Real EstateRSS

  • January 25, 2012

    Judge OKs Foreclosure For NY Hotels Facing $300M In Debt

    A New York state judge has approved a request by a group of investors to foreclose on two New York boutique hotels encumbered with more than $300 million of unpaid debt, according to a counter-notice of settlement presented Tuesday.

  • January 25, 2012

    NY Court Refuses To Expand Domino Sugar Landmark Site

    A New York state appeals court on Tuesday rejected efforts to expand landmark designation status for the former Domino Sugar refinery in Brooklyn to the entire 11-acre site, a move that could have hindered a $1.5 billion residential development plan.

  • January 25, 2012

    Guarantors Can't Evade Suit Over $60M Mall Loan

    An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday kept Chivas Retail Partners LLC on the hook as guarantors to a $59.7 million delinquent loan to a Georgia shopping center, denying the company's motion to dismiss allegations brought by lender Inland Mortgage Capital Corp.

  • January 25, 2012

    Planned Parenthood Buys NY Headquarters For $35M

    The Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc., the nation’s leading reproductive health care provider, has acquired the space housing its headquarters in New York for roughly $35 million, according to public filings Tuesday.

  • January 25, 2012

    S&P Misled Investors With High MBS Ratings: Suit

    The Illinois attorney general slapped ratings giant Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC with a state court lawsuit Wednesday alleging it deceived investors about its objectivity when it assigned top ratings to risky mortgage-backed securities ahead of the housing market bust.

  • January 25, 2012

    NY Condo Developer Must Return $16M In Down Payments

    A New York condominium developer's argument that its Manhattan condo offering plan was bungled by outside counsel was rejected last week by a state court judge, who ordered the developer to return $16 million in down payments for the condo.

  • January 25, 2012

    House Bill Targets High Court's Eminent Domain Ruling

    The House Judiciary Committee cleared a bill Tuesday that would reverse the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 2005 ruling allowing the use of eminent domain for public benefit.

  • January 25, 2012

    $3M Ruling Against Border Patrol Upended By Fed. Circ.

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday faulted a trial court’s decision to award $3 million to a group of California landowners for border patrol officials’ use of their property near the Mexican border, but did not agree that the compensation should be reduced.

  • January 25, 2012

    Capmark, Feds Reach $4M Deal To End FCA Suit

    The reorganized Capmark Finance LLC on Monday asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge to approve a $3.9 million settlement resolving the federal government's allegations that Capmark knowingly submitted a false mortgagor's certification to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

  • January 25, 2012

    Lehman Investors Can't Move $640M Fraud Suit To State Court

    A federal judge on Wednesday rejected an attempt by former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. investors to move their $640 million fraud case against real estate and private equity affiliates of the bankrupt banking giant back to New York state court.

  • January 25, 2012

    Louvre, Guggenheim Branches In UAE To Open 3 Years Late

    As part of the $27 billion Saadiyat Island development project in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, local branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums are scheduled to open in 2015 and 2017, respectively — about three years behind schedule, the emirate's Tourism Development & Investment Co. announced Wednesday.

  • January 25, 2012

    Canadian Lender Wants $15M Back For WTC Financing

    A Canadian lender said in a New York federal lawsuit Monday that it had lost $15 million because a construction company and a government agency have allegedly diverted financing payments for the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site to other vendors.

  • January 25, 2012

    Q&A With Foley Hoag's Jeff Mullan

    The biggest issue facing lawyers who practice in the infrastructure and redevelopment areas is the underlying condition of our public infrastructure and the inadequate resources governments have to address it, says Jeffrey Mullan, of counsel with Foley Hoag LLP and former CEO of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

  • January 25, 2012

    Ballard Nabs Schiff Partners To Launch 3 Atlanta Practice Areas

    Ballard Spahr LLP has established three new practice areas — real estate, public finance and white collar criminal defense — in its burgeoning Atlanta office by raiding four diversely experienced partners from crosstown rival Schiff Hardin LLP, the firm said Monday.

  • January 25, 2012

    Fortress CEO Resigns Amid SEC Fannie Mae Fraud Claims

    Fortress Investment Group LLC said Tuesday that CEO Daniel Mudd has resigned from the company and its board, shortly after taking a leave of absence amid the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's fraud allegations in New York over his time leading mortgage giant Fannie Mae.

  • January 24, 2012

    Judge Shuts Down Cellini's Bid For New Bribery Trial

    Real estate investor and political insider William Cellini lost his bid at a second trial on bribery and extortion charges Tuesday, with an Illinois federal judge rejecting the defendant's arguments that his convictions must be tossed because of alleged juror bias.

  • January 24, 2012

    Cutting Mortgage Principals Won't Solve Debt Woes: FHFA

    Economists and officials might think cutting principals is a good way to help homeowners facing foreclosure, but such a move would cost taxpayers $100 billion and would not be especially effective, the government agency that runs mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reported Monday.

  • January 24, 2012

    Ex-Lehman Boss Loses Carter Ledyard Malpractice Suit

    An ex-employee of a Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. real estate unit on Tuesday lost his legal malpractice suit over Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP's alleged botching of his whistleblower case claiming he was abruptly fired for objecting to colleagues' unethical business practices.

  • January 24, 2012

    Delaware Opposes $25B Mortgage Settlement With Lenders

    Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden is poised to reject a proposed settlement between state and federal governments and major lenders that could provide up to $25 billion in relief to homeowners facing foreclosure in exchange for a halt on future lawsuits alleging deceptive practices leading to the housing crisis, a spokesman for Biden said Tuesday.

  • January 24, 2012

    Goldman Sachs RE Arm Picks Up $44M NC Office Portfolio

    The real estate investment arm of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has acquired a portfolio of six North Carolina office properties from Duke Realty Corp. for $44 million, a Duke official confirmed Tuesday.