Commercial
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April 15, 2024
High Court Won't Hear California Tribal Casino Dispute
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied a bid by an anti-casino advocacy group seeking to overturn a Ninth Circuit decision that dismissed their case after determining that the Ione Band of Miwok Indians is eligible to go forward with its project in California.
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April 12, 2024
Hedge Fund Fires Back At Hotel REIT With Proxy Contest Suit
Blackwells Capital LLC has fired back at Braemar Hotels & Resorts Inc. with a lawsuit against the hotel REIT and its board chair Monty Bennett, seeking a green light to move forward with a campaign to place its own candidates on the company's board.
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April 12, 2024
NJ Gives Counties Power To Up Tax After Paying Off Debt
New Jersey will allow counties greater authority to impose property taxes after retiring debts under a bill signed into law by Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.
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April 12, 2024
Mich. Township Wants Suit Over Foiled Pot Dispensary Tossed
A Michigan township is urging a federal court to toss a lawsuit filed by a cannabis entrepreneur and local developers who claim the municipality's leaders blocked them from opening a marijuana dispensary, arguing the court lacks jurisdiction.
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April 12, 2024
Mich. High Court Snapshot: Atty Sanctions Kick Off April
The Michigan Supreme Court returns Tuesday for its April session, hearing oral arguments about judges' ability to sanction lawyers for past attorneys' work in a case, what defendants say could be double recovery in wrongful death cases, and an attempt to use a Larry Nassar-inspired law to sue Catholic priests for decades-old abuse allegations.
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April 12, 2024
SEC Says Developer Pulled EB-5 Funds From Nursing Homes
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused a Las Vegas developer of using $10 million raised by overseas investors hoping to immigrate to the U.S. to pay down a loan for a project unconnected to their immigration applications.
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April 12, 2024
The Week In Trump: Catch Up On The Ex-President's Cases
Donald Trump and his legal team proved that they are nothing if not persistent as they repeatedly tried — and failed — to hit the brakes on the former president's porn star hush money trial in Manhattan.
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April 12, 2024
Justices Back Property Owner In Dispute Over Permit Fees
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday that a $23,420 local traffic impact fee charged to a California property owner's rural manufactured home isn't exempt from scrutiny as a Fifth Amendment taking simply because the charge is allowed by legislation.
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April 11, 2024
DC Circ. Mulls Jurisdiction In Fight Over Jewish Texts
The D.C. Circuit is set to decide whether a D.C. federal court can consider a Jewish group's allegations that Russia is illegally holding onto its long-lost sacred religious texts, after hearing arguments early Thursday in the appeal of a case that's been kicking around the lower court's docket for two decades.
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April 11, 2024
Wash. Justices Side With EB-5 Firm Over Arbitration Award
Washington's high court ruled on Thursday that the payment of an arbitration award does not resolve a case seeking to confirm that award, standing by a lower court's decision to enter a confirmation order on an investment firm's $11.5 million win against a beleaguered developer over missed payments on a loan.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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Sale-Leasebacks May Provide A Safe Financing Alternative
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.
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5 Recent Developments Family Offices Are Watching In 2024
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.
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A Challenging CRE Environment Holds Opportunities In 2024
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.
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What The 2023 Bank Failures Taught Us, And What's To Come
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.
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A Difficult Year For CRE, But Future May Be Brighter
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.
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3 Developments That Will Affect Hospitality Companies In 2024
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.
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What WeWork's Ch. 11 Filing Means For Landlords
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.
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The 4 Top Philadelphia Commerce Court Opinions Of 2023
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.
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A Former Bankruptcy Judge Talks 2023 High Court Rulings
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.
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Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.
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5 Traps To Avoid When Selling CRE In Las Vegas Area
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.
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'Brownfields' Definition Key To Energy Community Tax Credits
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.
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Why Courts Are Nixing Insurer Defense Recoupment Claims
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.