Commercial

  • May 31, 2024

    WeWork's Winding Road Through Bankruptcy Court

    Office space provider WeWork won approval for its $4 billion Chapter 11 reorganization plan Thursday, overcoming opposition from landlords, unsecured creditors and its own founder to emerge debt-free under new equity ownership. 

  • May 30, 2024

    Only One Landlord Allowed To Duck DC RealPage Suit

    One of several landlords that stands accused by the District of Columbia of using property management platform RealPage to fix the price of rentals has managed to convince a D.C. Superior Court judge to kibosh the claims against the real estate investment trust permanently.

  • May 30, 2024

    Defendant Dropped From Calif. Broker Commissions Case

    A California federal judge has dismissed a multiple listing service from a proposed antitrust class action that accused the service and several real estate brokerages of engaging in a conspiracy to artificially inflate buyer broker commissions on home sales.

  • May 30, 2024

    Curaçao Expropriation Suit Tossed Over Sovereign Immunity

    A D.C. federal judge on Thursday tossed an Iranian American women's rights activist's $110 million suit accusing Curaçao's banking regulator of unlawfully seizing her stake in a $700 million investment company, saying the regulator has sovereign immunity and that, in any case, no expropriation had taken place.

  • May 30, 2024

    Only $100K Owed For NJ Theater's Virus Losses, Judge Says

    A Zurich unit owed a theater only $100,000 for its COVID-19-related losses under its policy's communicable disease coverage provision, a New Jersey federal court ruled, rejecting the theater's arguments that each public health order constituted a separate occurrence and that a "blanket" $1.9 million limit was applicable.

  • May 30, 2024

    Judge Finds US Owns Fla. Island In Long-Running Dispute

    A federal judge ruled that the government owns a vacant island off the harbor of Key West, Florida, in rejecting a developer's long-running claim to title, finding that the U.S. Navy has used the site as a buffer from forces such as hurricanes and private development.

  • May 30, 2024

    AECOM Joins Team For NBA Arena, Resort On Vegas Strip

    Developer LVXP said it has tapped AECOM to assist in a planned NBA-ready arena anchoring a 27-acre site with a luxury resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

  • May 30, 2024

    RFR Execs Face $16M Manhattan Office Loan Suit

    The lender behind the senior and junior mezzanine loans tied to a New York City office property filed suit in state court against the two principals of real estate investment firm RFR, saying the pair are on the hook for a combined $16.6 million after the borrower defaulted.

  • May 30, 2024

    Jersey Shore Motel Loses Condemnation Fight With Town

    A New Jersey borough properly used eminent domain to take over a local 50-room motel where it plans to provide parking and electric vehicle charging, a New Jersey appellate panel ruled.

  • May 30, 2024

    WeWork Gets OK For $4B Chapter 11 Plan

    A New Jersey bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved office space provider WeWork's plan to wipe out $4 billion in debt and end its Chapter 11 case after hearing there were no remaining creditor objections.

  • May 29, 2024

    NC State Is Blocking Probe Of PCBs In Building, Court Told

    North Carolina State University is trying to exploit the judicial process in order to destroy evidence of building contamination, a cancer-stricken professor told a state appeals court Tuesday in a bid to advance plans for a carcinogen inspection.

  • May 29, 2024

    CBRE Wants Would-Be Property Buyer's Suit Trimmed

    CBRE Inc. urged an Iowa federal court to toss a professional negligence claim in a real estate investment firm's $10.3 million suit over a failed Iowa property deal, arguing that, as a real estate brokerage, it wasn't obligated to tell the firm about a competing buyer.

  • May 29, 2024

    Tremont Chicago Hotel Reaches Agreement With Lender

    A defunct hotel near Chicago's commercial center has reached an agreement with its senior secured creditor, resolving its request to dismiss the case or lift the Chapter 11 automatic stay while reserving the right to revisit the stay under some circumstances.

  • May 29, 2024

    2nd Circ. Judge Weighs Sanctioning NYC In Rent Law Case

    A Second Circuit judge on Wednesday pressed an attorney for New York City on why the city should not be sanctioned for bringing up a jurisdictional challenge to a landlord's suit over a pandemic-era guaranty law at the "11th hour" of proceedings, after the city had lost in previous rulings.

  • May 29, 2024

    7 Courthouse Facelifts Funded By The $1.2T Spending Bill

    Seven federal courthouses across the U.S. and Puerto Rico are receiving funds for upgrades or construction as part of Congress' latest $1.2 trillion spending package, and security and seismic concerns are top of mind at many of the buildings selected.

