Commercial

  • January 17, 2025

    Litigators Make Up Half Of Ballard Spahr's Promotion Class

    Ballard Spahr LLP unveiled five promotions to partner and seven to of counsel on Wednesday, elevating lawyers for four of its five departments in five cities.

  • January 16, 2025

    Fire-Safe Rebuilding Key To Reducing LA Insurance Issues

    Reducing the potential of fires like those in Los Angeles to disrupt insurance and housing markets will require a significant and sustained effort to lower physical risks in fire-prone communities, and a commitment to rebuilding to stronger standards.

  • January 16, 2025

    Texas Justices Question If Courts Can Rethink TCPA Motions

    Texas justices questioned whether a trial court can reconsider a motion under the state's anti-SLAPP law to dismiss a farmland-centered REIT's suit against a Dallas-based hedge fund, saying during oral arguments Thursday that allowing it to do so might create a "big hammer" hanging over the parties' heads.

  • January 16, 2025

    Creditors Push For Mississippi Casino Developer Ch. 7

    Creditors for developer Diamondhead Casino Corp., which has been trying for years to build a casino in Mississippi near the Gulf Coast, pressed a Delaware bankruptcy judge to liquidate the company, saying it's the "fairest and the most equitable" way to collect the $2.4 million they are owed.

  • January 16, 2025

    Browns Stadium Fight Belongs In Ohio State Court, Judge Told

    The city of Cleveland has sued the Browns in Ohio state court in an attempt to block the NFL team's planned stadium move, as the city and the state are urging the judge in a separate federal case to toss the team's bid to relocate to the suburbs.

  • January 16, 2025

    PE Exec Nominated To Lead Fannie, Freddie Regulator

    President-elect Donald Trump said he will nominate Bill Pulte, the CEO of private equity firm Pulte Capital, to lead the agency regulating Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

  • January 16, 2025

    Bridge Industrial, CPPIB Launch $789M Industrials JV

    Private real estate company Bridge Industrial and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board are entering into a $789 million joint venture to invest in high-quality industrial properties throughout the U.S., the companies announced Thursday.

  • January 16, 2025

    Ill. Bill Seeks Refunds Of Excess Property Tax Revenue

    Illinois local taxing authorities that exceed the previous year's property tax collection would need to disperse the excess to taxpayers under a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives.

  • January 15, 2025

    Wells Fargo Unit Sued Over Ex-Rep's EB-5 Investment Scheme

    A Wells Fargo subsidiary has been hit with a suit in Nevada federal court by an attorney and real estate developer who claims she and several other entities were hit with a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement action because the Wells Fargo subsidiary and one of its former employees gave bad investment advice.

  • January 15, 2025

    Data Center Developer Lands $900M For Northern Va. Campus

    Stack Infrastructure announced Tuesday it has secured $900 million in financing, which will allow the data center developer and operator to finish construction of a data center campus in Northern Virginia.

  • January 15, 2025

    Natural Disasters And Wildfires Reshape CRE Dealmaking

    Natural disasters are already reshaping all aspects of commercial real estate dealmaking, attorneys say, and their importance is expected to grow considerably as a result of the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires.

  • January 15, 2025

    Justices Asked If Zoning Immunity Can Pass To Private Entity

    The Georgia Supreme Court on Wednesday considered whether a hospital authority could transfer its exemption from municipal zoning ordinances to a private buyer in a dispute over whether a hospital site can become an addiction rehabilitation center.

  • January 15, 2025

    Conn. Set To End Pollution Review On Property Transfers

    Connecticut regulators have finalized a set of new rules to catch environmental contamination that will replace a system of mandatory inspections on commercial and industrial property transfers, leaving New Jersey as the only U.S. state with such a policy.

  • January 15, 2025

    What Real Estate Attys Should Expect From New SEC

    Real estate lawyers should anticipate a meaningful shift in policy from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under President-elect Donald Trump's leadership, including a reduced focus on climate risk disclosures, according to speakers at a Practicing Law Institute panel.

  • January 15, 2025

    Cost Concerns Keep Real Estate Atop Florida Policy Agenda

    This year sees new leadership in the Florida Legislature, a change that can shift priorities, but with housing affordability, condominium reforms and property insurance presenting significant challenges even after recent legislative actions, the incoming House speaker and Senate president have indicated that they will pay close attention to these real estate-related issues in 2025.

  • January 15, 2025

    Judge Warns DOJ: Settle Burger Forfeiture Suit Or Pay Up

    A Michigan federal judge on Tuesday expressed frustration with Justice Department officials' delays in resolving a civil forfeiture action over an alleged $11 million healthcare fraud scheme involving money laundered through Big Boy Restaurant, telling federal prosecutors they have until next week to settle the case or pay the chain's recent legal bills.

  • January 15, 2025

    Fried Frank Guides $177M Financing For NYC Office Building

    GFP Real Estate, a commercial real estate owner and manager, has borrowed more than $177 million from merchant bank BDT & MSD to acquire and partially convert a Manhattan office building into residential units, in a financing deal advised by Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP, according to official property records.

  • January 15, 2025

    Texas Development Projects To Watch In 2025

    The Texas development boom is showing no signs of slowing in 2025, with major projects from office campuses to mixed-use and industrial all set to create ripples throughout the state's real estate industry.

  • January 15, 2025

    Real Estate Attys Eye Busy Texas Legislative Session

    With Texas' biennial legislative session underway, the housing and development issues that gummed up 2023 to the tune of multiple special session extensions appear poised to come back fresh in 2025.

