Commercial
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August 09, 2024
Property Plays: Blackstone, Stack Infrastructure, Vornado
Property Plays is a weekly roundup of the latest loans, leases, sales and projects around the country. Send your tips — all confidential — to realestate@law360.com.
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August 09, 2024
Colo. Panel Says Vail Resorts' Land Spat With Town Is Moot
The Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled against Vail Resorts in its suit challenging a local ordinance that allegedly blocked the company's development of 23.3 acres of land that was subsequently taken by the town via eminent domain.
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August 09, 2024
Eckert Seamans Sued Over New Jersey Condo Development
Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC simultaneously represented a real estate development company and two of its former managers, and also improperly took compensation for its work before company debts were satisfied, according to a legal malpractice lawsuit filed this week in New Jersey state court.
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August 09, 2024
Investor Can't Drop Fraud Suit Against Crowdfunding CEO
A California cannabis investor cannot withdraw his lawsuit against a CEO he accused of helping to operate a $2 million crowdfunding scheme, a federal judge ruled, saying the investor now needs the defendant's permission.
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August 09, 2024
Phillips Lytle Adds Ex-Benderson Development In-House Atty
An attorney who started his career at Phillips Lytle LLP has returned to the firm as special counsel on its real estate industry team in New York state after five years as in-house counsel at Benderson Development.
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August 09, 2024
Fannie Mae Seeks Memory Care Receiver After $28.3M Default
Fannie Mae asked a federal judge to appoint a receiver for three North Carolina senior living facilities after arguing that borrower Affinity Living Communities defaulted on $28.3 million worth of loans from the government-backed lender by missing three months of payments.
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August 09, 2024
Mich. Court Says Tax Cap Voided By Law Firm's New Roof
A new roof installed on the office of a Michigan law firm was an addition to the property, allowing its taxable value to increase beyond a statutory cap, the state Court of Appeals ruled, upholding a state tax tribunal finding.
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August 08, 2024
With Data Centers And Power, Brookfield Cheers AI
Brookfield Corp., the Toronto-based asset management behemoth, touted its position recently at the nexus of physical and energy infrastructure amid the artificial intelligence boom.
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August 08, 2024
Newmark Secures $300M For Healthcare Real Estate JV
Newmark Group Inc. has put together a joint venture between two companies and has also obtained $300 million in financing for the venture so that it can develop "purpose-built healthcare properties," the commercial real estate advisory firm announced Aug. 8.
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August 08, 2024
Fla. Judge Dismisses Sex Abuse Suit, Blaming Lies By Atty
A Florida state judge has thrown out a suit by a Palm Beach real estate developer's daughter who alleges her father sexually abused her, ruling that her attorney's misrepresentations about an expert and why he withdrew from the case are fraud against the court.
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August 08, 2024
Wash. HOA Says Allstate Must Cover $8M Water Damage
A Washington state condominium association accused Allstate of wrongfully denying coverage of an $8 million water damage claim it filed after discovering hidden damage to the exterior of its buildings.
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August 08, 2024
REIT Braemar Refinances 5 Hotels With $407M Loan
Real estate investment trust Braemar Hotels & Resorts said it has refinanced five hotels carrying debt coming due over the next three years with a $407 million loan that matures in 2029.
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August 08, 2024
Monroe, Triad Team Up In $300M Collab To Buy Rental Loans
Asset manager Monroe Capital LLC, advised by Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, and Triad Financial Services Inc. on Thursday announced that they have formed a partnership with a roughly $300 million asset-based financing pool to originate and buy commercial community rental loans made to owners of manufactured housing communities.
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August 08, 2024
Community Insurance Can Plug NFIP Gaps, Expert Says
Community-based flood insurance can help cover insurance gaps and provide fast insurance relief to towns and cities at risk of flooding, UC Davis researcher and former Federal Emergency Management Agency engineer Kathleen Schaefer tells Law360.
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August 08, 2024
REIT Files $50M Suit Over Delayed NYC Life Sciences Campus
A real estate investment trust's subsidiary told a New York federal court that a public hospital system misled it about progress on a planned floodwall along the East River, in turn significantly delaying the REIT's construction of a life sciences campus tower.
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August 08, 2024
REIT Assura To Buy Rival's Hospital Portfolio For £500M
Assura PLC said Thursday it has agreed to buy competitor Northwest's private hospital portfolio for £500 million ($633.9 million), as the U.K. property investor eyes increasing its stake in the growing self-pay healthcare sector.
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August 07, 2024
Top Illinois Real Estate News In 2024 So Far
Catch up on the hottest real estate news out of Illinois so far this year, from brokerages' market forecasts and a casino deal to a $7 billion mixed-use project and a new stadium.
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August 07, 2024
NC Court Tosses Resort's Appeal Over Tree-Cutting Loss
The North Carolina Court of Appeals threw out a resort owner's appeal arguing that Dominion Energy North Carolina cannot remove trees on its property, holding instead that the resort owner abandoned its arguments when it failed to analyze the trial court's final judgment on appeal.
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August 07, 2024
SEC Accuses Urban Commons REIT Founders Of $70M Fraud
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accused the founders of the Urban Commons real estate investment trust of running a pair of fraud schemes involving investments in U.S.-based hotels that the regulator said collectively cost investors $70 million.