  • May 29, 2024

    Gibson Dunn, Cleary Advise $120M Luxury Retail Buy

    A Florida real estate investment firm has closed on $120 million in financing for its discount acquisition of a luxury retail building at 680 Madison Ave. in New York, in a transaction advised by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.

  • May 29, 2024

    3 Firms Guide Blackstone's $768M Hawaii Resort Deal

    Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP and Cades Schutte LLP guided Blackstone Real Estate's $725 million sale of a Hawaii resort and the simultaneous $43 million sale of an adjacent 65-acre parcel, according to a statement from the seller Wednesday.

  • May 29, 2024

    Law Firm Says Atty Can't Elude Malpractice Claims In RE Case

    Chaitman LLP has urged a New Jersey state court to preserve its malpractice claims against a suspended solo attorney, arguing that discovery so far has shown that the attorney was deeply involved in guiding a case that ended in failure for its clients and exposed Chaitman to its own malpractice suit.

  • May 29, 2024

    8th Circ. Backs Ark. Landowners' Jury Win In Flooding Suit

    The Eighth Circuit has upheld a group of Arkansas landowners' nearly $350,000 jury win in their lawsuit accusing Lawrence County of building a bridge that caused flooding that damaged their crops.

  • May 29, 2024

    Ross Stores Plans $450M Distribution Center In NC

    Retail chain Ross Stores Inc. will invest $450 million to build a regional distribution center in North Carolina's Randolph County that's expected to be partially funded by a local grant, according to an announcement from the state's Gov. Roy Cooper.

  • May 29, 2024

    Iconic NYC Building, Ideal Location. So What's The Problem?

    In the fifth and final story in a series on distressed office properties in various U.S. markets, Law360 Real Estate Authority examines a historic office building that fell into loan distress despite being in one of Manhattan's strongest markets.

  • May 29, 2024

    NYC Real Estate Week In Review

    Kriss & Feuerstein and BakerHostetler were among the law firms that guided the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, a slow period that saw only four transactions at or above $15 million.

  • May 29, 2024

    Ind. Tax Court Says Hotel In Construction Was Fairly Assessed

    An Indiana hotel that was under construction in 2010 was properly assessed despite claims that the county assessor had not assessed all unfinished commercial properties equally, the state tax court ruled.

  • May 29, 2024

    Walker & Dunlop GC Departs As Deputy Fills Shoes For Now

    The longtime top attorney for commercial real estate finance and advisory services firm Walker & Dunlop Inc. has left the company after nearly 14 years, and Walker & Dunlop's deputy general counsel is taking over in the interim.

  • May 29, 2024

    Greenberg Traurig Gets 30-Year Tax Break From Saudi Arabia

    Greenberg Traurig LLP is among the first law firms to get licensed as a regional headquarters, or RHQ, company in Saudi Arabia, allowing the firm to take advantage of a major tax break, the firm announced Tuesday.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'

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    Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.

  • Pickleball Makes Waves In Fla. Real Estate, With Risks In Play

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    Pickleball's burgeoning popularity in Florida is catalyzing a transformation in the state's commercial real estate market, but investors must take steps to navigate legal challenges related to noise, insurance and community dynamics, says Emmanuelle Litvinov at DarrowEverett.

  • 4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Introverted lawyers can build client bases to rival their extroverted peers’ by adapting time-tested strategies for business development that can work for any personality — such as claiming a niche, networking for maximum impact, drawing on existing contacts and more, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • What Calif. Pot Permit Ruling Means For Enviro Compliance

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    While a California appeals court's recent decision in Lucas v. City of Pomona affirms the city's use of a statutory exemption for its commercial cannabis overlay permit program, the ruling does not mean that all applicants seeking similar approvals are exempted from state environmental compliance obligations, say Whitney Hodges and Barbara Machado at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Rare Reg A+ Fines Reflect New Era Of SEC Enforcement

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent announcement of civil penalties against 10 microcap companies for violations of Regulation A+ shows that as the SEC continues to expand its enforcement efforts, its focus remains on protecting investors of all sizes — including those investing in the historically less-scrutinized Reg A+ issuers, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Factors To Consider When Structuring Data Center Contracts

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    Data center leases and service agreements grant very similar rights and impose similar obligations, but they also hold notable differences and a range of factors that are important to consider when selecting which form of agreement to use, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.