Commercial

  • April 16, 2026

    Seattle's COVID-Era Tenant Protections Face Appellate Skeptic

    A Washington state appellate judge pushed back Thursday on Seattle's defense of COVID-19-era tenant rights ordinances, observing that the plaintiff landlord may have a stronger Fifth Amendment takings claim than usual because of the "unique" situation of "six regulations passed within a short time period."

  • April 16, 2026

    NY Bar Assoc. Building Owner Broke Ch. 11 Deal, Lender Says

    A lender of the insolvent owner of the historic New York County Lawyers Association Building in Manhattan accused the owner of violating a Chapter 11 settlement and asked a New Jersey bankruptcy judge to reinstate its $29 million claim in full.

  • April 16, 2026

    NYC Suit Alleges $1.3M Illegal Short-Term Rental Scheme

    A New York City landlord and several of his relatives and associates made over $1.3 million from an illegal short-term rentals scheme that involved hosting an illegal number of guests, the city alleged in New York state court.

  • April 16, 2026

    Calif. Mall Can't Have Property Value Reduced Due To COVID

    A California mall should not have its property value reduced despite hardships faced due to the coronavirus pandemic, because the mandated closures did not physically affect the property, a state appellate court affirmed. 

  • April 16, 2026

    Ky. Conforms To Fed. Tax Changes, Nixes Tax Threshold

    The Kentucky General Assembly overrode the governor's veto of a bill that eliminates its sales tax nexus transaction threshold, levies sales tax on data brokering services and will conform the state's tax code with some provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.

  • April 16, 2026

    ICE Ordered To Stop Work On Maryland Detention Center

    A Maryland federal court blocked the Trump administration from continuing construction work to convert an existing warehouse into an immigrant detention center while a challenge brought by the state under federal environmental regulations plays out.

  • April 16, 2026

    4 Canadian Law Firms Steer $9.4B REIT Take-Private Deal

    Choice Properties REIT and private equity firm KingSett Capital have agreed to acquire First Capital REIT in a transaction valued at approximately $9.4 billion, including debt, in a deal steered by four Canadian law firms. 

  • April 16, 2026

    Nossaman Adds Procopio Construction Trio In California

    Nossaman LLP has deepened its infrastructure group by adding a pair of partners and an associate to its Orange County roster who joined from Procopio Cory Hargreaves & Savitch LLP.

  • April 16, 2026

    Clean Energy Lender Lands C-PACE Funding Up To $300M

    Investment manager Ares Management provided up to $300 million for a Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy financing vehicle to an affiliate of Los Angeles-based commercial real estate finance firm AXCS Capital, according to an announcement.

  • April 15, 2026

    Energy Tech Co., Execs Sued Over $2.4B AI Power Deal

    Energy technology company Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Inc. and its top brass face an investor suit alleging they made misstatements about an agreement to deliver power to an artificial intelligence data center project and failed to disclose that B&W's largest shareholder was on both sides of the deal.

  • April 15, 2026

    Uptick In Lender Guarantor Claims Shapes New Deals

    Real estate litigators in New York City are seeing lenders bring more lawsuits against loan guarantors, arguing they have run afoul of provisions largely meant as a liability shield. Transaction attorneys are taking cues from lenders' efforts to draft more specific guarantee provisions, or alternatives to judicial foreclosure, in new loans.

  • April 15, 2026

    Trump Admin Asks Court To Delay East Wing Injunction

    The Trump administration on Tuesday asked a D.C. federal court to delay enforcing its order blocking the White House East Wing ballroom project, invoking national security after the court carved out an exception over the "safety and security" of White House grounds.

  • April 15, 2026

    NYC Building Goes Into Ch. 11 To Avoid Foreclosure Sale

    A New York company connected to a local property manager filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition for its five-story, mixed-use building in downtown Manhattan, heading off a foreclosure sale that had been scheduled for the following day. 

  • April 15, 2026

    Antitrust Suit Targets CoStar Noncompetes, Cross-Post Limits

    CoStar Group faces a lawsuit in Virginia federal court alleging that the real estate information service has for years sought to prevent cross-listings by customers and shut out would-be competitors through acquisitions and noncompete deals with large brokerages, in what plaintiffs' counsel claims is the first such antitrust class action against the company. 

  • April 15, 2026

    Trump Plan To Remake DC Golf Course Is In Rough Legal Shape

    President Donald Trump's plans to renovate a public Washington, D.C., golf course and turn it into a championship venue faces strong legal headwinds as experts say the administration skipped several regulatory steps when it started work on the project.

  • April 15, 2026

    BXP Fuels San Francisco Office Revival With 200K SF Leases

    Workspace developer BXP said Wednesday it has filled 200,000 square feet of space in San Francisco with leases from four companies, building on the momentum the Bay Area hub's office market has seen since bouncing back from a major slump.

  • April 15, 2026

    KC Moves Closer To Approving $1.9B Ballpark Plan For Royals

    Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas announced the city's Parks and Recreation Board of Commissioners had authorized a plan that would help the Royals baseball team build a new $1.9 billion stadium downtown.

  • April 15, 2026

    Lingerfelt, Partners Group Sell Industrial Portfolio For $175M

    A joint venture of real estate firm Lingerfelt and private equity firm Partners Group said Wednesday that it has sold a 1.6 million-square-foot industrial portfolio in the Richmond, Virginia, area for $175 million.

  • April 15, 2026

    US Says It Will Stay Out Of Calif. Monument Venue Dispute

    The U.S. Department of the Interior won't weigh in on whether a dispute between a miner, tribal nations and conservation groups over the Chuckwalla National Monument's establishment in California should stay in a Michigan district court.

