Commercial
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May 20, 2024
CoStar, Hotel Giants Defend Benchmarking In Price-Fixing Suit
CoStar Group Inc. and a contingent of big-name hotels have asked a Washington federal judge to toss an antitrust lawsuit claiming the hotel operators share industry analytics to inflate luxury hotel room prices, arguing the proposed class action is riddled with legal defects.
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May 20, 2024
Mich. Town Hit With $5M Suit Over Weed Dispensary Flip-Flop
A marijuana retail store developer has sued a Michigan township in federal court, alleging the township violated the state's zoning enabling act and cost it more than $5 million by unconstitutionally blocking its special-use permit to develop a dispensary after initially greenlighting the development.
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May 20, 2024
10th Circ. Oral Args. Poised To Shape NM Pollution Coverage
The Tenth Circuit said there were "good arguments on both sides" of an appeal at oral arguments Monday over whether absolute pollution exclusions doomed a New Mexico property owner's quest for defense coverage of underlying contamination litigation, in a case that could set the tone for insurance battles in the state.
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May 20, 2024
Mich. Town Can't Block $2B Battery Plant, Judge Rules
A Michigan federal judge has ordered that Green Charter Township can't prevent Gotion Inc.'s upcoming battery components plant, in which the company plans on investing more than $2 billion, from moving forward.
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May 20, 2024
EPA Touts Brownfield Grants In Visit To Polluted Philly Site
Biden administration officials visited a riverfront site in Philadelphia where the city is using federal support to clean up contamination and add amenities, as they promoted $3 million in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency support to four New Jersey communities.
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May 20, 2024
Ga. Court Sends Fatal Restaurant Shooting Suit To Trial
The Georgia Court of Appeals on Monday said a lawsuit against an Atlanta-area restaurant and its security company over a 2016 shooting on the premises should proceed to trial.
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May 20, 2024
Wyndham Wants Out Of Pa. Hotel's Labor Trafficking Case
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts argued to a federal court Monday it could not be plausibly alleged the chain knew or could have known that its former franchisee at a New Stanton, Pennsylvania, Days Inn was exploiting laborers in a room-for-hire scheme, and so it should be dismissed from the laborers' lawsuit.
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May 20, 2024
Kirkland Steers King Street Stake Buy In Data Center Co.
King Street Capital Management LP, represented by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, has purchased a majority ownership stake in Silicon Valley data center operator Colovore LLC, the global investment firm announced Monday.
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May 20, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Davis Polk and Zegans Law were among the firms that handled the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, a slow period that saw only four deals at or above the $15 million mark.
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May 20, 2024
Latham Adds Former Chief Legal Officer Of REIT In NY
Latham & Watkins LLP announced Monday that the former chief legal officer for real estate investment trust Safehold Inc. has joined the firm's New York office as a partner in the real estate practice.
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May 20, 2024
Simpson Thacher Leads Blackstone In $705M Biltmore Sale
Blackstone said Monday it has closed the sale of the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix to private equity real estate firm Henderson Park for $705 million, confirming January reports that the transaction was under contract and revealing Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Jones Day as counsel behind the deal.
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May 17, 2024
Utah, Farm Groups Ask To Reopen Bears Ears Monument Suit
The state of Utah and two farming associations have asked a D.C. federal court to lift a more than three-year stay in a tribal case over the Bears Ears National Monument, saying the case is now moot and another monument case is pending before the Tenth Circuit.
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May 17, 2024
Steward Health Ch. 11 Lifts Lid On PE In Healthcare
Steward Health's $9 billion Chapter 11 has come under scrutiny from state attorneys general seeking to uncover why a once-rapidly growing hospital network ended up buried in debt, with authorities taking the unusual tack of turning a special eye toward its former private equity owner Cerberus Capital Management, experts told Law360.
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May 17, 2024
RedBird Flags Brookfield 'Gamesmanship' In Chancery Suit
Private investment firm RedBird Capital Partners has urged Delaware's Court of Chancery to strike unauthorized motions by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners seeking dismissal of a RedBird suit to recover a $150 million escrow included in a $5.7 billion sale of data centers to Brookfield affiliates last year.
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May 17, 2024
Ohio School Board Can't Appeal Property Value To Court
An Ohio school board is prohibited from appealing a board of revision's valuation of a property that the school board didn't own to a court of common pleas, a state appeals court ruled.
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May 17, 2024
Office Vacancies, Distress Persist In First Quarter
Vacancy rates in the U.S. office market kept rising in the first quarter, with renewing tenants taking up less space since a rise in hybrid and remote work following the pandemic, according to a Colliers report.
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May 17, 2024
Pot Co. Can Amend Complaint Or Reply To Dismissal Motion
A Michigan federal judge has given a cannabis company three weeks to either amend its complaint against a former business partner or respond to a motion to dismiss its claims that the former business partner sabotaged a project by convincing investors to put their money elsewhere.
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May 17, 2024
North Carolina County Picked For $100M Driving Resort
A local developer is pursuing plans to build a $100 million luxury resort geared around cars that will include a 3-mile driving course linking condos on a 400-acre property in Moore County, North Carolina.
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May 17, 2024
Texas Justices Side With Car Dealership In Lease Dispute
The Supreme Court of Texas reversed and remanded a landlord's win against its former car dealership tenant, ruling Friday that the dealership's $1.3 million jury verdict wasn't upended when it gave up its appeal of a separate eviction suit.
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May 17, 2024
Real Estate Software Startup Agora Nabs $34M In Series B
Real estate software company Agora has raised $34 million in Series B funding, which will help it expand more quickly and enhance its investment management software products, the company announced on May 16.
