Commercial
-
June 20, 2024
Shulman Rogers Boosts Real Estate Team With Fried Frank Atty
Shulman Rogers PA has added a new real estate and commercial leasing shareholder, who has joined the firm from Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP, the firm announced Thursday.
-
June 19, 2024
CBRE Economist Sees 'Extend And Pretend' Through 2025
Despite a real estate environment heavy with affordability issues, high interest rates and sluggish movement, CBRE global chief economist Richard Barkham at this week's National Association of Real Estate Editors conference in Austin forecasted a relatively soft landing.
-
June 18, 2024
The 2 Attys Ensnared In A NJ Mogul's Racketeering Rap
New Jersey businessman George E. Norcross III may be the alleged mastermind of a racketeering scheme to reap millions in tax credits on waterfront property in a distressed city, but the explosive indictment also reveals the purported roles of two attorneys with close ties to the Democratic Party.
-
June 18, 2024
Texas High Court OKs Golf Course-To-Housing Conversion
The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that permanent restrictions on lots within a subdivision do not bar owners from converting an adjacent golf course into additional housing, finding that the developers had not meant for the land to solely be used for golfing purposes indefinitely.
-
June 18, 2024
Latham Guides Data Centers Biz In $2.2B KKR-Led Group Deal
A consortium led by private equity giant KKR, advised by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, announced Tuesday it agreed to invest up to $2.22 billion in Singapore-based data center provider ST Telemedia Global Data Centres, which is advised by Latham & Watkins LLP, in what the investors said marks the largest data infrastructure investment in Southeast Asia so far this year.
-
June 18, 2024
10-Story DC Office Building Steps Closer To Foreclosure
A 176,000-square-foot office building in downtown Washington that last traded for $84 million 3½ years ago may soon head off to a foreclosure auction, the latest indicator that the nation's capital's office market remains in bad shape.
-
June 18, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Katten Muchin, Wachtel Missry and Rosenberg & Estis are among the law firms that landed work on the largest New York City real estate deals to hit public records last week, a slow period that saw only four transactions north of $10 million become public.
-
June 18, 2024
Bain Capital JV Snaps Up San Diego Industrial Site For $20M
A Bain Capital affiliate and a Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm said Tuesday that they acquired a San Diego area industrial property for about $20 million.
-
June 18, 2024
Farms Blame EPA Inaction In New Contaminated Land Claims
A lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency brought by a group of farmers over federally approved biosolids containing a group of chemicals known as PFAS could mark the start of a new wave of land contamination cases.
-
June 18, 2024
Mich. AG To Pursue Deadlocked Charges In Carhartt Atty Case
Prosecutors will continue pursuing embezzlement charges against a Michigan attorney accused of stealing from his client, a former leader of the Carhartt workwear company, after a Wayne County jury couldn't reach a decision on those claims but acquitted the attorney on other charges.
-
June 18, 2024
Winning The Workout: How To Guide Distressed Office Deals
Real estate lawyers are well aware of the challenges some of their clients face with underwater office buildings, and advising workouts on such properties calls for a bit of prudence and ingenuity. Here, Law360 Real Estate Authority reviews some tips from attorneys on how to approach those deals.
-
June 18, 2024
Allen Matkins Attys Break Down CEQA Reform Blueprint
The Little Hoover Commission, a nonpartisan oversight agency, delivered lawmakers a set of recommendations last month for finally addressing a series of persistent complaints with the California Environmental Quality Act, the state's keystone environmental law.
-
June 18, 2024
How Milwaukee Tops US In EPA Brownfield Winnings
The city of Milwaukee's redevelopment agency has won nearly twice as many federal grants to clean up brownfield properties as any other government entity in the United States. Dave Misky, assistant director at the Milwaukee Redevelopment Authority, talks to Law360 Real Estate Authority about the agency's success.
-
June 17, 2024
Mich. Judge Unsure If Town's Pot Co. Shutdown Broke Lease
A commercial landlord will have to go to trial on claims of unpaid rent against a combination medical marijuana grow and sign-making company, a Michigan state judge ruled, saying a jury must decide if the local government's decision to force the cannabis shop out voids the lease.
-
June 17, 2024
Texas AG Tries To Derail Trial Over Austin Light-Rail Plan
Just ahead of a trial set to start Monday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he would ask an appeals court to end a lawsuit led by a transit agency seeking to confirm a plan for a light-rail system in Austin that critics argue fails to live up to a vision approved by voters in 2020.
-
June 17, 2024
Foreign Investors Sue Over Lost $7.7M NYC Mall Investment
Fourteen foreign investors who lost the entirety of their $7.7 million investment in a New York City shopping mall project filed suit against two lenders, a developer and the manager of an EB-5 lender in New York federal court, saying they are owed damages.
-
June 17, 2024
Civitas Lends $150M To Build Hawaii Hilton-Brand Hotel
Dallas-based alternative investment manager Civitas Capital Group announced Monday that it has closed on a $150 million construction loan for Silverwest Hotels LLC's planned 210-room Hilton hotel on Kauai, Hawaii.
