Commercial
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March 28, 2024
NJ Tax Court Says Barring Assessor's Testifying Is Premature
A New Jersey property owner cannot ask that the state tax court bar an assessor from testifying in court because the request is premature, the tax court ruled.
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March 28, 2024
Rental Proptech Co. Raises $45M, Planning Tech Development
Furnished rental company Blueground raised $45 million in its latest funding round, which the property technology company said will support its product development and growth plans.
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March 28, 2024
Law Firm Real Estate Report
Recent announcements from Sidley Austin LLP and Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC about plans to move their offices in Dallas and Pittsburgh, respectively, were among the biggest real estate moves for law firms in March.
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March 28, 2024
The Home Depot Buying PE-Backed SRS For $18.25B
The Home Depot said Thursday it has agreed to acquire SRS Distribution Inc., a private equity-backed distributor of roofing and building supplies, for $18.25 billion, inclusive of debt.
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March 27, 2024
DoorDash, Grubhub Want Docs From NY Restaurant Lobbyists
DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats have urged a Manhattan federal judge to let them subpoena the trade group executives who allegedly "worked closely" with officials on challenged New York City caps on fees that food delivery apps can charge restaurants.
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March 27, 2024
REIT Sold NY Center To Itself To Avoid $12.9M Order, Suit Says
An investment firm on Wednesday accused real estate investment trust SL Green Realty Corp. of transferring the ownership of a conference center between its entities so that the firm wouldn't be able to collect the asset as part of a $12.9 million court judgment.
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March 27, 2024
Zaxby's Co-Founder's $43M Easement Fight Headed For Trial
A trial will be needed to determine whether a co-founder of the Zaxby's restaurant chain and his wife are entitled to a $43.3 million tax refund for donations of conservation easements, a Georgia federal judge ruled Wednesday, saying the value of the easements remains in dispute.
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March 27, 2024
Disney, Florida District Reach Agreement On Land Use Suit
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District on Wednesday approved a settlement with Disney in its lawsuit over two land use agreements the company signed with a predecessor district for property surrounding the Walt Disney World theme park.
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March 27, 2024
Kimco Sells 10 Shopping Centers For $248M After RPT Buy
Real estate investment trust Kimco Realty said it has sold 10 open-air shopping centers it gained in an acquisition of RPT Realty earlier this year for a total of $248 million.
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March 27, 2024
Cannabis Real Estate Firm Gets $20.2M In Fraud Verdict
A Los Angeles County court has awarded a pair of cannabis real estate firms $20.2 million in a suit alleging they were defrauded of more than $14 million in a scheme by a business owner who falsely represented that he'd owned several cannabis facilities in the state.
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March 27, 2024
City Leaders Nix Plan To Move Wizards, Caps To Virginia Site
Plans for the NBA's Washington Wizards and NHL's Washington Capitals to move from the nation's capital to a $2 billion sports and entertainment complex in northern Virginia came to an abrupt halt Wednesday afternoon, when the city of Alexandria, Virginia announced that its negotiations with Monumental Sports & Entertainment and owner Ted Leonsis "will not move forward.''
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March 27, 2024
Cohen Seglias Will Move Pittsburgh Office To Hill District
Cohen Seglias is moving its Pittsburgh office, which first opened in 2003, to a new space in the newly constructed FNB Financial Center, the firm recently announced.
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March 27, 2024
Smith Gambrell Sued For Keeping $4.6M In Real Estate Row
Several business entities involved in the failed purchase of a Brooklyn development property contend that Smith Gambrell & Russell LLP is unlawfully refusing to release more than $4.6 million that the firm is holding in escrow, according to a complaint filed in New York state court.
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March 27, 2024
Yardi Says Interest Rates Are Slowing Self-Storage Demand
Real estate software company Yardi said tough market conditions and high interest rates are showing signs of slowing deal volume and construction for self-storage projects, although an improvement in the housing market could bring fresh demand.
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March 27, 2024
Real Estate Exec Asks To Toss Shareholder's Self-Dealing Suit
The president of a real estate management and investment firm asked a California federal court to toss a derivative shareholder suit accusing him of misusing nearly $35 million of company revenue in various ways, including hiring a business he owned with his mistress.