  • April 15, 2026

    Enviro Groups Back Garden State's Bid To Block ICE Facility

    A coalition of environmental groups and community residents asked a New Jersey federal court for permission to file an amicus brief supporting the Garden State's bid to halt the conversion of a warehouse to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center, offering their perspective on the local environmental threats of the project.

  • April 15, 2026

    Whistleblower Suit Alleges Wells Fargo Inflated CMBS Income

    A whistleblower lawsuit unsealed this week in New York state Supreme Court accused Wells Fargo of inflating income of underlying properties across numerous commercial mortgage-backed securities loans it pooled, allowing it to evade $220 million in state and local taxes.

  • April 15, 2026

    Landlord Wants Out Of Fraud Claim In NJ AG's RealPage Suit

    A New Jersey landlord is urging a federal court to revisit part of a March decision and dismiss claims against it under a state consumer fraud statute amid the New Jersey attorney general's antitrust suit against RealPage Inc. and 10 of the state's largest landlords.

  • April 15, 2026

    Collective Expanded In OT Suit Against Land Management Co.

    New affidavits workers provided in their overtime suit against a land management company support their bid to expand their collective on a nationwide basis, a Maryland federal judge ruled Wednesday, rejecting the company's argument that the request was a "second bite at the apple."

  • April 14, 2026

    Bascom Group Pays $103M For Vegas Apartment Community

    Real estate private equity firm The Bascom Group LLC has paid $103 million for a five-story, 294-unit Class A apartment community in Las Vegas, the firm announced Tuesday.

  • April 14, 2026

    Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Mulling Mediation In $481M Loan Suit

    Wells Fargo Bank is considering mediating and settling its suit against JPMorgan Chase Bank and a New York City developer over a $481 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan deal that allegedly caused millions of dollars in losses, according to a joint letter filed in New York federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • 2 NY Cases May Clarify Foreclosure Law Retroactivity

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    Two pending cases may soon provide the long-awaited resolution to the question of whether retroactive application of the New York Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act violates the state Constitution, providing a guide for New York courts inundated with motions in foreclosure and quiet title actions, says Fernando Rivera Maissonet at Hinshaw & Culbertson.

  • A Look At Florida's New Protected Series LLC Legislation

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    A new law in Florida enhances the flexibility of using limited liability companies as the entities of choice for most privately held businesses, moving Florida into a small group of states with reliable uniform protected series legislation for series LLCs, says Louis Conti at Holland & Knight.

  • How Trump's Trade Policies Are Shaping Foreign Investment

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    Five months into the Trump administration, investors are beginning to see the concrete effects of the president’s America First Investment Policy as it presents new opportunities for clearing transactions more quickly, while sustaining risk aversion related to Chinese trade and potentially creating different political risks, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Bill Leaves Renewable Cos. In Dark On Farmland Reporting

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    A U.S. Senate bill to update disclosure requirements for foreign control of U.S. farmland does not provide much-needed guidance on how to report renewable energy development on agricultural property, leaving significant compliance risks for project developers, say attorneys at Hodgson Russ.

  • Observations On 5 Years Of Non-Notified CFIUS Inquiries

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    Since 2020, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has identified and investigated covered cross-border transactions not formally notified to CFIUS, and a look at data from 50 non-notified matters during that time reveals the general dynamics of this enforcement function, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • How States Are Taking The Lead On Data Center Regulation

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    While support for data center growth is a declared priority for the current administration, federal data center policy has been slow to develop — so states continue to lead in attracting and regulating data center growth, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • Texas Bill Could Still Boost Property Rights In Gov't Disputes

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    The passage of a bill in Texas that would provide litigants with access to a greater swath of judicial remedies in immunity disputes with government entities and officials would be an invaluable boon for property rights, says Nathan Vrazel at Munsch Hardt.

  • Indemnity Lessons From Mass. Construction Defect Ruling

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    The Massachusetts high court's decision in Trustees of Boston University v. CHA, holding that a bespoke contractual indemnity provision means that a construction defect claim is not subject to Massachusetts' statute of repose, should spur design and construction professionals to negotiate limited provisions, says Christopher Sweeney at Conn Kavanaugh.

  • 4 Strategies For De-Escalating Hospitality Industry Disputes

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    As recent uncertainty in the travel business exacerbates the risk of conflict in the hospitality sector, industry in-house counsel and their outside partners should consider proactive strategies aimed at de-escalating disputes, including preserving the record, avoiding boilerplate clauses and considering arbitration, say Randa Adra at Crowell and Stephanie Jean-Jacques at Hyatt.

  • SEC Signals Opening For Private Fund Investment Reform

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    At SEC Speaks in late May, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission made clear that it's considering allowing registered funds of private funds to be offered broadly to true retail investors, meaning existing funds should review their disclosures focusing on conflicts of interest, liquidity and fees, say attorneys at Stradley Ronon.

  • Unicoin Case Reveals SEC's Evolving Enforcement Posture

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent fraud allegations against cryptocurrency company Unicoin send a clear message that while the Trump administration supports digital asset development, it will act decisively against deception, inflated valuations and false assurances, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.

  • Opportunity Zone Revamp Could Improve The Program

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    If adopted, the budget bill's new iteration of the opportunity zone program could renew, refine and enhance the effectiveness and accountability of the original program by including structural reforms, expanded eligibility rules and incentives for rural investment, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Review Risk Is Increasing For Foreign Real Estate Developers

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    Federal and state government efforts have been expanding oversight of foreign investment in U.S. real estate, necessitating careful assessment of risk and of the benefits of notifying the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, say attorneys at Troutman.