refunds
A Seattle mall and shopping center are seeking property tax refunds topping $1.3 million, according to complaints in state court that claim the county assessor failed to use appropriate data and overvalued the properties.
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July 03, 2024
No 'Unfettered Discretion' For Zoning Boards: Mich. Justices
The Michigan Supreme Court has held that conditionally rezoning a property is only valid if the property's proposed use is already allowed under a town's ordinances, instructing a trial court to determine whether a racing dragway is a permitted use under a township's commercial zone.
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July 03, 2024
Hospitality REIT, Activist Investor To Drop Board Feud
Braemar Hotels & Resorts and hedge fund Blackwells Capital said they plan to resolve their litigation in a deal that calls for the activist investor to withdraw from a proxy fight and buy a bigger stake in the real estate investment trust.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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CRE Guidance Helps Lenders Work With Struggling Borrowers
In recognition of growing troubles with commercial real estate loans, four federal regulators' recently updated loan accommodations guidance provides a helpful framework for approaching loan workouts without the punitive results of adverse classifications, say Jaclyn Grodin and Muryum Khalid at Goulston & Storrs.