Commercial
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April 03, 2024
Md. Lawmakers OK Special Tax Rates For Vacant Property
Maryland would authorize its counties and the city of Baltimore to impose special tax rates on vacant or abandoned property under legislation approved by lawmakers and headed to the governor.
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April 03, 2024
5 Hotel Cos. Defeat Trafficking Claims, 2 Others Settle
An Ohio federal judge gave five hospitality companies early wins against a sex trafficking survivor's liability claims and dismissed two others following undisclosed settlement agreements, bringing an end to the survivor's suit alleging the companies should have seen warning signs and prevented what happened to her.
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April 03, 2024
Forchelli Appoints Environmental Practice Chair
Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP has announced the hiring of a partner with experience in organizations such as Miller Environmental Group Inc. and New York American Water to chair its environmental practice group.
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April 03, 2024
Hotels Eye Conversions, M&A As Construction Slows
Hotel operators are seeking growth through brand conversions and mergers and acquisitions as hospitality construction activity stagnates worldwide, JLL reported.
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April 03, 2024
RE Funds Lost Money For First Time Since '08, McKinsey Says
The real estate industry brought investors negative returns in 2023 for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, according to a year-end report from consultant McKinsey.
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April 03, 2024
Skanska Inks $1.4B Contract To Replace Seattle Bridge
Skanska and Washington's Department of Transportation closed a $1.4 billion bridge replacement contract that aims to update Seattle's Portage Bay Bridge so that it's up to "current seismic resiliency standards," the construction and development company announced.
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April 03, 2024
CBRE Economist Projects Real Estate Uptick For 2024
After largely retreating to the sidelines during the past couple of years of economic challenges, it is time for real estate players to step back on the field and take some risks — if cautiously — in light of the current economic outlook and solid industry fundamentals, CBRE Group Inc.'s global chief economist suggested Wednesday.
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April 03, 2024
Real Estate Lawyers On The Move
Goodwin Procter, Akin Gump and Dykema Gossett are among the law firms that have made recent real estate hires.
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April 03, 2024
Lawmakers Rail Against Amtrak's Union Station Takeover Bid
In a letter made public Tuesday, lawmakers raised concerns to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg about Amtrak's pending bid to take control of Washington, D.C.'s Union Station, which, if successful, could upend eminent domain precedent.
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April 03, 2024
As EVs Catch On, Chargers May Be New Real Estate Standard
Electric vehicle charging infrastructure isn't yet a prerequisite for a successful real estate development, but experts say it's speeding toward becoming as standard as Wi-Fi or ATMs, even in an environment of rapid-fire regulatory and technology change.
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April 03, 2024
Winston Real Estate Leader Eyes Uptick In Deal Volume
In anticipation of multiple interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve later this year, commercial real estate deal flow is likely to pick up in the near term, Winston & Strawn LLP's real estate leader told Law360 in an interview.
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April 03, 2024
2024 Proxy Fight Preview: Hotel Operator, Shops, Offices
Every spring ushers in a new season of proxy fights between activist investors and boards of directors, and a handful of commercial property companies are in the midst of battles with dissatisfied shareholders, while the industry at large continues to face economic stressors.
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April 02, 2024
Lenders Notch Win In Tilting Manhattan Condo Loan Suit
A New York appellate court on Tuesday dropped an Israeli bank and several claims from a thorny loan dispute brought by the developers behind a slanted, half-built Manhattan tower, months after a trial court judge greenlit the lenders' request to foreclose on the property.
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April 02, 2024
NY Appeals Court Nixes Sanctions In $195M Mezzanine Loan Row
A New York state appeals court unanimously reversed $50,000 in sanctions against Friedman Kaplan Seiler Adelman & Robbins LLP on Tuesday in a dispute involving a $195 million mezzanine loan, ruling that the law firm's conduct during the suit wasn't frivolous under state law.
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April 02, 2024
Detroit Office Market Improving Somewhat In 2024, CBRE Says
Detroit's office market showed some good signs in 2024's first quarter, with the city seeing nearly 50,000 square feet of positive net absorption and the downtown area showing positive net absorption for the first time since 2023's second quarter, according to a new report on Tuesday.
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April 02, 2024
McGuireWoods Guides $414M Loan Deal For Brooklyn Tower
McGuireWoods LLP guided a mortgage loan deal in which an affiliate of real estate company The Brodsky Organization LLC borrowed $414.8 million from M&T Realty Capital Corp. for a 51-story, 858-unit Brooklyn residential tower, according to official property records.
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April 02, 2024
Berkeley Nixes Natural Gas Ban, But Shift To Electric Rolls On
The city of Berkeley has agreed to unwind a ban on natural gas infrastructure in new construction under a deal with the California Restaurant Association, possibly foreshadowing a shift away from such bans and toward new incentive structures for electrification, attorneys say.
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April 02, 2024
Cemetery Owner Can't Sell Unused Land, NC Panel Rules
The operator of two North Carolina cemeteries couldn't convince the state Court of Appeals to let her section off unused land for a potential sale, with a three-judge panel ruling Tuesday state law forbids her from transferring the property even if remains are not interred.
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April 02, 2024
King & Spalding Lands 3 Kasowitz Partners For Biz Litigation
King & Spalding LLP announced Tuesday that it had hired three partners for its business litigation practice from Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, including the co-chair of Kasowitz's real estate litigation practice group.