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May 17, 2024
JPMorgan Trust Inks $48M JV For Queens Retail Center
JPMorgan Real Estate Income Trust forked over $48 million for a 95% interest in a New York City shopping center, in a joint venture with Acadia Realty Trust, the bank announced.
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May 17, 2024
Blank Rome Advises On $200M Mortgage Loan For NYC Tower
Blank Rome LLP advised on a mortgage loan deal where an entity connected to real estate company The Gotham Organization borrowed more than $200 million from Wells Fargo for a residential mixed-use tower on Manhattan's Lower East Side, according to official property records.
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May 16, 2024
Inside Proxy Fight That (Briefly) Ousted Hotel REIT Exec
Here, Law360 Real Estate Authority recounts the litigious proxy fight following a failed purchase offer from an activist investor questioning the relationship of two Texas real estate investment trusts, which led to the chairman and a director being ousted for a matter of hours before being reappointed.
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May 16, 2024
Funko Beats Investor Suit Over Warehouse Move For Now
Toy company Funko Inc. on Thursday beat a proposed investor class action alleging it failed to disclose accurate information about problems relocating a distribution center and updating critical software, with a Washington federal judge saying the investors have failed to prove the company's statements were false or misleading, among other things.
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May 16, 2024
NJ Lets Some School Districts Hike Property Taxes Above Cap
New Jersey will allow school districts that experienced cuts in state school aid to request increases in local property tax levies above previously permitted amounts without voter approval under a bill signed by Gov. Phil Murphy.
Expert Analysis
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Tips For In-House Legal Leaders In A Challenging Economy
Amid today's economic and geopolitical uncertainty, in-house legal teams are running lean and facing increased scrutiny and unique issues, but can step up and find innovative ways to manage outcomes and capitalize on good business opportunities, says Tim Parilla at LinkSquares.
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How Cities Can Tackle Post-Pandemic Budgeting Dilemmas
Due to increasing office vacancies around the country, cities may consider politically unpopular actions to avoid bankruptcy, but they could also look to the capital markets to ride out the current real estate crisis and achieve debt service savings to help balance their budgets, say attorneys at Cadwalader.
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What Associates Need To Know Before Switching Law Firms
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
The days of staying at the same firm for the duration of one's career are mostly a thing of the past as lateral moves by lawyers are commonplace, but there are several obstacles that associates should consider before making a move, say attorneys at HWG.
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Guidance Adds Clarity To Energy Communities Bonus Credits
Recent IRS guidance on the Inflation Reduction Act's changes to tax credits for renewable energy projects offers much-needed pointers for developers and financing parties, and should allow them to more comfortably incorporate special bonus credits for projects in energy communities into their transactions, say Jorge Medina and Ira Aghai at Shearman.
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Cannabis Supercenters: Key Benefits And Legal Issues
Barstow, California’s novel plan to convert an abandoned mall into a cannabis supercenter could offer a potential blueprint for cannabis companies to thrive in a saturated market and for communities to repurpose underutilized retail spaces — but certain financing, zoning and leasing issues will need to be assessed, says Christopher Gordon at Fox Rothschild.
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A Case For Sharing Mediation Statements With Counterparties
In light of a potential growing mediation trend of only submitting statements to the mediator, litigants should think critically about the pros and cons of exchanging statements with opposing parties as it could boost the chances of reaching a settlement, says Arthur Eidelhoch at Eidelhoch Mediation.
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EB-5 Reform Continues To Weigh Heavily On Participants
Recent U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services guidance helps clarify aspects of the 2022 EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act, which increased oversight of EB-5 regional centers, but does not end the industry's continuing state of uncertainty, says Robert Divine at Baker Donelson.
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Preparing For Legal Scrutiny Of Data Retention Policies
Two recent cases involving Google and Meta should serve as a call to action for companies to ensure their data retention policies are updated and properly implemented to the degree of being able to withstand judicial scrutiny, especially as more data is generated by emerging technologies, say Jack Kallus and Labeed Choudhry at Kaufman Dolowich.
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Attorneys Should Have An Ethical Duty To Advance DEI
National and state bar associations are encouraging attorneys to apply diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the legal profession and beyond, and these associations should take it one step further by formally recognizing ethical duties for attorneys to promote DEI, which could better the legal profession and society, says Elena Mitchell at Moore & Van Allen.
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Data-Driven Insights Are Key To Attracting Today's Clients
As law firm growth slows and competition for clients increases, modern firms must rely on robust data analytics to develop the sector-based expertise and industry insights that clients increasingly prioritize in relationships with counsel, says Lavinia Calvert at Intapp.
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EV Chargers Can Bring Benefits For Calif. Property Owners
California property developers and owners face growing pressure to provide electric vehicle charging infrastructure — but this can be a unique opportunity to add value to real estate assets, and can be accomplished in multiple ways, say Riley Cutner-Orrantia and Eurie Hwang at Crosbie Gliner.
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Brownfield Renewables Guidance Leaves Site Eligibility Murky
Recent IRS guidance sheds some light on the Inflation Reduction Act's incentives for renewable energy development on contaminated sites — but the eligibility of certain sites for brownfield status remains uncertain, say Megan Caldwell and Jon Micah Goeller at Husch Blackwell.
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Pending Legislation Holds Promise For SF Buildings
Recently introduced state and local legislation could make it easier for office-to-residential conversion projects in San Francisco to secure approval and funding sources, although financial incentives similar to those implemented by other states may be necessary to ensure the feasibility of such projects, say Caroline Chase and Nick DuBroff at Allen Matkins.