Commercial

  • June 09, 2025

    Mexico Fights $47M Award, Claims Treaty Misinterpreted

    Mexico has urged the D.C. Circuit to overturn a lower court order instructing it to pay a $47 million arbitral award issued to a Canadian lender after Mexican courts failed to halt a purportedly fraudulent scheme that caused the cancellation of loans for three real estate development projects.

  • June 09, 2025

    3rd Circ. Rejects Ralph Lauren's COVID-19 Coverage Appeal

    The Third Circuit on Monday rejected a consolidated appeal from Ralph Lauren Corp. and luggage retailers Tumi Inc. and Samsonite LLC over property insurance coverage for COVID-19-related losses, finding a New Jersey Supreme Court decision from January 2024 wholly settled the matter.

  • June 09, 2025

    Tax Court Backs Penalties In $24M Georgia Easement Feud

    An Internal Revenue Service agent properly followed the procedure to secure timely supervisory approval to impose penalties against a partnership for incorrectly claiming a $24 million charitable tax deduction on its Georgia conservation easement donation, the U.S. Tax Court said Monday.

  • June 09, 2025

    NYC To Build Marine Terminal At Site Of Former Jail Barge

    New York City officials announced plans Monday to build a marine terminal at the site of a decommissioned jail barge that's been sitting empty in Hunts Point since 2023 as part of an ongoing effort to encourage the transportation of goods via city waterways.

  • June 09, 2025

    Industrial Pipeline Shrinks, With Biggest Markets Hit Hardest

    The construction pipeline for industrial properties shrank dramatically during the past four quarters, with the steepest changes to new supply seen in the country's largest industrial markets, per a report from Colliers.

  • June 09, 2025

    Liquidation Trustee Sues BofA, Others In Ch. 11 Ponzi Fallout

    The liquidation trustee for the bankrupt National Realty Investment Advisors LLC accused Bank of America and other parties in New Jersey bankruptcy court of aiding or participating in the developer's $664 million Ponzi scheme.

  • June 09, 2025

    Charter School Funding Firm Hits Ch. 11 With Up to $50M Debt

    Charter School Capital Inc., a company that provides funding for charter schools across the country, filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware bankruptcy court with up to $50 million in debt, saying it plans to sell the business through the case.

  • June 09, 2025

    Insurers Must Pay For $7.3M Hail Loss, Property Owner Says

    A dispute among insurers over when a Texas shopping center was damaged in a hailstorm has left the center short of full coverage for a $7.3 million loss, and the owner wants a federal court to ensure that the carriers found responsible will cover what they owe.

  • June 09, 2025

    Feds Argue Koi Nation's Historic Ties Justify Calif. Land Trust

    The Interior Department is looking to dismiss a challenge to its decision to take 70 acres into trust for a proposed tribal hotel and casino project in Sonoma County, California, telling a federal court that the Koi Nation has a significant historical connection to the site.

  • June 09, 2025

    NYC Real Estate Week In Review

    Hunton Andrews and Keusch Law are among the firms that guided the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, with a nine-figure Manhattan matter leading the way.

  • June 09, 2025

    3 Firms Guide Blackstone Stake, Refi At Trophy NYC Tower

    Blackstone has acquired a $1.4 billion, 46% stake in Fisher Brothers' 1345 Avenue of the Americas tower in a transaction advised by Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP, Paul Hastings LLP and Dechert LLP.

  • June 09, 2025

    Iowa Expands Property, Sales Tax Breaks For Data Centers

    Iowa expanded property tax and sales and use tax breaks for data centers to include leased facilities under legislation signed by the governor.

  • June 06, 2025

    Justices Won't Hear Obama Center Site Selection Complaints

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday declined to consider claims that federal agencies failed to complete a full environmental review of plans to construct the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago's Jackson Park neighborhood.

  • June 06, 2025

    LA Fitness Beats DOJ's ADA Suit, For Now

    A California federal judge tossed the U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit Friday alleging LA Fitness did not accommodate disabled patrons, ruling the government failed to allege a pattern or practice of discrimination or put the gym chain on notice of claims the attorney general determined are of public importance.

  • June 06, 2025

    Wyo. Landowners' Attys Score $5M From Anadarko Deal

    A Wyoming federal judge awarded more than $5 million in attorney fees and expenses Friday to attorneys for a class of landowners that accused an oil extraction company of hoarding permits to block oil and gas projects.

  • June 06, 2025

    Willkie Atty's Ex-Landlord Says NY Post Leak Wasn't His Idea

    A Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP partner's onetime landlord asked for a pretrial victory in a federal feud with his former tenants, telling a Connecticut court Friday he did not participate in his ex-attorney's leak of unflattering allegations about A. Mark Getachew and his wife to the New York Post.

  • June 06, 2025

    Judge Skeptical Of Changes To Sticky's Chicken Ch. 11 Plan

    A New York bankruptcy judge expressed concerns Friday about the scope of modifications that Sticky's, a popular chicken restaurant chain, made to its already-confirmed Chapter 11 plan once it found a buyer that would avoid a liquidation, saying she expects to call the parties back Monday to share her decision on the new version.

