Commercial
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June 12, 2024
Perkins Coie Real Estate Chair Eyes Energy As Rates Hold
As the Federal Reserve continues to hold on interest rates and hint that it may take longer to start lowering them, more real estate investors are looking to alternative energy projects, Perkins Coie's real estate leader told Law360 Real Estate Authority in a recent interview.
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June 11, 2024
Insurer Given Early Exit From Contractor's Cost Overrun Suit
An insurance company was axed Monday from a general contractor's $8.5 million lawsuit against a developer seeking payment for its work building an apartment complex, with a North Carolina state court judge ruling it was too soon to rope in the insurer.
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June 11, 2024
Vornado JV Inks $400M Refi For NYC Office, Retail Building
A street retail joint venture led by Vornado Realty Trust secured a $400 million refinancing for a 315,000-square-foot office and retail property at 640 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, according to a statement from Vornado on Monday.
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June 11, 2024
WeWork Announces CEO Switch As It Leaves Ch. 11
WeWork, fresh from the confirmation of its Chapter 11 restructuring plan, said Tuesday it will be led by John Santora, who will take over as CEO as the company leaves bankruptcy behind.
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June 11, 2024
Cannabis REIT Will Invest $43M Into Purchased Fla. Land
Cannabis-focused real estate investment trust Innovative Industrial Properties Inc. plans to invest $43 million into 16 acres of Ocala, Florida, land that it bought for $13 million.
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June 11, 2024
Net Lease REIT Sells 2 Office Properties For $60.7M
Net Lease Office Properties said Tuesday that it has sold two Minnesota office properties leased to Blue Cross Blue Shield for a combined $60.7 million.
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June 10, 2024
3 Firms Guide $125M ND Data Center Construction Loan
CIM Group announced Monday that the investment firm closed on a $125 million loan to Applied Digital for the company's construction of a North Dakota data center campus, in a deal guided by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Milbank LLP and Lowenstein Sandler LLP.
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June 10, 2024
NYC Tells 2nd Circ. No Sanctions In COVID Rent Law Suit
New York City told the Second Circuit that its late-in-the-game jurisdictional arguments don't warrant sanctions amid litigation over pandemic protection for commercial real estate tenants, arguing that it raised the claims as soon as possible.
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June 10, 2024
Ex-Real Estate Business Partners Duel In Calif. Court
Two former real estate business partners lodged dueling suits against each other in California state court with accusations of backstabbing, theft and lying.
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June 10, 2024
Conn. Hospital Broke $4.25M Property Sale Deal, Buyer Says
A Connecticut hospital has been accused in state court of breaking its $4.25 million property sale contract after the sale was called off following the hospital's merger with Northwell Healthcare Inc.
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June 10, 2024
Manhattan Office Leasing Up Again From 2023, Per CBRE
Leasing activity in Manhattan's office market remained elevated in May compared to a year prior, with a Covington & Burling LLP deal leading the way as the month's biggest transaction, CBRE said Monday.
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June 10, 2024
Justices Call For Do-Over In 9th Circ. Bank Preemption Case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday tossed a Ninth Circuit decision rejecting federal preemption of a California state interest-on-escrow law for Flagstar Bank, ordering a do-over in the case following the high court's recent ruling on preemption standards in a similar case involving Bank of America.
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June 10, 2024
Co. Says 16 Intervenors Will Drag Out Alaska Mine Dispute
A company seeking relief from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decision to block a mining proposal for a stretch of pristine salmon habitat on Alaska's Bristol Bay asked a federal judge to exclude more than a dozen environmental groups from joining the case.
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June 07, 2024
Federal Realty Exits Santa Monica Outdoor Mall For $103M
Federal Realty Trust said it has exited Santa Monica, California's struggling Third Street Promenade by selling off a group of eight properties in the outdoor mall near the city's pier for $103 million.
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June 07, 2024
DOE Reveals National Definition Of Zero-Emissions Building
The U.S. Department of Energy unveiled a federal definition for determining whether a residential or commercial building qualifies as a zero-emissions building as part of an ongoing effort to slash greenhouse gas emissions across the traditionally heavily emitting sector.
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June 07, 2024
NYC Hotel Land Sale Ends $275M Lease Dispute
An investment group led by David Werner sold a Manhattan hotel property to an affiliate of Highgate Capital Investments LP for $275 million in a deal overseen by Latham & Watkins LLP, per county property records filed June 6.
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June 07, 2024
Real Estate Co. Will Begin $170M Houston Tower Project
A Tennessee-based real estate company is set to begin construction on a $170 million, 37-story, mixed-use, Class A tower project in Houston, Texas, in October, according to a filing with Texas' Department of Licensing and Regulation.
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June 07, 2024
Texas Top Court Denies Roofer's Challenge To Adjuster Laws
The Supreme Court of Texas tossed on Friday a roofing company's challenge to the state's public adjuster licensing laws, saying that requiring a license or preventing certain conduct didn't violate the roofer's free speech rights.
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June 07, 2024
Bank Says Alzheimer's Center Owes $17M On Defaulted Loan
An Alzheimer's care center owes Bank of Oklahoma nearly $17 million after it became the last of four memory care facilities to default on a $27.5 million loan that was used to refinance their mortgage debt, according to a complaint filed in Georgia federal court.
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June 07, 2024
Miami Official Can't Shake Zoning Abuse Claims
A Miami commissioner can't escape allegations that he and other city officials conspired to sabotage local businesses with zoning and safety laws after a pair of business owners backed the commissioner's opponent in a 2017 election, a Florida federal judge ruled.
