Commercial
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August 07, 2024
Venable, Fried Frank Ink Deal Halving Fannie Mae HQ's Space
Venable LLP and Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP guided Fannie Mae's lease renewal for a Washington, D.C., property, halving its headquarters' footprint at the building following reports it was looking to exit the property altogether.
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August 07, 2024
Ahead Of Due Date, Land Use Attorneys Steer NY Casino Bids
Applicants for three up-for-grabs New York casino licenses are not expected to formally submit for consideration until next year, but real estate developers working on 11 proposals that have been announced are laying the groundwork, including by engaging law firms.
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August 07, 2024
Office Buildings Reign Supreme In Terms Of NYC Tax Revenue
According to a Wednesday report from New York state's fiscal watchdog, ongoing woes in the office sector aren't going to punch a hole in the budget for New York City — which can expect to continue to receive an "outsized" proportion of its tax revenue from office buildings.
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August 07, 2024
Texas Last-Resort Insurer Approves 10% Rate Hike
Texas' windstorm insurer of last resort approved a 10% rate hike subject to state approval following expectations that Hurricane Beryl and other spring storm claims will significantly deplete the insurer's $451 million catastrophe reserve trust fund.
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August 07, 2024
Rising Star: Troutman Pepper's Alana T. Sliwinski
Alana Sliwinski of Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP has guided multiple high-profile and climate-focused public-private partnerships in her career, most recently playing a pivotal role in the $7 billion construction of Terminals 1, 2 and 3 at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, earning her a spot among the construction law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 07, 2024
Rising Star: Skadden's Anoush Sarkissian
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP real estate counsel Anoush Sarkissian's work on major transactions such as advising alternative asset management company The RMR Group in an approximately $4 billion mortgage and mezzanine financing and its $80 million acquisition of multifamily real estate firm Carroll landed her a spot among the real estate attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 07, 2024
Rising Star: Willkie's Melissa Fischetti
Melissa Fischetti of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP navigated SL Green's $1.76 billion acquisition of 245 Park Ave, New York, amid contentious bankruptcy proceedings brought without the preferred equity investor's approval, earning her a spot among the real estate practitioners under 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 07, 2024
Shumaker Construction Pro Jumps To Carlton Fields In Fla.
Florida's real estate market and construction law practices are continuing their boom after the height of the pandemic, and Carlton Fields has bolstered its expertise in those areas by adding a former construction law partner from Shumaker Loop & Kendrick LLP.
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August 07, 2024
Eyeing Electrification, Governments Reroute Post-Berkeley
Before it was struck down by the Ninth Circuit, Berkeley, California's 2019 ban on natural gas hookups in new construction paved the way for municipalities seeking to decarbonize their buildings. Now, municipalities keen on clean construction are walking a delicate line around federal preemption.
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August 07, 2024
Goodwin Leader Says Life Sciences Is Overbuilt In Boston
In the first of a series of Q&A's looking at life sciences real estate in various U.S. markets, one of Goodwin Procter LLP's real estate leaders told Law360 that, after a COVID-19-related surge, demand has recently fallen, leaving the sector in Boston overbuilt. Forthcoming Q&A's this month will look at the sector in San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area.
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August 07, 2024
Logistics Co. CEO Denies Role In NJ Racketeering Scheme
The chief executive officer of logistics firm NFI Industries on Wednesday denied that he played a role in an alleged scheme led by a New Jersey power broker accused of reaping millions in tax credits by using extortion to acquire waterfront property in the distressed city of Camden.
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August 06, 2024
Judge OKs Foreclosure, Sale Of Midtown Manhattan Buildings
A New York state judge awarded Wilmington Trust with more than $140 million while approving the foreclosure and sale of two midtown Manhattan properties at the center of the trustee's suit over a default $105 million loan.
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August 06, 2024
Conn. AG Says Utility Misconstrued Power Plant Cleanup Deal
The Connecticut Attorney General's Office has told a state court that The United Illuminating Co., now part of Avangrid Inc., raised inapplicable defenses to an environmental cleanup lawsuit by misconstruing an earlier consent decree as a "contract" the government could breach as the utility remediated an abandoned New Haven power plant.
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August 06, 2024
Hotel's Ch. 11 Plan Nixes San Jose Tax Claim, Judge Says
A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Tuesday ordered the city of San Jose, California, to dismiss a state court action seeking the payment of taxes and other obligations by the former operator of a luxury hotel, saying the Chapter 11 plan of SC SJ Holdings released the claims.
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August 06, 2024
Vornado Lines Up Deal To Lease 15-Floor NYC Office Building
Vornado Realty Trust has reached a "handshake deal" with an undisclosed company to lease 1.1 million square feet of office space at 770 Broadway once Meta vacates the 15-floor building in Lower Manhattan, the real estate investment trust's CEO revealed Tuesday.
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August 06, 2024
Big Brokers Predict Capital Markets Rebound In Late '24
Commercial real estate's largest brokers, in announcing second-quarter earnings, said they are expecting capital markets activity to rebound in the second half of the year, in a turn Cushman & Wakefield's CEO called a "waterfall effect."
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August 06, 2024
Dentons Names Real Estate Atty As Vancouver Office Leader
Dentons promoted Canadian real estate partner Scott Wilson to an office managing partner role in its Vancouver office, the firm announced.
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August 06, 2024
DC Circ. Rules Russia Is Immune From Suit Over Jewish Texts
The D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday that the federal court never had jurisdiction over a Jewish group's decades-old allegations that Russia is illegally holding on to its long-lost sacred texts, finding that the country has sovereign immunity and voiding nearly $200 million in fines levied against Russia.