-
June 17, 2024
JLL Lines Up $575M In Financing For Fla. Resort
JLL has arranged $575 million in financing for a joint venture that owns the 1,000-guest room Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, Florida, the real estate services company announced Monday.
-
June 17, 2024
RI Allows Unrestricted Property Tax Rates In Providence
Rhode Island is authorizing the city of Providence to adopt a classification system that allows unrestricted tax rates for residential, commercial, industrial and tangible personal property under bills that became law without the governor's signature.
-
June 17, 2024
NJ Power Broker, Firm CEO Brother Accused Of Racketeering
Powerful New Jersey businessman George E. Norcross III and his brother who is the chief executive officer of law firm Parker McCay have been criminally charged alongside others in a scheme to acquire waterfront property in the distressed city of Camden using threats of economic and reputational harm.
-
June 14, 2024
Russian Businessman's Fight To Enforce $92M Award Ends
A Russian businessman's decade-long fight to enforce a $92 million arbitral award — a dispute that spurred the U.S. Supreme Court to let him forge a new path to enforcing foreign arbitral awards — finally came to an end this week, as the parties inked a settlement on the eve of a racketeering trial.
-
June 14, 2024
Property Plays: Net Lease REIT, Vornado, Citadel
Property Plays is a weekly roundup of the latest loans, leases, sales and projects around the country. Send your tips — all confidential — to realestate@law360.com.
-
June 14, 2024
Feds, Tribes Say Mill Owners Liable For 150 Years Of Pollution
The federal government, the state of Washington and a slew of tribes are suing the owners of a shuttered sawmill and a property group that now oversee the sawmill area's development, alleging that for more than a century, hazardous substances from the operation released into Port Gamble Bay and have harmed its natural resources.
-
June 14, 2024
BP Unit Slapped With $300M Franchise Termination Suit
A trio of entities controlled by two self-proclaimed franchise veterans filed suit in Ohio federal court against a travel center operator acquired by BP in 2023, alleging the company terminated a franchise agreement without warning and caused at least $300 million in damages.
-
June 14, 2024
T-Mobile Sues NJ Town Over Plan For School Cell Tower
T-Mobile has been paying on a lease for a proposed cell tower site for nearly 14 years, but it cannot build the tower because the New Jersey town the land sits in won't approve the necessary applications, the mobile behemoth says in a new lawsuit.
Expert Analysis
-
Some Client Speculations On AI And The Law Firm Biz Model
Generative artificial intelligence technologies will put pressure on the business of law as it is structured currently, but clients may end up with more price certainty for legal services, and lawyers may spend more time being lawyers, says Jonathan Cole at Melody Capital.
-
Trafficking Ruling Offers Liability Lessons For Hospitality Cos.
A California federal court recently dismissed a lawsuit accusing several national hotel chains of knowingly benefiting from sex trafficking at their premises, highlighting how hospitality leaders can protect their guests and staff, and shield their companies from liability and reputational damage, says Danielle Dudai at Hall Booth.
-
A Lawyer's Guide To Approaching Digital Assets In Discovery
The booming growth of cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens has made digital assets relevant in many legal disputes but also poses several challenges for discovery, so lawyers must garner an understanding of the technology behind these assets, the way they function, and how they're held, says Brett Sager at Ehrenstein Sager.
-
High Court's Ethics Statement Places Justices Above The Law
The U.S. Supreme Court justices' disappointing statement on the court's ethics principles and practices reveals that not only are they satisfied with a status quo in which they are bound by fewer ethics rules than other federal judges, but also that they've twisted the few rules that do apply to them, says David Janovsky at the Project on Government Oversight.
-
What's Unique — And What's Not — In Trump Protective Order
A Manhattan judge's recent protective order limiting former President Donald Trump's access to evidence included restrictions uniquely tailored to the defendant, which should remind defense attorneys that it's always a good idea to fight these seemingly standard orders, says Julia Jayne at Jayne Law.
-
Time For Law Schools To Rethink Unsung Role Of Adjuncts
As law schools prepare for the fall 2023 semester, administrators should reevaluate the role of the underappreciated, indispensable adjunct, and consider 16 concrete actions to improve the adjuncts' teaching experience, overall happiness and feeling of belonging, say T. Markus Funk at Perkins Coie, Andrew Boutros at Dechert and Eugene Volokh at UCLA.
-
Justices Curb Fraud Theories, But That May Not Deter Feds
The U.S. Supreme Court’s opinions last week in Ciminelli v. U.S. and Percoco v. U.S. are the latest in a line of rulings aiming to limit the wire fraud statute’s application to state public corruption cases, but federal prosecutors will probably continue pursuing such cases using different charging language and other laws, says Alison Anderson at Boies Schiller.
-
Good Faith Buyer Lessons From 5th Circ. Bankruptcy Ruling
The Fifth Circuit’s recent ruling in Palm Springs II, affirming the sale of property to a senior lender, is notable for its guidance on Section 363(m), including the ability of a senior lender to remain a good faith purchaser despite squeezing out a junior lender, says Shane Ramsey at Nelson Mullins.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.