Commercial
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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.
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July 31, 2024
Rising Star: Kirkland's James Clark
James Clark of Kirkland & Ellis LLP has for years worked on one of the world's largest development and infrastructure projects — a Herculean undertaking in Saudi Arabia — and in the process has earned a spot among the construction law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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July 31, 2024
Rising Star: Fried Frank's Julianne Befeler
Julianne Befeler of Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP has been a key adviser on complex commercial real estate transactions for heavy hitters including Brookfield Asset Management, Brookfield Properties and Blackstone Inc., earning her a spot among the real estate law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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July 31, 2024
Rising Star: Simpson Thacher's Sam Rudik
Sam Rudik, a recently promoted partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, guided Blackstone on several billion-dollar transactions over the past three years, including a handful of major development deals and acquisitions involving data centers, landing him a spot among real estate attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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July 30, 2024
4th Circ. Refuses To Certify Class Of Golf Course Investors
The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday declined to reverse a lower court order denying class certification to a group of Chinese investors who allege their money was used to purchase several golf courses, ruling they are not similar enough to make certification proper.
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July 30, 2024
Fla. County Board OKs Funding For $1.3B MLB Stadium
A Florida county's commissioners on Tuesday approved $312.5 million in funding to go toward a new, $1.3 billion stadium for MLB's Tampa Bay Rays team.
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July 30, 2024
Ex-HFZ Capital Chief Can't Reduce Bail In $86M Fraud Case
A Manhattan judge on Tuesday denied, for now, a request by the former head of troubled real estate firm HFZ Capital Group to lower a hefty bail requirement so he can get out of Rikers Island while fighting $86 million theft and tax fraud charges.
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July 30, 2024
Legalization Foes Mount New Challenge To NY Pot Program
A group of anti-cannabis activists renewed their challenge to New York's proposal to use public funds to help marijuana retailers launch their businesses, alleging in a new state court lawsuit that the policy violates federal law.
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July 30, 2024
Orrick Reps NY Gov't In $140M Loan To Pace University
The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, advised by Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, provided Pace University with a more than $140 million mortgage loan, according to official property records.
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July 30, 2024
Polsinelli Advises Lender On Wall Street Discount Tower Buy
Barings has unloaded its 29-story 100 Wall Street tower for less than half of the $270 million it paid for the property in 2015, with Polsinelli PC representing lender Northwind Group on the deal.
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July 30, 2024
Challenge To IRS Summons in $90M Easement Suit Tossed
A Mississippi federal judge dismissed a company's request to quash IRS summonses related to a $90 million conservation easement deduction, adopting the rulings of three sister jurisdictions that had dismissed the same challenge on grounds the summonses served a legitimate purpose.
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July 30, 2024
Mass. Says $30M Funding For Steward Will Fund Quick Sales
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has told a Texas bankruptcy judge that its agreement to pay $30 million to debtor Steward Health Care is designed to help fund operations at the debtor's struggling hospitals while sales are pursued.
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July 30, 2024
Barings Loans $114M For Nev. Warehouse Property
Barings provided a $114 million loan in order to finance an 893,000-square-foot Class A industrial distribution warehouse in Reno, Nevada, the real estate investment manager announced Tuesday.
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July 30, 2024
Feds Must Maintain Center's EB-5 Status During Fee Dispute
A Montana federal judge ordered U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to maintain a regional center's designation to participate in the EB-5 investor visa program while he reviews claims that the agency moved to terminate its designation without proper notice.
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July 30, 2024
Texas Buildings Get $115M In Israeli Loans Amid Office Woes
Texas-based Westdale Properties America has secured a $115 million senior loan for three Texas buildings — two offices and one multifamily —backed by the Israeli bond market.
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July 30, 2024
Ropes & Gray Adds Partner To Int'l Tax Practice
Ropes & Gray LLP recently added a tax adviser with a wealth of experience navigating transactions, funds and investments for clients as a partner in its New York office, the firm said.
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July 30, 2024
Pot Cos. Can't Push RICO Claims Against Calif. City
A California federal judge has thrown out racketeering claims by six cannabis companies that accuse the city of Cudahy of illegally assessing fees, saying that because Congress listed cultivation and sale of cannabis under the definition of racketeering, they can't recover damages.
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July 30, 2024
Cos. Try To Kill Warehouse Competitors' Antitrust Suit
Several real estate companies are pushing an Illinois federal court to toss an antitrust suit that accuses them of blocking access to their warehouses in order to protect a monopoly over a Joliet, Illinois, intermodal facility used for transferring freight.
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July 29, 2024
Ky. Tower Sale Laundering Case Should Proceed, Judge Told
A Florida magistrate judge has recommended denying a bid by two Miami businessmen to toss litigation filed by the U.S. government looking to seize about $9.1 million from the sale of a Kentucky office tower over alleged ties to a Ukrainian money laundering scheme.
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July 29, 2024
Rialto, Blackstone Foreclosures Add Up On Signature Loans
A Rialto Capital Partners and Blackstone joint venture, which took over as servicer of a Signature Bank loan portfolio, has gone to court to claw back loans on various New York commercial properties — including an Art Deco landmark.
