Commercial
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April 11, 2024
REIT Hit With Suit By Ex-CEO Over Share Buyback Conflict
A real estate investment trust has been hit with a proposed class action by its former CEO alleging the company's insiders breached their fiduciary duties by failing to make a legitimate effort to repurchase certain preferred shares prior to their redemption date, leading to severe dilution of the common shares.
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April 11, 2024
NJ Town Pays $5.5M To Exit Claims It Steered Deloitte HQ Deal
Morristown, New Jersey, has agreed to pay $5.5 million to settle claims that officials meddled in a project to relocate accounting firm Deloitte's headquarters to one town site in an attempt to direct the project to another owned by developers they preferred.
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April 11, 2024
Okla. City Officials Clear Hurdle For Planned 1,900-Foot Tower
Oklahoma City Planning Commission members recommended approval for zoning Thursday to allow unlimited height on a site where a developer announced plans to build the tallest tower in the U.S., but not without cracking jokes about what would happen if a tornado landed nearby.
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April 11, 2024
LA's COVID-19 Anti-Eviction Law A Taking, 9th Circ. Told
A Los Angeles landlord urged the Ninth Circuit during a Thursday hearing to revive his $100 million suit against the city over its COVID-19 anti-eviction moratorium, arguing the lower court erred when it found the moratorium against eviction of defaulting tenants didn't constitute a physical taking by the government.
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April 11, 2024
Dallas Developers Must Each Pay Bond In $400M Foreclosure
A Texas appeals court on Thursday ordered developers to cough up more money as they appeal a ruling in a roughly $400 million foreclosure case involving an upscale residential tower in Dallas, saying that each of the debtors needed to file a bond as the case works its way through appeals.
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April 11, 2024
Odebrecht Exec Details Bribes To Ex-Ecuador Comptroller
The former director of Odebrecht SA's operations in Ecuador told jurors Thursday that he paid millions in bribes to "Miami" — a code name for Ecuador's former comptroller — related to various infrastructure projects the Brazilian conglomerate was building in the country.
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April 11, 2024
NY Appeals Court Nixes Chelsea Hotel Tenant's Rent Suit
A New York appeals court unanimously backed a lower court's ruling that denied a Chelsea Hotel tenant's bid for rent stabilization for his studio apartment.
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April 11, 2024
Investment Firms Beat Target With $950M Logistics Fund
NorthBridge Partners LLC and Park Madison Partners LLC surpassed their target and raised almost $950 million for a fund focused on infill logistics assets, with an emphasis on coastal markets, the investment firms said.
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April 11, 2024
MoFo Advises On $200M Loan Modification For NYC Tower
Morrison Foerster LLP advised on the modification of a $200 million mortgage borrowed by an affiliate of developer and property manager The Durst Organization from JPMorgan Chase, according to official property records.
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April 11, 2024
Maine Eliminates Municipal Property Tax Levy Limits
Maine will no longer set limits on the amount that local municipalities can increase property taxes by each year as part of a law signed by the state's governor.
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April 11, 2024
REIT Buys Hyatt Hotel In Texas For $230M
Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. will buy the 630-room Hyatt Regency San Antonio Riverwalk hotel in San Antonio, Texas, for $230 million, the real estate investment trust announced.
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April 11, 2024
Proskauer Adds Kirkland Partner For Tax, Estate Issues
Proskauer Rose LLP has added to its private client services department a partner from Kirkland & Ellis LLP who specializes in developing domestic and international tax and estate plans for clients with very high net worth, the firm announced.
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April 11, 2024
Spencer Fane Expands In Dallas With Pair Of Real Estate Pros
Spencer Fane LLP has added two new real estate partners to its Dallas office, including a former in-house general counsel at a marina company and a former Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP attorney.
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April 11, 2024
Treasury Proposes Steeper Foreign Investment Law Penalties
The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a notice Thursday proposing to sharpen its procedures and enforcement practices for reviewing foreign investment deals for national security issues, according to an announcement.
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April 11, 2024
Norton Rose Adds Office Space In Historic Chicago District
Two years after entering the Chicago legal market, Norton Rose Fulbright has expanded its Windy City office, adding approximately 15,000 square feet across two additional floors in the Fulton Market district.
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April 11, 2024
Akerman Adds Another Real Estate Litigator In NYC Office
Akerman LLP has hired a litigator who focuses his practice on a range of real estate matters and is joining the firm's New York City office as a partner, the firm announced Wednesday.
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April 10, 2024
Texas Panel Seeks Evidence In $1M Real Estate Quagmire
A Texas appellate panel suggested Wednesday that both sides fighting about a soured real estate financing deal need to do more to make their cases, asking attorneys during oral arguments to point to evidence that either confirms or refutes the existence of a contract.
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April 10, 2024
Nixon Peabody Hires 3 Attys For Boston Land Use Team
Nixon Peabody LLP hired three former Sullivan & Worcester LLP real estate attorneys based in Boston for its permitting and land use team, the firm announced Wednesday.
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April 10, 2024
Nixon Peabody Builds Practice With Hiring Of Ex-Sports Agent
Nixon Peabody LLP has added to its corporate practice counsel a former sports agent well-versed in the world of athletics to bolster its entertainment and sports and stadiums teams.
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April 10, 2024
Mich. Justices Block Wind Farm's Plan To Expand Near Airport
The Michigan Supreme Court has upheld a local board's decision to block a commercial wind farm expansion, agreeing with a trial judge that zoning officials had marshaled enough evidence that the windmills posed safety risks to aviators.
