Commercial
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May 24, 2024
NY AG Sues Over Illegal Long Island Wetland Construction
New York prosecutors on Friday sued to force a contractor to pay nearly $600,000 and restore a Long Island wetland area the company has been using as a storage site after illegally clearing vegetation and building a parking lot more than a decade ago.
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May 24, 2024
Cell Tower Operator's Trade Secret Suit Tossed For Now
A Pennsylvania federal judge has thrown out a cell tower operator's allegations that a rival used its confidential information on pricing from landlords and made misleading statements to buy out tower leases.
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May 24, 2024
DC Circ. Says Bainbridge Can't Have Argentina's Building
The D.C. Circuit on Friday denied an appeal from Bainbridge Fund Ltd. in a property dispute with Argentina, saying the company can't take possession of the property in an effort to satisfy a $95 million judgment over defaulted bonds.
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May 24, 2024
Healthcare REIT Nabs $800M Despite Tenant Turbulence
Medical Properties Trust Inc. announced Friday that the real estate investment trust has secured a £631 million ($804 million) financing from a group of investors led by real estate investment firm Song Capital, in a deal led by Goodwin Procter LLP and Slaughter and May.
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May 24, 2024
NYC Apartment Hotel May Qualify For Tax Break, Dept. Says
A planned 150-unit apartment hotel building in New York City catering to a nearby hospital's patients and staff and to university students could be eligible for an industrial and commercial abatement program, the city Department of Finance said in a letter ruling.
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May 23, 2024
Entrepreneur Ordered To Pay $15M For Unlicensed Pot Stores
A New York state court hit a cannabis seller with a $15 million judgment Thursday after he was found to be selling marijuana without a license at seven locations inside the state, according to an announcement by the state's attorney general.
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May 23, 2024
Fla. Broker Can't Collect Fees For $54M Real Estate Deal
A real estate broker isn't owed a 1% commission on a $53.65 million deal despite introducing the eventual buyer, as the broker was not involved in the final sale, a Florida appeals court ruled.
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May 23, 2024
Ill. Justices OK $28M Tax Value Appeal Without Payment
A power company's property in Illinois was not required to pay disputed property taxes before appealing a valuation, the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed Thursday, upholding a reduction in the assessment of about $28 million.
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May 23, 2024
JV Inks $48.5M Ft. Lauderdale Shopping Center Buy
BH Group, PEBB Enterprises and Related Group have snapped up a mixed-use waterfront shopping center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida's Harbordale neighborhood for $48.5 million through a joint venture, with plans to further develop the property.
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May 23, 2024
MoFo Guides $100M Refi At Manhattan Office Property
Morgan Stanley Bank NA and German American Capital Corp. refinanced a $100 million mortgage of the Feil Organization's Look Building, a New York City office building, in a deal guided by Morrison & Foerster LLP.
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May 23, 2024
Oakland Coliseum Sold To Black-Led Biz Group For $105M
The City of Oakland has agreed to sell its share of the Oakland Coliseum to a group of Black community, business and investment leaders for a minimum of $105 million in a deal that the city said will pave the way for affordable housing units, outdoor space and future developments.
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May 22, 2024
CBRE Calls Exec's Noncompete Right Fit In A Small World
A Texas appellate court wondered Wednesday whether a temporary injunction that seemingly bars a former CBRE executive from working in his trade anywhere in the world goes too far, and questioned the validity of the underlying noncompete agreement at the center of the legal battle.
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May 22, 2024
Ill. Justices Weigh Zurich's Right To Recover $3M Flood Loss
The Illinois Supreme Court weighed Wednesday whether Zurich American Insurance Co. can recoup $3 million from a subcontractor for water damage repair costs the insurer paid to a general contractor despite Zurich filing suit on behalf of a different insured.
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May 22, 2024
FDIC Eyes 'Weak' Office, Mall Assets In Risk Assessment
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. deemed office and retail mall asset classes 2023's "weak" points among the otherwise resilient commercial real estate property types, in a Wednesday report summarizing risks facing FDIC-insured institutions.
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May 22, 2024
Real Estate Firm Buys Manhattan Retail Property For $180M
TZ Capital scooped up a luxury retail property on Madison Ave. for $180 million — nearly $100 million less than what the building last traded for, per a source familiar with the deal Wednesday — in a move that comes as midtown Manhattan's retail market sees growing deal and leasing activity.
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May 22, 2024
Chancery Keeps RedBird-Brookfield Dispute Stay In Place
A Delaware vice chancellor declined Wednesday to rule from the bench on a preliminary injunction sought by Redbird Capital Partners in a dispute over a Brookfield Infrastructure Partners claim for a $150 million escrow included in its $5.7 billion purchase of RedBird data center projects last year.
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May 22, 2024
Texas Billionaires Building $7B City After Finding Aquifer
The wealthy Walker family will put down $1.6 billion in cash over the next 30 years to build their own self-sufficient city after discovering access to an underground aquifer can provide more than enough water for the project, sitting 20 miles north of Laredo, Texas.
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May 22, 2024
Croke Fairchild Hires 2 Real Estate Attys For Chicago Office
Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres LLC hired Penelope Campbell and Ari Krigel as partners for its real estate practice in Chicago, the firm announced.
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May 22, 2024
Sullivan & Cromwell Atty Urges Cos. To Tend To Climate Data
Public companies should not expect stakeholder concerns over climate risk to go away, even though litigation has cast a fog of uncertainty over certain disclosure rules, a Sullivan & Cromwell lawyer said Wednesday at a panel on the topic.
