Commercial

  • April 04, 2024

    PE Firm Announces $1.25B JV To Buy, Develop Marinas

    Private equity firm Centerbridge Partners LP and marina owner Suntex Marina Investors LLC have formed a joint venture that aims to acquire and develop new marinas in the U.S. that are worth more than $1.25 billion, according to a joint announcement.

  • April 04, 2024

    Last-Resort Insurers Grapple With Increasing Exposure

    Insurance pools meant to serve as backstops for consumers shut out of traditional markets are grappling with increased exposure to natural disasters, according to experts and market data, a trend that observers say is concerning as climate change intensifies storms.

  • April 04, 2024

    Real Estate Fraudster Wins 3rd Circ. Bid To Testify

    The real estate agent who helped ex-NFL player Irving Fryar in a scheme to defraud several banks out of $1 million in mortgages was wrongly denied the ability to testify on his own behalf at a hearing over alleged violations of his supervised release, the Third Circuit ruled in a precedential opinion Thursday.

  • April 04, 2024

    Real Estate Partner Brad Wright Joins Dorsey In Phoenix

    Brad Wright, a real estate attorney with experience in developing projects with public amenities, has joined Dorsey & Whitney LLP's growing Phoenix practice from Polsinelli PC, the firm announced.

  • April 04, 2024

    MLB's Athletics To Play In Sacramento Before Move To Vegas

    The Oakland Athletics will play the 2025 to 2027 seasons in Sacramento's 14,000-capacity minor-league ballpark while their planned stadium in Las Vegas is built, the franchise and Major League Baseball announced Thursday morning, officially making this season the team's last in Oakland after 57 years.

  • April 04, 2024

    Md. Lessee Owes Tax On Gov't Property, Appeals Court Says

    A lessee of government property in Maryland that was sublet to other users was correctly denied a partial property tax abatement, the state appeals court has said, even though some subtenants were government entities.

  • April 04, 2024

    Project Owners Eager To Sell Energy Tax Credits, Report Says

    Project owners are pursuing new financing strategies that would support the early sale of their clean energy tax credits as more projects in their initial development stage this year seek to capitalize on the incentives as early as possible, a report released Thursday said.

  • April 03, 2024

    NY Landlord, NextEra Ink Deal In Solar Farm Easement Suit

    A New York federal judge on Wednesday signed off on the decision made by a group of NextEra Energy Inc. affiliates to drop claims against a landlord, ending a dispute over utility easements needed to complete two solar farm projects.

  • April 03, 2024

    NY Bank, Investors Want Derivative Suits Merged, Paused

    New York Community Bancorp Inc. and several of its investors asked a New York federal judge to consolidate and stay the investors' derivative shareholder suits against the bank.

  • April 03, 2024

    Broker Says Developer Won't Pay Finder's Fee On $24M Loan

    A South Carolina real estate developer has failed to fork over a finder's fee to his broker on more than $24 million in financing for a mixed-use project on the coast of North Carolina, according to a newly filed federal complaint.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • Key Drivers Behind Widespread Adoption Of NAV Financing

    Author Photo

    While net asset value-based lending has existed for years, NAV lending has only started to move into the mainstream recently — likely due to difficult market conditions faced by sponsors including persistent inflation, high interest rates and a lack of exit opportunities, say Matthew Kerfoot and Jinyoung Joo at Proskauer.

  • Conn. Ruling Highlights Keys To Certificate-Of-Need Appeals

    Author Photo

    The Connecticut Supreme Court's recent decision in High Watch Recovery Center v. Department of Public Health, rejecting rigid application of statutes concerning certificate-of-need procedure, provides important guidance on building an administrative record to support a finding that a case is contested, say attorneys at Robinson & Cole.

  • The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'

    Author Photo

    Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.

  • Pickleball Makes Waves In Fla. Real Estate, With Risks In Play

    Author Photo

    Pickleball's burgeoning popularity in Florida is catalyzing a transformation in the state's commercial real estate market, but investors must take steps to navigate legal challenges related to noise, insurance and community dynamics, says Emmanuelle Litvinov at DarrowEverett.

  • 4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
    Author Photo

    Introverted lawyers can build client bases to rival their extroverted peers’ by adapting time-tested strategies for business development that can work for any personality — such as claiming a niche, networking for maximum impact, drawing on existing contacts and more, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • What Calif. Pot Permit Ruling Means For Enviro Compliance

    Author Photo

    While a California appeals court's recent decision in Lucas v. City of Pomona affirms the city's use of a statutory exemption for its commercial cannabis overlay permit program, the ruling does not mean that all applicants seeking similar approvals are exempted from state environmental compliance obligations, say Whitney Hodges and Barbara Machado at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Rare Reg A+ Fines Reflect New Era Of SEC Enforcement

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent announcement of civil penalties against 10 microcap companies for violations of Regulation A+ shows that as the SEC continues to expand its enforcement efforts, its focus remains on protecting investors of all sizes — including those investing in the historically less-scrutinized Reg A+ issuers, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Factors To Consider When Structuring Data Center Contracts

    Author Photo

    Data center leases and service agreements grant very similar rights and impose similar obligations, but they also hold notable differences and a range of factors that are important to consider when selecting which form of agreement to use, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • Rethinking Mich. Slip-And-Fall Defense After Top Court Ruling

    Author Photo

    The Michigan Supreme Court recently overturned three decades of premises liability jurisprudence by ruling that the open and obvious danger defense is no longer part of a traditional duty analysis, posing the question of whether landowners will ever again win on a motion for summary dismissal, say John Stiglich and Meriam Choulagh at Wilson Elser.

  • Subchapter V Eligibility Ruling Raises Uncertainty For Tenants

    Author Photo

    A Virginia bankruptcy court’s recent ruling in Macedon Consulting — that all remaining rent under a lease should be factored into a lessee's Subchapter V eligibility — raises the question, but does not address, how a court should calculate the amount of debt owed under a lease, creating significant risk for potential tenant debtors, says Sam Ashuraey at Ashuraey Law.

  • Parsing Tax Implications Of NYC Office Leasing Transactions

    Author Photo

    Though New York City's tax laws generally do not require negotiated contractual risk allocation in the case of sublease and early lease termination transactions, it is still helpful for counsel to both landlords and tenants to understand the laws' nuances, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Caregiver Flexibility Is Crucial For Atty Engagement, Retention

    Author Photo

    As the battle for top talent continues post-pandemic, many firms are attempting to attract employees with progressive hybrid working environments — and supporting caregivers before, during and after an extended leave is a critically important way to retain top talent, says Manar Morales at The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.

  • NY's Take On Premises Insurance Policies: What's In A Name?

    Author Photo

    A New York appellate court's recent decision in Wesco Insurance v. Fulmont Mutual Insurance — requiring insurance coverage for a property owner not named on the policy — strengthens a state case law trend creating a practical exception in premises liability cases to normally strict requirements for coverage, says Craig Rokuson at Traub Lieberman.