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August 06, 2024
Starwood Eyes Rate Cuts Amid Stormy Quarter
Starwood Property Trust told investors on Tuesday that the real estate investment trust had foreclosed on three properties and downgraded ratings for several others, hinging hopes for the future on expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin to cut interest rates soon.
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August 06, 2024
99 Cents Only Asks To Extend Ch. 11 Plan Filing Deadline
Discount retail chain 99 Cents Only has urged a Delaware bankruptcy judge to give it more time to file a Chapter 11 plan and solicit votes from creditors, saying the company has made "significant progress" in the case and is working toward a plan the court can confirm.
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August 07, 2024
Simpson Thacher Pilots Stonepeak's $3B Opportunities Fund
Private equity firm Stonepeak, advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, raised $3.15 billion for a fund dedicated to opportunistic investing in the infrastructure sector, beating the fund's target by over $600 million, according to a Tuesday announcement.
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August 06, 2024
Aztec Fund Files For Ch. 11 With $100M In Liabilities
The Aztec Fund Holding Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 protection in Texas bankruptcy court, listing at least $100 million in liabilities.
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August 05, 2024
Simpson Thacher, Eversheds Sutherland Guide $83M Ga. Buy
Cousins Properties and Town Lane have acquired Proscenium, a 526,000-square-foot office building in Atlanta, for $83 million, a notable discount from its prior 2017 sale, in a deal guided by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Eversheds Sutherland.
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August 05, 2024
Vornado Closes $350M Partial Sale Of 'Flagship' NYC Office
Vornado Realty Trust sold off a portion of its "flagship" 666 Fifth Avenue office in Manhattan to Japanese fashion company Uniqlo for $350 million, the real estate investment trust announced Monday.
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August 05, 2024
Marriott Says NYC Hotels' Housing Of Migrants Violated Deal
Marriott International Inc. has accused a hotel company in Jamaica, Queens, of breaching a contract by repurposing two properties for migrant housing while refusing to "de-identify" itself with the global hotel brand.
Expert Analysis
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2nd Circ. Eminent Domain Ruling Empowers Municipalities
The Second Circuit's recent decision in Brinkmann v. Town of Southold, finding that a pretextual taking does not violate the Fifth Amendment's takings clause, gives municipalities a powerful tool with which to block unwanted development projects, even in bad faith, say James O'Connor and Benjamin Sugarman at Phillips Lytle.
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SEC Should Be Allowed To Equip Investors With Climate Info
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new rule to require more climate-related disclosures will provide investors with much-needed clarity, despite opponents' attempts to challenge the rule with misused legal arguments, say Sarah Goetz at Democracy Forward and Cynthia Hanawalt at Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change.
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How EB-5 Regional Centers Can Prepare For USCIS Audits
In response to the recently announced U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services guidelines that require EB-5 regional center audits every five years to verify their compliance with immigration and securities laws, regional centers should take steps to facilitate a seamless audit process, say Jennifer Hermansky and Miriam Thompson at Greenberg Traurig.
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Understanding The IRC's Excessive Refund Claim Penalty
Taxpayers considering protective refund claims pending resolution of major questions in tax cases like Moore v. U.S., which is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, should understand how doing so may also leave them vulnerable to an excessive refund claim penalty under Internal Revenue Code Section 6676, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Bankruptcy Ruling Shifts Lease Rejection Claim Calculation
A New York federal court’s recent ruling in In re: Cortlandt provides guidance on how to calculate a landlord's damages claim when a bankruptcy debtor rejects a lease, changing from an approach that considers the remaining rent due under the lease to one that considers the remaining time, say Bethany Simmons and Noah Weingarten at Loeb & Loeb.
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Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
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What Calif. Eviction Ruling Means For Defaulting Borrowers
A California appellate court's recent decision in Homeward Opportunities v. Taptelis found that a defaulting borrower could not delay foreclosure with an improperly served notice of pendency of action, but leaves open a possibility for borrowers to delay eviction proceedings merely by filing lawsuits, say Anne Beehler and Krystal Anderson at Holland & Knight.
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How 3D Printing And Prefab Are Changing Construction
The growing popularity of trends like 3D printing technology and prefabrication in the construction industry have positive ramifications ranging from reducing risks at project sites to streamlining construction schedules, say Josephine Bahn and Jeffery Mullen at Cozen O'Connor.
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A Deep Dive Into High Court's Permit Fee Ruling
David Robinson and Daniel Golub at Holland & Knight explore the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that a local traffic impact fee charged to a California property owner may be a Fifth Amendment taking — and where it leaves localities and real estate developers.
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Being An Equestrian Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Beyond getting experience thinking on my feet and tackling stressful situations, the skills I've gained from horseback riding have considerable overlap with the skills used to practice law, particularly in terms of team building, continuing education, and making an effort to reset and recharge, says Kerry Irwin at Moore & Van Allen.
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What To Consider When Buying RE Promissory Notes
In light of recent distress in the real estate market, note purchases — in which an investor buys a promissory note and mortgage rather than actual property — can be a worthwhile alternative to traditional investments, but require careful contemplation of unique risks and strategic considerations, say Douglas Praw and Katelyn DeMartini at Holland & Knight.
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Consider 2 Alternative Exit Plans In RE Distress Scenarios
In the face of an impending wave of foreclosures, lenders and borrowers alike should consider two exit strategies — deed-in-lieu of foreclosure and consent foreclosure — that can mitigate potential costs and diminution in property value that could be incurred during a lengthy proceeding, say attorneys at BCLP.
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Whitewater Kayaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Whether it's seeing clients and their issues from a new perspective, or staying nimble in a moment of intense challenge, the lessons learned from whitewater kayaking transcend the rapids of a river and prepare attorneys for the courtroom and beyond, says Matthew Kent at Alston & Bird.