  • January 15, 2025

    California Real Estate Policy To Watch In 2025

    Municipal mansion taxes, clunky permitting processes and a recently passed law enacting building and design standards for logistics facilities are among the real estate policies teed up for review in California in 2025.

  • January 15, 2025

    Casino Bids, Zoning Reform To Shape NYC Real Estate In 2025

    The world of New York City real estate is anticipating major changes in 2025, including advancing casino proposals, implementing a major zoning reform and considering a new hotel licensing law.

  • January 15, 2025

    Midwest Real Estate Projects To Watch In 2025

    While Chicago developers are eyeing a host of new skyscraper projects, various other Midwest cities are primed to see big changes to their skylines over the coming years.

  • January 14, 2025

    NY Appeals Court OKs Arbitration Stay In $60M Hotel Fight

    A New York appeals court has affirmed a lower court order pausing an arbitration initiated by a hotel co-owner in a $60 million dispute with another co-owner over the purported mismanagement of eight hotels nationwide.

  • January 14, 2025

    Mich. Judge Won't Step Aside After Atty Turnover Quip

    A Michigan federal judge refused to step aside from overseeing a lawsuit from a pastor who alleges a township's zoning ordinance discriminates against religious entities, ruling Monday that comments he made about the number of attorneys the pastor has had or praise he gave prior counsel do not show any bias against the plaintiffs.

  • January 14, 2025

    Biden Order Outlines Steps For Bolstering AI Infrastructure

    President Joe Biden issued an executive order Tuesday that aims to shape the country into an artificial intelligence infrastructure leader by working with the private sector to build data centers.

Expert Analysis

  • Sale-Leasebacks May Provide A Safe Financing Alternative

    Author Photo

    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.

  • 5 Recent Developments Family Offices Are Watching In 2024

    Author Photo

    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.

  • A Challenging CRE Environment Holds Opportunities In 2024

    Author Photo

    As the commercial real estate market faces reduced occupancy levels and rising financing costs, the new landscape will be favorable to those who can leverage capital, strategic vision and expertise to meet challenges like taking on distressed properties and converting office space to residential use, say Nesa Amamoo and Vered Rabia at Skadden.

  • What The 2023 Bank Failures Taught Us, And What's To Come

    Author Photo

    As 2023 draws to a close, it's apparent that the bank failures this past spring sparked a seismic shift in the regulatory and supervisory landscape for banking organizations, and the consequences are still continuing to be felt throughout the financial sector as we head into 2024, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • A Difficult Year For CRE, But Future May Be Brighter

    Author Photo

    2023 was a challenging year for the commercial real estate industry, marked by significant uncertainty, but market pressure and signs of rising interest rates provide some reasons to be cautiously optimistic for the year ahead as pandemic headwinds and gridlock fade away, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • 3 Developments That Will Affect Hospitality Companies In 2024

    Author Photo

    As the hospitality industry continues its post-pandemic recovery, it faces both challenges and opportunities to thrive in 2024, including navigating new labor rules, developing branded residential living spaces and cautiously embracing artificial intelligence, says Lauren Stewart at Sheppard Mullin.

  • What WeWork's Ch. 11 Filing Means For Landlords

    Author Photo

    WeWork’s recent Chapter 11 filing in New Jersey has the potential to be one of the most consequential cases in the real estate industry in many years, and presents a number of issues for landlords, including unexpired leases, assumption, assignment and more, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • The 4 Top Philadelphia Commerce Court Opinions Of 2023

    Author Photo

    Four 2023 rulings from the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas — including decisions on judicial privilege, stay requests, sheriff's sales and the appointment of a receiver — highlight the court's commitment to stringent standards and address evolving challenges in commercial litigation, say Jonathan Hugg and Sarah Boutros at Eckert Seamans.

  • A Former Bankruptcy Judge Talks 2023 High Court Rulings

    Author Photo

    In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued four bankruptcy law opinions — an extraordinary number — and a close look at these cases signals that changes to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code will have to come from Congress, not the courts, says Phillip Shefferly at the University of Michigan Law School.

  • 5 Traps To Avoid When Selling CRE In Las Vegas Area

    Author Photo

    When dealing with commercial real estate in Clark County, Nevada — which includes the Las Vegas metro area — even sophisticated sellers may be ensnared by a myriad of tricky issues, ranging from transfer tax nuances to arbitration laws, says Chris Walther at Fennemore Craig.

  • 'Brownfields' Definition Key To Energy Community Tax Credits

    Author Photo

    As the IRS rolls out guidance for claiming community energy tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act, a review of the long-standing statutory definition of "brownfields" reveals that it continues to serve the goal of creating opportunities for investment in abandoned properties, says Louise Dyble at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Why Courts Are Nixing Insurer Defense Recoupment Claims

    Author Photo

    Following a recent trend, the Hawaii Supreme Court's decision in St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co. v. Bodell Construction Co. provides a concise explanation of the argument that an insurer generally may not recoup costs for defending claims, based on three considerations, says Bradley Nash at Hoguet Newman.

  • The SEC's Cooled Down But Still Spicy Private Fund Rules

    Author Photo

    Timothy Spangler and Lindsay Trapp at Dechert consider recently finalized U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules, which significantly alter the scope of obligations private fund advisers must meet under the Investment Advisers Act, noting the absence of several contentious proposals and litigation that could result in implementation delays.