  • June 06, 2025

    Orthodox Family Files $50M Bias Suit Against Country Club

    An Orthodox Jewish family has filed a $50 million lawsuit against a Boca Raton, Florida, country club for allegedly suspending them after the father posted a viral social media video of him helping an Instagram personality wrap tefillin — a traditional Jewish prayer ritual — on the golf course.

  • June 06, 2025

    NJ Panel Revives Contract Row Between Pot Co., Landlord

    A New Jersey state appeals court on Friday revived a Paterson property owner's suit against a would-be dispensary and its principals alleging they broke a deal to share profits from the dispensary, finding that the trial court wrongly conflated the contract's requirement for local approval with a cannabis license.

  • June 06, 2025

    11th Circ. Limits Easement Tax Break Tied To Failed Project

    A Georgia partnership that formed after the failure of a resort development and donated a conservation easement in exchange for a tax break cannot take an $8.9 million deduction for the property's fair market value because the land was considered inventory, the Eleventh Circuit said Friday.

  • June 06, 2025

    LA Fire Victims Say AAA, USAA Left Many Unable To Rebuild

    California homeowners accused AAA and USAA of systematically undervaluing the replacement cost of their homes all while advertising adequate coverage and financial security, telling a state court that many cannot now afford to replace or rebuild their homes following the wildfires in Los Angeles earlier this year.

  • June 06, 2025

    Husch Blackwell Adds 2nd Real Estate Partner In A Month

    Husch Blackwell LLP hired a Cozen O'Connor shareholder as real estate partner for its real estate, development and construction team in its Dallas and Minneapolis offices, making this the firm's second real estate partner hiring since May, the firm announced.

  • June 06, 2025

    Bilzin Sumberg Guides $21M Miami Opportunity Zone Sale

    Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP advised Malaysian gaming company Genting Group on the $21 million sale of a downtown Miami development site to an opportunity zone fund from two real estate attorneys.

  • June 06, 2025

    Greenberg Traurig Adds Clifford Chance Private Funds Atty

    Greenberg Traurig LLP said Friday that it has added Daniel F. Rayner to its corporate private funds group from Clifford Chance LLP.

  • June 06, 2025

    Conn. Appeals Court OKs Tax Penalty For Late Rental Form

    The owner of a Connecticut commercial property was correctly charged a tax penalty for failing to submit a form disclosing rental income on time, a state appeals court said Friday.

Expert Analysis

  • Ga. Law Creates Challenges For Foreign Ownership Of Land

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    Under Georgia's new law limiting certain foreign possessory interests in agricultural land and land near military properties, affected foreign persons and entities will need to do significantly more work in order to ensure that their ownership remains legal, say Nellie Sullivan and Lindsey Grubbs at Holland & Knight.

  • Questions Remain After Mass. Adverse Possession Case

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    A recent Massachusetts Land Court decision, concerning an adverse possession claim on a family company-owned property, leaves open questions about potential applicability to closely held corporations and other ownership types going forward, says Brad Hickey at DarrowEverett.

  • 4 Takeaways From Biden's Crypto Mining Divestment Order

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    A May 13 executive order prohibiting the acquisition of real estate by a foreign investor on national security grounds — an enforcement first — shows the importance of understanding how the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States might profile cross-border transactions, even those that are non-notified, say attorneys at Kirkland.

  • Insurer Quota-Sharing Lessons From $112M Bad Faith Verdict

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    In Indiana GRQ v. American Guarantee and Liability Insurance, an Indiana federal jury recently issued a landmark $112 million bad faith verdict, illustrating why insurers must understand the interplay between bad faith law and quota-sharing before entering into these relatively new arrangements, say Jason Reichlyn and Christopher Sakauye at Dykema. 

  • A Look At New IRS Rules For Domestically Controlled REITs

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    The Internal Revenue Services' finalized Treasury Regulations addressing whether real estate investment trusts qualify as domestically controlled adopt the basic structure of previous proposals, but certain new and modified rules may mitigate the regulations' impact, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • How New Rule Would Change CFIUS Enforcement Powers

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    Before the May 15 comment deadline, companies may want to weigh in on proposed regulatory changes to enforcement and mitigation tools at the disposal of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, including broadened subpoena powers, difficult new mitigation timelines and higher maximum penalties, say attorneys at Venable.

  • 2nd Circ. Eminent Domain Ruling Empowers Municipalities

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    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.

  • SEC Should Be Allowed To Equip Investors With Climate Info

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    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.

  • How Cos. Can Comply With New PFAS Superfund Rule

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new rule designating two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as "hazardous substances" under the Superfund law will likely trigger additional enforcement and litigation at sites across the country — so companies should evaluate any associated reporting obligations and liability risks, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • How EB-5 Regional Centers Can Prepare For USCIS Audits

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    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.

  • Understanding The IRC's Excessive Refund Claim Penalty

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    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.

  • Bankruptcy Ruling Shifts Lease Rejection Claim Calculation

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    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.

  • What Calif. Eviction Ruling Means For Defaulting Borrowers

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    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.