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July 29, 2024
BofA Mortgage Loan Officers Get Conditional Cert. In OT Suit
A group of mortgage loan officers who accused Bank of America of misclassifying the employees as overtime-exempt has cinched conditional collective certification, with a North Carolina federal judge rejecting the bank's arguments that their job duties were too different to merit certification.
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July 29, 2024
CIM Group Funds $2.1B Real Estate Investment Platform
Real estate and infrastructure owner CIM Group on Monday announced that it has provided financing for the formation of a $2.1 billion investment platform called Round Hill Capital Ventures, which has acquired contracts for the assets previously managed by Round Hill Capital.
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July 29, 2024
Realtor.com Parent Fights Uphill For CoStar Injunction
A California federal judge appeared skeptical Monday of a preliminary injunction request from Realtor.com's parent company seeking to block rival CoStar from misappropriating trade secrets and unlawfully accessing its computers, saying the alleged theft doesn't appear to involve a secret "formula" but rather website content.
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July 29, 2024
Mo. Menards Store Ruled Properly Valued At $17M
A Missouri Menards home improvement store was properly valued at $17 million by a county assessor because the store's appraiser failed to use comparable properties in his valuation, the state Tax Commission affirmed.
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July 29, 2024
Judge Ends Coverage Quest, Calls $2.7M Loss 'Foreseeable'
An Arizona federal judge granted a quick win to an insurer over $2.7 million in water damage losses claimed by an Arizona landlord, finding the losses were "foreseeable" and therefore not covered by the all-risk policy.
Expert Analysis
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3 Alternatives To CRE Collateralized Loan Obligations
With current commercial real estate market conditions pushing issuers away from collateralized loan obligations, several Freddie Mac offerings should be considered as alternative exit strategies for mortgage loans secured by multifamily properties, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Ga. Banking Brief: All The Notable Compliance Updates In Q2
Legislation signed into law in the second quarter of the year in Georgia tackled a broad range of issues that will affect financial institutions, from money laundering and consumer protection to commercial financing disclosures and a lengthy cleanup of the banking and finance code, says Elizabeth Garner at Parker Hudson.
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Sackett Ruling, 'Waters' Rule Fix Won't Dry Up Wetlands Suits
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency narrowing the scope of Clean Water Act protections, the Biden administration is amending its rule defining "waters of the United States" — but the revised rule will inevitably face further court challenges, continuing the WOTUS legal saga indefinitely, say attorneys at Milbank.
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Fla. Banking Brief: All The Notable Compliance Updates In Q2
Florida financial institutions must now navigate minimum interest rates for attorney trust accounts, restrictions on property sales to prohibited foreigners, and a ban on weighing environmental, social and governance factors to determine a customer's creditworthiness — changes that will add to banks' compliance pressures, says Patricia Hernandez at Avila Rodriguez.
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Level Up Lawyers' Business Development With Gamification
With employee engagement at a 10-year low in the U.S., there are several gamification techniques marketing and business development teams at law firms can use to make generating new clients and matters more appealing to lawyers, says Heather McCullough at Society 54.
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NY, NJ Regs Give Clarity To Cannabis Investors, Ancillaries
Proposed laws and regulations in New York and New Jersey would clarify some previously murky legal waters, thus expanding the ability of investors, lenders and ancillary service providers to work with marijuana business in these states, say David Waxman and Heidi Urness at McGlinchey Stafford.
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5 Ways Firms Can Rethink Office Design In A Hybrid World
As workplaces across the country adapt to flexible work, law firms must prioritize individuality, amenities and technology in office design, says Kristin Cerutti at Nelson Worldwide.
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What To Expect From High Court's Whistleblower Case
The U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming decision in Murray v. UBS Securities will likely have widespread implications for the future of anti-retaliation whistleblower litigation, and could make it more difficult for would-be whistleblower-employees to succeed on anti-retaliation claims under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, say Ann-Elizabeth Ostrager and Diane McGimsey at Sullivan & Cromwell.
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RICO Ruling Makes US More Attractive Foreign Creditor Forum
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Yegiazaryan v. Smagin, allowing a foreign plaintiff to use the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act to enforce a foreign arbitral award, will make judgment creditors more likely to seek out U.S. courts to remedy efforts to frustrate the enforcement of international arbitration awards, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.
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5 Strategies For Restructuring Underperforming CRE Loans
With commercial real estate industry conditions expected to deteriorate further in the coming months, market participants should consider a number of strategies to help resolve challenged investments, ranging from financial restructurings to project phasing, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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Ghosting In BigLaw: How To Come Back From Lack Of Feedback
Junior associates can feel powerless when senior colleagues cut off contact instead of providing useful feedback, but young attorneys can get back on track by focusing on practical professional development and reexamining their career priorities, says Rachel Patterson at Orrick.
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Post-Ciminelli Predictions On Right-To-Control Convictions
The recent Second Circuit filings in Binday suggest that the government will fight to preserve its right-to-control convictions in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's Ciminelli decision, and offer clues about key issues that will drive post-Ciminelli litigation, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Steps To Success For Senior Associates
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Adriana Paris at Rissman Barrett discusses the increased responsibilities and opportunities that becoming a senior associate brings and what attorneys in this role should prioritize to flourish in this stressful but rewarding next level in their careers.