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Real Estate
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May 23, 2013
$2B Hospital Project Again Clears San Fran Panel
After nearly a year of legal and political stumbling over the environmental review of California Pacific Medical Center’s $2 billion hospital expansion plan, the project on Thursday won back expired approvals from the San Francisco planning commission.
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May 23, 2013
NGL Pipeline Co. Loses Bid To Access Private Land
A Texas appeals court on Thursday nixed a Crosstex Energy Inc. unit’s effort to begin work on part of a natural gas liquids pipeline it intends to route through private property, ruling the company has not shown it is entitled to seize the land.
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May 23, 2013
11th Circ. Backs Wells Fargo Win In Mortgage Transfer Case
The Eleventh Circuit on Thursday dismissed a proposed class action brought by a mortgage holder who claimed Wells Fargo Bank NA violated the Truth in Lending Act by failing to notify her of a transfer in ownership of her mortgage loan.
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May 23, 2013
Former Stockbroker Seeks Bail In 'Rebecca' Con Case
A former stockbroker accused of defrauding a real estate company and the producers of defunct Broadway musical “Rebecca” sought bail in New York federal court Thursday as negotiations for a potential plea deal continue, saying he has found temporary work and is not a flight risk.
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May 23, 2013
Trump Wins Fraud Trial Over Chicago Condos
A federal jury in Chicago sided with Donald Trump's companies at a consumer fraud trial Thursday, rejecting claims that they deceptively lured prospective buyers of hotel condominiums at Trump's downtown luxury tower by offering a revenue-sharing deal that they later withdrew.
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May 23, 2013
FDIC Wins Malpractice Suit Against Law Firm Over $5M Loan
A Florida federal jury Wednesday sided with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in its malpractice suit against Icard Merrill Cullis Timm Furen & Ginsburg over the firm's representation of a developer in a $5.3 million real estate loan.
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May 23, 2013
Fish Can’t Duck Fraud Suit Over $28M Award, Texas Court Told
A now-dissolved title services law firm told a Texas appeals court last week that Fish & Richardson PC and JAMS Inc. aren’t immune from fraud claims over a $28 million arbitration award handed out by an arbitrator allegedly biased toward Fish & Richardson.
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May 23, 2013
Deals Sizzle, BBQs To Follow For Busy Deal Makers
Deal makers really don't want to spend Memorial Day weekend in the office. A flurry of transactions have made this one of the year's busiest weeks in mergers and acquisitions, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Latham & Watkins LLP among those that freed up grilling time.
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May 23, 2013
Terrafina Buys $600M Mexican Portfolio From Kimco JV
Shopping center owner and operator Kimco Realty Corp. and joint venture partner American Industries have agreed to sell a Mexican industrial portfolio of properties to Mexican real estate investment trust Terrafina for approximately $600 million, the companies announced Thursday.
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May 23, 2013
Lehman To Reap Up To $2B From Pair Of REIT Stock Offerings
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. will unload roughly 50 percent of its stake in residential real estate investment trusts Equity Residential and AvalonBay Communities Inc. in separate offerings that could reap as much as $2 billion for the defunct investment bank, according to securities filings Wednesday.
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May 23, 2013
Blackstone Teams With Prologis On $960M Industrial Deal
The Blackstone Group LP and Prologis Inc. are teaming up to make a $960 million purchase of a massive U.S. industrial portfolio from a venture led by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., sources confirmed to Law360 on Thursday.
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May 23, 2013
$200M Miami Mixed-Use Project Cleared For Construction
The Miami City Commission gave its final approvals Thursday to a more than $200 million mixed-use project that proposes to bring retail and residential space to the banks of the Miami River.
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May 23, 2013
NYC Planning Board OKs Queens Tennis Stadium Expansion
The U.S. Tennis Association's $500 million plan to expand its tennis center in Queens moved one step closer to reality Wednesday when New York City's Planning Commission voted to approve the controversial proposal.
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May 23, 2013
NJ Lawmakers Rip Christie On Housing Funds
New Jersey lawmakers on Thursday waded into the state's challenge of a court order that blocked it from taking some $140 million from municipal affordable housing trust funds, arguing that Gov. Chris Christie's administration has misrepresented a law allowing the seizure of that money.
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May 23, 2013
'Hate' Demonstrations At Philly Towers Halted By Judge
A Pennsylvania judge Thursday halted a religious group from holding demonstrations outside the retail mall at the foot of two iconic Philadelphia skyscrapers, a day after the owner of the mall alleged that the group was showering hate speech upon passersby.
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May 23, 2013
Bankrupt REIT Gets $50M In Deal With BlackRock, Lenders
A New York bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved a settlement that BlackRock Inc.'s bankrupt real estate investment trust Anthracite Capital Inc. reached with BlackRock and two banks, allowing Anthracite to bring in $50 million and begin winding down the estate.