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June 07, 2024
MoFo, Foley & Lardner Guide $695M Sale Of Construction Biz
Middle-market private equity firm Palladium Equity Partners LLC has sold a construction company to an affiliate of electrical solutions company nVent Electric PLC for $695 million in a deal guided by Morrison Foerster and Foley & Lardner LLP, according to an official announcement.
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June 07, 2024
Zurich, Loan Co. Settle $15M Ex-3M Campus Repairs Suit
The lender and current title owner for a now-foreclosed Austin property that was once the campus of 3M reached a settlement in principle with a Zurich unit over coverage for their $15.5 million winter storm damage claim, the parties told a Texas federal court.
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June 07, 2024
Willkie Farr Guides RFR's $560M Sale Of NYC Gallery Building
In a deal guided by Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Aby Rosen's RFR Holding offloaded a Manhattan art gallery, office and retail property for $560 million, per New York property records.
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June 06, 2024
La. Commercial Property Co. Settles Storm Insurance Dispute
A Louisiana federal judge has dismissed a commercial property owner's coverage fight over windstorm damage after the company settled in arbitration with a group of 10 insurers.
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June 06, 2024
Investors Say Fund Preyed On Alums For RICO Scheme
A group of Chinese and American investors alleged this week that they were ripped off to the tune of millions of dollars by a group of fraudsters who, through a series of fraudulent bank loans, bogus tax filings and false advertising, induced them into putting their money into a Los Angeles real estate project.
Expert Analysis
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Bankruptcy Sales Uncertain After Justices' Section 363 Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's holding in MOAC v. Transform that Section 363(m) of the Bankruptcy Code is not a jurisdictional provision means parties to 363 sales are now at the mercy of courts that may have differing perspectives on the issue, creating uncertainty for trustees, third parties and purchasers, say Thomas Loeb and Carrie Brosius at Vorys.
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Thomas Report Is Final Straw — High Court Needs Ethics Code
As a recent report on Justice Clarence Thomas' ongoing conflicts of interest makes evident, Supreme Court justices should be subject to an enforceable and binding code of ethics — like all other federal judges — to maintain the credibility of the institution, says Erica Salmon Byrne at Ethisphere.
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Commercial Real Estate Lending Checkup Amid Market Unrest
Given the sustained volatility of current lending markets, now may be a good time for financing institutions to dust off their commercial real estate agreements and update them if necessary, say Emil Petrossian and Alexander Miller at Glaser Weil.
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La. Suit Could Set New Enviro Justice Litigation Paradigm
Inclusive Louisiana v. St. James Parish, a lawsuit filed recently in Louisiana federal court that makes wide-ranging and novel constitutional and statutory claims of environmental racism based on centuries of local history, could become a new template for environmental justice litigation against governments and businesses, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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Joint Representation Ethics Lessons From Ga. Electors Case
The Fulton County district attorney's recent motion to disqualify an attorney from representing her elector clients, claiming a nonconsentable conflict of interest, raises key questions about representing multiple clients related to the same conduct and highlights potential pitfalls, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Grace Wynn at HWG.
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Lawyer Discernment Is Critical In The World Of AI
In light of growing practical concerns about risks and challenges posed by artificial intelligence, lawyers' experience with the skill of discernment will position them to help address new ethical and moral dilemmas and ensure that AI is developed and deployed in a way that benefits society as a whole, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.
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Policyholder Lessons From Sandy No-Coverage Decision
A New York federal court recently decided that in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Madelaine Chocolate knew Great Northern Insurance’s all-risk policy offered no coverage for storm surge — an important reminder that policyholders should review policy language for ambiguities or anti-concurrent causation clauses, say Dennis Artese and Joshua Zelen at Anderson Kill.
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Don't Forget Alumni Engagement When Merging Law Firms
Neglecting law firm alumni programs after a merger can sever the deep connections attorneys have with their former firms, but by combining good data management and creating new opportunities to reconnect, firms can make every member in their expanded network of colleagues feel valued, say Clare Roath and Erin Warner at Troutman Pepper.
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5th Circ. Offers Expert Opinion Guidance For Insurance Cases
A recent Fifth Circuit decision in Majestic Oil v. Lloyd's of London provides insight into how Texas' concurrent causation doctrine could affect insurance cases where the cause of damage is at issue, and raises considerations for litigants faced with new or revised expert reports after the deadline has passed, say Brian Scarbrough and Cianan Lesley at Jenner & Block.
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Every Lawyer Can Act To Prevent Peer Suicide
Members of the legal industry can help prevent suicide among their colleagues, and better protect their own mental health, by learning the predictors and symptoms of depression among attorneys and knowing when and how to get practical aid to peers in crisis, says Joan Bibelhausen at Minnesota Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers.
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FTC Proposal Greatly Widens Auto-Renewal Regulation
The Federal Trade Commission's proposed rule on automatic renewal subscriptions would impose significant new obligations on sellers of negative option plans and expand the agency's enforcement powers, likely requiring companies to examine and change their practices, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
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Now Is The Time For Independent Industry Self-Regulation
The high level of trust in business, coupled with the current political and legal landscape, provides an opportunity for companies to play a meaningful role in finding solutions to public policy issues through the exploration of independent industry self-regulation models, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.
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Do Videoconferences Establish Jurisdiction With Defendants?
What it means to have minimum contacts in a foreign jurisdiction is changing as people become more accustomed to meeting via video, and defendants’ participation in videoconferencing may be used as a sword or a shield in courts’ personal jurisdiction analysis, says Patrick Hickey at Moye White.