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August 07, 2024
Blackstone Buys Majority Stake In Renewable-Focused Firm
Blackstone Inc.-backed private equity funds have agreed to acquire a majority stake in renewable-energy focused engineering firm Westwood Professional Services Inc., under guidance from Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, marking Blackstone's latest bid to support energy transition, according to a Wednesday announcement.
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August 07, 2024
Fund Seeks Forced Sale Of Long-Stalled Baltimore Project
A Boston-based investment fund that backs development projects in disadvantaged communities is seeking to recoup $13 million it poured into a stalled mixed-use project in Baltimore, including through a forced sale, according to a complaint filed in Massachusetts state court.
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August 07, 2024
Nixon Peabody Real Estate Atty Returns To Boston Office
Nixon Peabody LLP rehired R. Lindsay Wilson II for a counsel position on its affordable housing and real estate team in Boston, the firm announced Wednesday.
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August 07, 2024
Venable, Fried Frank Ink Deal Halving Fannie Mae HQ's Space
Venable LLP and Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP guided Fannie Mae's lease renewal for a Washington, D.C., property, halving its headquarters' footprint at the building following reports it was looking to exit the property altogether.
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August 07, 2024
Ahead Of Due Date, Land Use Attorneys Steer NY Casino Bids
Applicants for three up-for-grabs New York casino licenses are not expected to formally submit for consideration until next year, but real estate developers working on 11 proposals that have been announced are laying the groundwork, including by engaging law firms.
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August 07, 2024
Office Buildings Reign Supreme In Terms Of NYC Tax Revenue
According to a Wednesday report from New York state's fiscal watchdog, ongoing woes in the office sector aren't going to punch a hole in the budget for New York City — which can expect to continue to receive an "outsized" proportion of its tax revenue from office buildings.
Expert Analysis
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NY's Take On Premises Insurance Policies: What's In A Name?
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.
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Bankruptcy Ruling Shows Section 363's Magic Has Its Limits
The Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel's recent ruling in Groves demonstrates that Section 363 — which allows a debtor-in-possession to sell their property in order to generate cash — fails as a tool when it’s used to turn a nondebtor entities' property into property of a debtor's bankruptcy estate, says Brian Shaw at Cozen O'Connor.
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In-Office Engagement Is Essential To Associate Development
As law firms develop return-to-office policies that allow hybrid work arrangements, they should incorporate the specific types of in-person engagement likely to help associates develop attributes common among successful firm leaders, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.
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Shifts In The CRE Landscape Demand Creative Loan Solutions
An increase in commercial real estate loan workouts makes it critical for borrowers, lenders and other CRE participants to examine all the available options and remedies, including mortgage and mezzanine foreclosures, bankruptcy filings and property short sales, say attorneys at Goulston & Storrs.
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How To Recognize And Recover From Lawyer Loneliness
Law can be one of the loneliest professions, but there are practical steps that attorneys and their managers can take to help themselves and their peers improve their emotional health, strengthen their social bonds and protect their performance, says psychologist and attorney Traci Cipriano.
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A Smoother Process For CRE Receiverships In Conn.
A newly effective Connecticut law concerning distressed commercial real estate provides a number of opportunities and strategic considerations for creditors, and should be watched even by counsel in other states as adoption of the law could become more widespread, say John Loughnane and Steven Coury at White and Williams.
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What Came Of Texas Legislature's Long-Promised Tax Relief
Following promises of historic tax relief made possible by a record budget surplus, the Texas legislative session as a whole was one in which taxpayers that are large businesses could have done somewhat better, but the new legislation is clearly still a positive, say attorneys at Baker Botts.
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CRE Guidance Helps Lenders Work With Struggling Borrowers
In recognition of growing troubles with commercial real estate loans, four federal regulators' recently updated loan accommodations guidance provides a helpful framework for approaching loan workouts without the punitive results of adverse classifications, say Jaclyn Grodin and Muryum Khalid at Goulston & Storrs.
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NYC Cannabis Landlord Accountability Law Has Limitations
A recently passed bill in New York City, aiming to crack down on the illegal cannabis market by levying fines against landlords who knowingly lease to unlicensed sellers, contains loopholes that may potentially limit the bill’s impact and lead to unintended consequences, say attorneys at Falcon Rappaport.
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When Investment Banks Can Sell Real Estate In Calif.
When investment banks sell businesses that own property in California, they may run into trouble if they are not licensed real estate brokers, unless the property is merely incidental to the deal at hand, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Hedging Variable Interest Rates In A Volatile Market
Variable rate loans, which were an advantageous borrowing method prior to the recent Federal Reserve rate hikes and subsequent volatility, are now the difference between borrowers remaining current on their obligations and defaulting due to the sharply increasing debt service requirements of their loans, say attorneys at Cassin & Cassin.
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Parsing FTC's Intercontinental-Black Knight Merger Challenge
The Federal Trade Commission's recent Article III case challenging a merger between Intercontinental Exchange and Black Knight suggests the agency is using a structuralist approach to evaluate the merger's potential anti-competitive harm, says David Evans at Kelley Drye.
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Mallory Gives Plaintiffs A Better Shot At Justice
Critics of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern claim it opens the door to litigation tourism, but the ruling simply gives plaintiffs more options — enabling them to seek justice against major corporations in the best possible court, say Rayna Kessler and Ethan Seidenberg at Robins Kaplan.