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May 22, 2024
Realty Firm Seeks Early Win In Law Firm's Suit Over Lease
Real estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc. has urged a Texas state court to grant it an early win against law firm Polunsky Beitel & Green LLP in a suit alleging that Polunsky Beitel is wrongfully going to lose its sublease for a Houston commercial office building that will now be converted into a residential building.
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May 22, 2024
Wells Fargo Wants Receivership For Hotels After $52M Default
Wells Fargo has sued American Hotel Income Properties REIT Inc. in New York federal court, claiming that the real estate investment trust's hotels should be placed into a court-ordered receivership after the REIT's affiliates defaulted on a $52.4 million loan.
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May 22, 2024
DC Empty Building Not Eligible For Tax Exemption, Court Says
The owner of a vacant building in Washington, D.C., can't claim an exemption from the district's vacant building property tax rate because the owner claimed the exemption outside the allowed two-year period, the district's highest court ruled.
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May 22, 2024
NJ Atty Faces Fla. Suspension Over Sale Of $1.6M Painting
An attorney suspended for one year in New Jersey last year for smuggling a $1.6 million painting out of his house to avoid an asset sale has agreed to a guilty plea accepting another yearlong suspension in Florida related to the scheme.
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May 22, 2024
Prologis Legal Chief To Step Down At The End Of 2024
Prologis Inc.'s chief legal officer will retire and transition to a senior adviser role starting in January, the logistics-focused real estate investment trust said Wednesday, and another member of its legal team has been tapped to fill the position.
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May 22, 2024
SC Expands Abandoned Building Credit, Adds Railroad Credit
South Carolina expanded its tax credit for the revitalization of abandoned buildings and provided an income tax credit for railroad reconstruction under a bill signed by the governor.
Expert Analysis
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White Collar Plea Deals Are Rarely 'Knowing' And 'Voluntary'
Because prosecutors are not required to disclose exculpatory evidence during plea negotiations, white collar defendants often enter into plea deals that don’t meet the U.S. Supreme Court’s “knowing” and “voluntary” standard for trials — but individual courts and solutions judges could rectify the issue, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.
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ESG Around The World: Canada
In Canada, multiple statutes, regulations, common law and industry guidance address environmental, social and governance considerations, with debate over ESG in the business realm potentially growing on the horizon, say attorneys at Blakes.
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How Lease Obligations Can Affect Subchapter V Debt Cap
Two recent bankruptcy rulings in the Eastern District of Virginia and the Southern District of New York take opposite positions on whether unmatured lease obligations are considered noncontingent debt for the purposes of calculating debtors' Subchapter V eligibility, say Joseph Orbach and Henry Thomas at Thompson Coburn.
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Trends That Will Shape The Construction Industry In 2024
Though the outlook for the construction industry is mixed, it is clear that 2024 will bring evolving changes aimed at building projects more safely and efficiently under difficult circumstances, and stakeholders would be wise to prepare for the challenges and opportunities these trends will bring, say Josephine Bahn and Jeffery Mullen at Cozen O'Connor.
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NY CRE Lenders Need Clarity On Foreclosure Standing
Recent contradictory New York case law regarding issues of standing in commercial real estate litigation creates confusion for borrowers and lenders alike, and should be addressed by courts in advance of the anticipated onslaught of commercial mortgage-backed securities foreclosures, say Christopher Gorman and John Muldoon at Rosenberg & Estis.
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Baking Bread Makes Me A Better Lawyer
After many years practicing law, and a few years baking bread, I have learned that there are a few keys to success in both endeavors, including the assembly of a nourishing and resilient culture, and the ability to learn from failure and exercise patience, says Rick Robinson at Reed Smith.
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Adjusting Deals To Reflect Shifts In The CRE Market
As the commercial real estate market strengthens and moves out from a challenging time, industry participants should consider any concessions made due to recent trends and update transaction documents accordingly before entering into new deals, says Alexander Davis at Mayer Brown.
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4 International Arbitration Trends To Monitor In 2024
Global growth slowed substantially in 2023, and may continue into 2024 due to geopolitical instability, which could fuel four key trends in international arbitration in the coming year, including investor-state and commercial arbitration, an increase in arbitration out of China, and more, say Gregory Litt and Sharmistha Chakrabarti at Skadden.
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How DOI Aims To Modernize Resource Damage Assessments
The U.S. Department of the Interior's recent proposal to redesign its Type A rule for conducting natural resource damage assessment and restoration activities could lead to a more streamlined, flexible assessment process that would benefit both natural resource trustees and potentially responsible parties, says Brian Ferrasci-O'Malley at Nossaman.
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Key Issues When Navigating A Tenant's Bankruptcy
In light of recent Chapter 11 filings by Rite Aid and WeWork — companies with thousands of commercial leases — practitioners should review issues that can arise when bankruptcy is used to exit a lease, including the consequences of lease rejection and the statutory cap on landlord damage claims for a rejected lease, say attorneys at Proskauer.
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The Year Ahead In Foreign Investment And National Security
In 2024, expect the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, already at the forefront of addressing national security threats, to increase monitoring and enforcement related to outbound investment, focus on supply chain resilience in nondefense sectors, and heighten oversight of agricultural transactions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Sale-Leasebacks May Provide A Safe Financing Alternative
Amid rising interest rates and unpredictable market conditions, sale-leasebacks can be a useful investment option for both buyers and sellers, though their potential drawbacks demand careful consideration, says Chanel Di Blasi at Crosbie Gliner.
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5 Recent Developments Family Offices Are Watching In 2024
Although family offices have long been exempt from many of the more onerous regulations and reporting requirements governing U.S. investment advisers and asset managers, recent amendments to federal rules will have an impact on how family offices invest and operate in 2024, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.