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May 23, 2013
NY Appeals Court Won't Cut BofA Faulty Underwriting Claims
A New York state appeals court refused Wednesday to dismiss claims against several Bank of America Corp. units in a putative class action over allegedly loose mortgage underwriting standards, saying the plaintiff had sufficiently alleged she had signed a release of claims under duress.
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May 23, 2013
ResCap Gets $2.1B From Ally To Settle Creditor Claims
Ally Financial Inc. will pay $2.1 billion to win peace with creditors of its former mortgage subsidiary, bankrupt Residential Capital LLC, nearly triple the auto lender’s original settlement offer, according to documents filed Thursday in New York bankruptcy court.
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May 23, 2013
Liberty Property Drops $133.5M On DC Office Building
Pennsylvania-based Liberty Property Trust has scooped up a Washington, D.C., office building and new development rights from a Hines fund for $133.5 million, giving the trust an opportunity to expand the property, according to a Thursday statement.
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May 23, 2013
Deals Rumor Mill: Yankee Candle, THL Partners, Volvo
Madison Dearborn is scrapping plans to unload Yankee Candle Co. after prospective private equity buyers refused to make multibillion-dollar offers for the company, while Volvo is considering a spinoff of its North American heavy truck unit that could yield as much as $1.5 billion.
Expert Analysis
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Good For Business: Florida's LLC Rewrite
Representing a substantial evolution in Florida law, the Florida Revised Limited Liability Company Act will make the state a more desirable location for business owners to use an LLC for their business activities. Companies and counsel should familiarize themselves with a number of key changes to existing law, say Philip Schwartz and Andrew Schwartz of Akerman Senterfitt LLP.
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NY Creates Tax Uncertainty For Unauthorized Life Insurers
In the past, surprisingly favorable tax treatment was afforded to life insurers that were not licensed to conduct business in New York but that owned real estate investments in the state. But following recent reinterpretation of New York Tax Law, some uncertainty has arisen with respect to how unauthorized life insurers should allocate income for franchise tax purposes, say attorneys with Duane Morris LLP.
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Temporary Regulatory Takings Do Exist In Calif.
Property owners rarely succeed with regulatory takings claims — but securing a victory on liability and a damages award for a temporary regulatory taking, well, that is more in the realm of unicorns and the Loch Ness Monster. That all changed recently when the California Court of Appeal issued its decision in Lockaway Storage v. County of Alameda, say attorneys with Nossaman LLP.
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Pitfalls For Lenders Redeeming Ala. Property
In First United Security Bank v. McCollum, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals addressed the rights of a lender that redeems property sold at a tax sale as a result of its borrower’s failure to pay his property taxes. In certain situations, the decision will penalize lenders and awards property owners with a financial windfall, says Jack Kubiszyn of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP.
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Calif.'s Subcontractor Defense Regime: Order Or Chaos?
With the enactment of Civil Code Section 2782.05, the California Legislature has created a new regime to govern a subcontractor's duty to defend a general contractor or construction manager on most nonresidential projects. While this new regime appears intended to benefit construction participants, its lack of guidance will likely result in disagreements and litigation among the participants, say attorneys with Jones Day.
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Rise Of The Machines — Predictive Coding Goes Mainstream
The pros of using predictive coding far outweigh the cons. Given the heavy pressure on law firms and in-house counsel to reduce discovery costs, as well as the Justice Department's recent stance on the subject, it appears predictive coding will continue to emerge from the obscure world of legal technology to the mainstream of legal practice, say Michael Moscato and Myles Bartley of Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle LLP.
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Know Your Risks Before Going Green In Construction
Although there are benefits to “going green” in the construction, development and operation of buildings, there are also risks unique to green building that will test the boundaries of coverage under typical liability insurance policies, say attorneys with Sedgwick LLP.
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4th Circ. Weighs In On Bona Fide Purchaser Defense
The Fourth Circuit recently issued a ruling in PCS Nitrogen Inc. v. Ashley II of Charleston that may limit the availability of the bona fide prospective purchaser defense. By narrowly construing one of the elements of the BFPP defense, the court has underscored the importance of strict compliance with all requirements of the defense, say attorneys with K&L Gates LLP.
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The Who, What And Why Of Public-Private Partnerships
Public-private partnerships have been used in a wide range of sectors to provide public services, from power plants and railroads to hospitals and sanitation plants. Yet there are a variety of potential contractual arrangements and the financing of a PPP can be complex, say Maryam Khosharay and Herbert Glaser of Haynes and Boone LLP.
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Renovated: Fla. Rules On Design Professional Liability
A new Florida law will effectively permit business entities providing professional services to limit by contract the liability of their individual employees or agents. Attorneys with design professional clients — including architects, interior designers, landscape architects, engineers, surveyors and geologists — should expect requests for limitation of liability provisions in such contracts beginning July 1, 2013, say Keith Ramsey and Monte Starr of Holland & Knight LLP.