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April 10, 2024
FBI, GSA Face Criticism Over Response To HQ Site Probe
Republican lawmakers continued to criticize the FBI and General Services Administration on Wednesday over contentious plans for a new FBI headquarters, citing concerns over the planned site and size of the facility, and the agencies' responses to a related investigation.
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April 10, 2024
Botched Herbicide Job Spoiled 'God's Creation,' Ga. Jury Told
Counsel for a rural Georgia quail hunting operation told an Atlanta federal jury Wednesday that when their client hired a company to thin out the woods on its property with herbicide, it instead brought "death and destruction" to the bucolic retreat.
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April 10, 2024
How Bradley Arant Is Keeping Up With Growth In Dallas Shop
Law360 Pulse spoke with Gene Besen, managing partner of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP's Dallas shop, about how the firm is expanding its footprint there to accommodate the growing operation.
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April 10, 2024
DOJ, La. Nursing Home Owner Settle FHA Loan Fraud Claims
A Louisiana nursing home owner reached a deal with the U.S. Department of Justice to end a lawsuit accusing him of misusing funds and assets for his Federal Housing Administration-insured facilities before and after Hurricane Ida.
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April 10, 2024
KKR, Inovia Lead Rental Platform Guesty To $130M Series F
Short-term rental platform Guesty said Erdinast Ben Nathan Toledano & Co. advised as it has raised $130 million in its Series F funding round in a bid to grow its reach, with representatives from new investors KKR and Inovia Capital joining the company's board.
Expert Analysis
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Now Is The Time For Independent Industry Self-Regulation
The high level of trust in business, coupled with the current political and legal landscape, provides an opportunity for companies to play a meaningful role in finding solutions to public policy issues through the exploration of independent industry self-regulation models, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.
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Do Videoconferences Establish Jurisdiction With Defendants?
What it means to have minimum contacts in a foreign jurisdiction is changing as people become more accustomed to meeting via video, and defendants’ participation in videoconferencing may be used as a sword or a shield in courts’ personal jurisdiction analysis, says Patrick Hickey at Moye White.
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Humanism Should Replace Formalism In The Courts
The worrying tendency for judges to say "it's just the law talking, not me" in American decision writing has coincided with an historic decline in respect for the courts, but this trend can be reversed if courts develop understandable legal standards and justify them in human terms, says Connecticut Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher.
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20 Years On, Campbell Holds Lessons On Reining In Ratios
Twenty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in State Farm v. Campbell provided critical guidance on the constitutionally permissible ratio of punitive to compensatory damages — and both Campbell and subsequent federal circuit court decisions informed by it offer important pointers for defendants, say attorneys at Dechert.
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How Bank Turmoil Is Affecting Real Estate Purchases, Sales
The new uncertainty in the availability of financing from bank lenders that were previously considered "money good," spurred by the bank crisis, has inserted a wrinkle in the commercial real estate market that alters some of the dynamics between a buyer and seller, says Simran Bindra at Thompson Coburn.
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Don't Let Client Demands Erode Law Firm Autonomy
As clients increasingly impose requirements for attorney hiring and retention related to diversity and secondment, law firms must remember their ethical duties, as well as broader issues of lawyer development, culture and firm integrity, to maintain their independence while meaningfully responding to social changes, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.
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How CMS Proposal Would Change PE Deal Transparency
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently proposed a new rule that would require the disclosure of additional ownership regarding Medicare and Medicaid nursing facilities, an approach that many states have started to take and reflects the Biden administration's scrutiny on private equity deals, say attorneys at Kirkland.
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How Cannabis Cos. Can Comply With NJ Industrial Site Law
As New Jersey’s recreational cannabis market flourishes, manufacturers that may be subject to a state environmental law must take extra precautions to mitigate potential liabilities and costs, including for historical contamination, says Matthew Karmel at Offit Kurman.
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IRS' Cost Method Update Is Favorable For RE Developers
The Internal Revenue Service's recent update to its alternative cost method will allow real estate developers to accelerate their cost recovery of improvements in certain circumstances and make it easier for practitioners to satisfy the method's tax compliance requirements, says Benjamin Oklan at Weil.
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Federal Judge's Amici Invitation Is A Good Idea, With Caveats
An Arkansas federal judge’s recent order — inviting amicus briefs in every civil case before him — has merit, but its implementation may raise practical questions about the role of junior attorneys, economic considerations and other issues, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation.
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Commercial Landlords Should Approach Self-Help Carefully
Although on the surface lease provisions give landlords the right to recover possession of leased premises when a commercial tenant falls behind on rent, blind reliance on such language can lead to trouble and self-help should be exercised with great caution, says Knox Withers at Arnall Golden.
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Fox Ex-Producer Case Is A Lesson In Joint Representation
A former Fox News producer's allegations that the network's lawyers pressured her to give misleading testimony in Fox's defamation battle with Dominion Voting Systems should remind lawyers representing a nonparty witness that the rules of joint representation apply, says Jared Marx at HWG.
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As The Metaverse Expands, Bankruptcy Questions Arise
Restructuring and bankruptcy happen in the metaverse, too — and the uncertain and evolving rules of digital ownership could have surprising effects on who gets paid, with increasing tension between platforms and users, say Kizzy Jarashow and James Lathrop at Goodwin.