Commercial

  • June 13, 2024

    Monsanto Can't Plead Ignorance On PCB Pollution, Cities Say

    Chicago suburbs looking to hold Monsanto and related businesses accountable for their financial share of reducing pollutants in water that flows into Lake Michigan urged an Illinois state court to keep their case alive, arguing the companies should have known about the dangers of the chemicals in products.

  • June 13, 2024

    NJ Justices Create New Liability Rule For Property Owners

    The New Jersey Supreme Court on Thursday voted 4-3 to craft a new rule stating that owners of commercial vacant lots have a duty to maintain the public sidewalks abutting the lots, and reinstated a woman's trip-and-fall injury suit.

  • June 13, 2024

    Indicted Ex-Conn. Official Missed Gun Sale Deadline, Feds Say

    Former Connecticut state budget official Konstantinos Diamantis has missed deadlines to remove guns from his residence and claimed he couldn't locate his passport despite orders to surrender it to federal authorities while he awaits trial on bribery and extortion charges, a U.S. probation officer reported Wednesday.

  • June 13, 2024

    CRE Expert Joins Emmet Marvin's Real Estate Finance Group

    Emmet Marvin & Martin LLP announced that the firm has added a partner to its real estate finance group, bringing with her the commercial real estate expertise she gained from Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP.

  • June 13, 2024

    Data Center Developer Secures Upsized $9.2B Investment

    Hyperscale data center campus company Vantage Data Centers said it has secured a $9.2 billion equity investment from DigitalBridge Group Inc. and Silver Lake, which is nearly $3 billion more than anticipated when the investment was first announced back in January.

  • June 13, 2024

    Red Roof Had 'Revolving Door' For Trafficking, Ga. Jurors Told

    A former Red Roof Inn Inc. employee and the leader of a nonprofit testified Thursday about sex trafficking they saw take place at two metro Atlanta Red Roof Inn locations as part of a landmark civil trial in which 11 women allege the company knew trafficking was taking place at the locations and did nothing to stop it.

  • June 13, 2024

    Pryor Cashman Aided Developer Fraud, Owes $5.7M, Cos. Say

    New York-based law firm Pryor Cashman LLP has been hit with a $5.7 million lawsuit in state court accusing it of aiding and abetting fraud while representing a real estate developer by allegedly providing false information to another party in a transaction involving a Manhattan property.

  • June 13, 2024

    Ohio Senate OKs Requiring Tax Payments For Property Splits

    Ohio would require delinquent property taxes to be paid before a real parcel was subdivided or transferred and would prohibit tax-delinquent property owners from buying tax-foreclosed property under a bill passed by the state Senate.

  • June 13, 2024

    NYC Real Estate Week In Review

    Willkie, Latham and Milbank were among the law firms that handled the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, a period that saw three deals north of $100 million hit records.

  • June 12, 2024

    Mississippi Casino Developer's Creditors Want To Force Ch. 7

    Creditors for developer Diamondhead Casino Corp., which has been trying for years to build a casino in Mississippi near the Gulf Coast, filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition in Delaware bankruptcy court against the company Wednesday, saying they are owed $2.4 million.

  • June 12, 2024

    CMBS Loan Special Servicers Rack Up Fees — And Lawsuits

    Commercial mortgage-backed securities deals are structured to protect special servicers from litigation, but a recent crop of lawsuits and counterclaims may make it harder for them to continue business as usual.

  • June 12, 2024

    NY Court Strikes Housing Tax Break's Labor Dispute Process

    A New York state court has undercut a provision in a since-expired affordable housing tax break that enabled a city watchdog to issue judgments against developers who underpaid construction workers, deeming the provision unconstitutional because decisions could not be appealed.

  • June 12, 2024

    $18.8M Theft Coverage Suit Must Be Heard In State Court

    A Texas federal judge ruled that a lawsuit brought against an insurer over $18.8 million in theft and vandalism at a Georgia shopping center belongs in state court, refusing to create diversity by removing a plaintiff. 

  • June 12, 2024

    Real Estate Firm Fights CBRE's Bid To Slip Negligence Claim

    A real estate investment firm told an Iowa federal court to reject CBRE Inc.'s dismissal bid in a $10.3 million suit over Iowa property deals that fell through, arguing that CBRE "grossly oversimplifies" the firm's professional negligence claim against it.

  • June 12, 2024

    Texas AG: Wind Project Lease Negotiators Need A License

    Texas' attorney general told the Lone Star State's real estate commission that a person involved in lease negotiations for a wind farm project should have had a license from the commission following a recent project that cast doubt on the requirement.