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April 02, 2024
La. Property Owners, Insurers To Arbitrate Hurricane Claims
A Hurricane Ida damage coverage dispute between seven New Orleans-area property owners and their insurers will be stayed pending arbitration, a Louisiana federal judge ruled, agreeing with the insurers that the policy's arbitration agreement is enforceable under the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.
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April 02, 2024
NY Pot Biz Says Store Placement Rules Unconstitutional
A marijuana company is suing the New York State Cannabis Control Board and Office of Cannabis Management, along with others, alleging rules restricting how close dispensaries can be to one another are too vague.
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April 02, 2024
WeWork Drops 150 Leases To Cut Rent Costs By $8B In Ch. 11
Coworking company WeWork has agreed to exit 150 leases and restructure others to reduce its future rent payments by some $8 billion, saying the "significant milestone" paves the way for it to exit Chapter 11 by the end of May.
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April 01, 2024
Trump Posts $175M Bond, Pausing $465M Fraud Judgment
Donald Trump on Monday posted a $175 million bond, ducking, for now, enforcement of a nearly $465 million civil fraud judgment against him and his businesses in the New York attorney general's case accusing them of defrauding banks and insurers.
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April 01, 2024
Health System Says $1B In Losses Dooms Beth Israel Hospital
Mount Sinai Health System Inc. told a New York state court to let it go forward with its plans to shut down Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital, arguing that it reached its decision to close the Manhattan hospital "after a decade of mounting losses at MSBI amounting to over $1 billion."
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April 01, 2024
Baltimore Office Sector's Tenancy Decline Continues In Q1
Baltimore's embattled office market saw occupancy rates dip for the fifth consecutive quarter, during which leasing activity was driven largely by government office lease renewals, per a report from CBRE.
Expert Analysis
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Practical Skills Young Attorneys Must Master To Be Happier
For young lawyers, finding happiness on the job — with its competitive nature and high expectations for billable hours — is complicated, but three skills can help them gain confidence, reduce stress and demonstrate their professional value in ways they never imagined, says career counselor Susan Smith Blakely.
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Establishing A Record Of Good Faith In Mediation
Viacom v. U.S. Specialty Insurance, and other recent cases, highlight the developing criteria for determining good faith participation in mediation, as well as several practical tips to establish such a record, says Richard Mason at MasonADR.
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ABA Opinion Should Help Clarify Which Ethics Rules Apply
A recent American Bar Association opinion provides key guidance on interpreting ABA Model Rule 8.5's notoriously complex choice-of-law analysis — and should help lawyers authorized to practice in multiple jurisdictions determine which jurisdiction's ethics rules govern their conduct, say attorneys at HWG.
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How Crypto-Friendly Bank Failures Will Change Tech Industry
The recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and Silvergate Capital are likely to result in significant shifts in how the global tech industry and its financial partners address legal, compliance, regulatory and business risks, says Erin Bryan at Dorsey & Whitney.
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4 Ways To Reboot Your Firm's Stalled Diversity Program
Law firms that have failed to see real progress despite years of diversity initiatives can move forward by committing to tackle four often-taboo obstacles that hinder diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, says Steph Maher at Jaffe.
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Top Questions, And Lessons, After Banking's Wild Weekend
While regulators alleviated some immediate concerns related to Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, even companies with minimal exposure to the failed institutions should monitor unfolding policy changes, cash management issues and increasing scrutiny on risk disclosures for public companies, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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DOJ's Google Sanctions Motion Shows Risks Of Auto-Deletion
The U.S. Department of Justice recently hit Google with a sanctions motion over its alleged failure to preserve relevant instant-messaging communications, a predicament that should be a wake-up call for counsel concerning the danger associated with automatic-deletion features and how it's been handled by the courts, say Oscar Shine and Emma Ashe at Selendy Gay.
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Everyrealm Case Spurs Big Workplace Arbitration Questions
If a New York federal judge's recent textualist ruling in Johnson v. Everyrealm denying arbitration of an entire employment lawsuit is appealed and upheld, it could set the stage for significant impairment of the enforcement of arbitration agreements, says Rex Berry at Signature Resolution.
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What To Expect From A Litigation Finance Industry Recession
There's little data on how litigation finance would fare in a recession, but a look at stakeholders' incentives suggests corporate demand for litigation finance would increase in a recessionary environment, while the number of funders could shrink, says Matthew Oxman at LexShares.
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A Look At The Feds' Extraordinary Reaction To SVB Collapse
With the receiverships of two banks in almost as many days, the emerging pattern of regulatory response holds the banking sector as a whole responsible for losses at individual institutions, a scenario that may not end with special assessments to cover Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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Insureds Must Prep For Drought-Related Service Interruptions
Amid the ongoing U.S. water crisis, corporate policyholders must prepare for the emerging risk of service interruption property damage and time element loss, including through careful examination of their current and renewal property policies, says Micah Skidmore at Haynes Boone.
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How To Select The Right Arbitrator For A Construction Dispute
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
In construction disputes, selecting an arbitrator is a critical decision with many nuances to consider, as different types of potential panelists all come with their own experiences, views and possible biases, says Edward Gentilcore at Blank Rome.
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Combating Russia's Evolving Sanctions Evasion Efforts
As the war in Ukraine enters its second year, Russia and its oligarch class will continue their attempts to elude sanctions, and regulators from the U.S. and allied nations will keep searching for ways to beat them back, say Ian Herbert at Miller & Chevalier and Brad Dragoon at Charles River.