  • June 12, 2024

    Historic Brownfields Funding Is Fueling Cleanup Catch-Up

    Under the time crunch of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, funding for brownfield cleanups has increased by more than 700% in the last three years as cities and nonprofits vie to tackle their most complex sites.

  • June 12, 2024

    Ohio Tax Board Undoes Vacant Eatery's COVID-19 Value Cut

    An Ohio County Board of Revision erred when it lowered a vacant restaurant property's value after the property owner argued the value had dropped as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state Board of Tax Appeals ruled.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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. 

  • 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.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • Key Provisions In Florida's New Insurer Accountability Act

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    Florida's recent bipartisan Insurer Accountability Act introduces a range of new obligations for insurance companies and regulatory bodies to strengthen consumer protection, and other states may follow suit should it prove successful at ensuring a reliable insurance market, say Jan Larson and Benjamin Malings at Jenner & Block.

  • Best Practices For Lenders To Limit Recourse Liability

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    As projects face loan maturities in a higher interest rate environment, lenders should diligently observe even seemingly innocuous formalities following an event of default in order to minimize potential recourse liability, especially when borrowers have certain covenants, say Ryan Goins and Matthias Kleinsasser at Winstead.

  • The Basics Of Being A Knowledge Management Attorney

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Michael Lehet at Ogletree Deakins discusses the role of knowledge management attorneys at law firms, the common tasks they perform and practical tips for lawyers who may be considering becoming one.

  • Rising Interest Rates Bring Risk For Construction Contractors

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    With rising interest rates causing many construction projects to be slowed or halted, it's important for general contractors to implement safeguard measures against the risk of significant financial losses caused by owner-driven schedule modifications, says Kevin Riexinger at Gfeller Laurie.

  • Keys To Navigating The Post-Pandemic CRE Market

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    As the commercial real estate market continues to face repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic, lawyers should use office occupancy and leasing volume numbers to anticipate future trends and help guide clients through an uncertain landscape, says Joseph Calvanico at J2C Valuations.

  • To Hire And Keep Top Talent, Think Beyond Compensation

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    Firms seeking to appeal to sophisticated clients and top-level partners should promote mentorship, ensure that attorneys from diverse backgrounds feel valued, and clarify policies about at-home work, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.

  • How Rate Exportation Is Shifting Amid Regulatory Trends

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    All banks and their partners, including fintechs, that wish to lend to borrowers in multiple states and charge uniform interest rates should heed regulatory developments across the country and determine how best to mitigate risks in their efforts to offer credit to consumers on a nationwide basis, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • How The Commercial Real Estate Slump May Weigh On Banks

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    The continuing underperformance of the U.S. commercial real estate market has significant implications for the financial performance and disclosure requirements for various banks, especially regional ones with large debt exposures, say Atanu Saha and Yong Xu at StoneTurn.

  • Negotiating Material Escalation In Construction Contracts

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    As material price escalation clauses have remained popular in construction contracts despite an easing of recent supply chain issues, attorneys representing owners should understand key considerations for negotiating such clauses, and strategies to mitigate potential exploitation by contractors, says H. Arthur Black II at Brooks Pierce.

  • Landlords Should Prep As WeWork Faces Potential Ch. 11

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    After years of financial trouble and the recent announcement that it has substantial doubt that it would be able to continue as a going concern, WeWork may have a bankruptcy filing in its future that would have a significant impact on landlords and other stakeholders who are owed money by the company, say attorneys at Cadwalader.

  • Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure

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    Growing interest and controversy in litigation financing raise several salient concerns, but exploring recent compelled disclosure trends from courts around the country can help practitioners further their clients' interests, say Sean Callagy and Samuel Sokolsky at Arnold & Porter.

  • Key Drivers Behind Widespread Adoption Of NAV Financing

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    While net asset value-based lending has existed for years, NAV lending has only started to move into the mainstream recently — likely due to difficult market conditions faced by sponsors including persistent inflation, high interest rates and a lack of exit opportunities, say Matthew Kerfoot and Jinyoung Joo at Proskauer.

  • Conn. Ruling Highlights Keys To Certificate-Of-Need Appeals

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    The Connecticut Supreme Court's recent decision in High Watch Recovery Center v. Department of Public Health, rejecting rigid application of statutes concerning certificate-of-need procedure, provides important guidance on building an administrative record to support a finding that a case is contested, say attorneys at Robinson & Cole.