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March 27, 2024
Legal Patchwork On Foreign Land Ownership Stirs Confusion
In the last year and a half, 39 states have taken action to restrict foreign entities and people from owning various forms of real estate. Some lawyers say the patchwork of new legislation has created a quagmire of confusion, chaos and uncertainty for investors, particularly private equity funds with large pools of backers.
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March 27, 2024
Milbank Advises $80M NYC Met Tower Transaction
An affiliate of GDS Development Management has finalized an $80 million mortgage covering commercial units in New York City's Metropolitan Tower in a transaction advised by Milbank LLP.
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March 27, 2024
Developers Get Creative With Adaptive Reuse In South Florida
South Florida residents may not be expecting to attend a doctor's appointment in a shuttered movie theater, play pickleball in a former warehouse or move into an apartment building in a shopping center's parking lot, but creative redevelopment projects like these are catching on in the region.
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March 27, 2024
Extreme Heat Presents Extreme Threat To Real Estate
Extreme heat and the growing body of risks created by climate change are becoming prominent factors in real estate deals, according to Urban Land Institute urban resilience vice president Lindsay Brugger.
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March 27, 2024
Berger Montague Gets New Historic Downtown DC Space
Berger Montague is leasing new office space in downtown Washington, D.C., moving into the historic McLachlen Bank Building blocks away from Capital One Arena and the National Portrait Gallery, the firm announced Monday.
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March 26, 2024
Ex-LA Deputy Mayor's Fate In Bribery Trial Goes To Calif. Jury
Former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan connected corrupt public officials to wealthy developers for years as part of the "CD-14 Enterprise" racketeering conspiracy, a federal prosecutor told California federal jurors in closing arguments Tuesday, saying their shared goal was ensuring they "get money, keep power and avoid the Feds."
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March 26, 2024
Ski Resort Corp. Says Sheep Used As Pretext To Ruin Project
Ski resort corporation The Vail Corp. told the Colorado Court of Appeals Monday to revive its workforce housing project after the town of Vail allegedly gave into local opposition against the project and used a local bighorn sheep herd as pretext to condemn the 23.3 acres of land that the ski resort corporation planned to use for the project.
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March 26, 2024
Ohio Justices Cool To Curbing Board's Tax Appeal Rights
Two Ohio Supreme Court justices sounded skeptical Tuesday of an apartment complex's argument that a law barring political subdivisions from appealing certain valuation rulings applied to complaints that were pending when the restriction took effect.
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March 26, 2024
Bryan Cave Guides $69M Mortgage Deal For Brooklyn Mall
An affiliate of real estate investor Madison International Realty borrowed $69 million from Voya Investment Management LLC in a mortgage deal guided by Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, according to official records.
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March 26, 2024
REIT Exec Tells 2nd Circ. To Toss $3.2M Judgment
The co-founder of a real estate investment trust told the Second Circuit to toss the $3.2 million judgment awarded in a former partner's 2014 suit, arguing that related jury instructions were "too confusing and prejudicial."
Expert Analysis
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Keys To Navigating The Post-Pandemic CRE Market
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
As the commercial real estate market continues to face repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic, lawyers should use office occupancy and leasing volume numbers to anticipate future trends and help guide clients through an uncertain landscape, says Joseph Calvanico at J2C Valuations.
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To Hire And Keep Top Talent, Think Beyond Compensation
Firms seeking to appeal to sophisticated clients and top-level partners should promote mentorship, ensure that attorneys from diverse backgrounds feel valued, and clarify policies about at-home work, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.
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How Rate Exportation Is Shifting Amid Regulatory Trends
All banks and their partners, including fintechs, that wish to lend to borrowers in multiple states and charge uniform interest rates should heed regulatory developments across the country and determine how best to mitigate risks in their efforts to offer credit to consumers on a nationwide basis, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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How The Commercial Real Estate Slump May Weigh On Banks
The continuing underperformance of the U.S. commercial real estate market has significant implications for the financial performance and disclosure requirements for various banks, especially regional ones with large debt exposures, say Atanu Saha and Yong Xu at StoneTurn.
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Negotiating Material Escalation In Construction Contracts
As material price escalation clauses have remained popular in construction contracts despite an easing of recent supply chain issues, attorneys representing owners should understand key considerations for negotiating such clauses, and strategies to mitigate potential exploitation by contractors, says H. Arthur Black II at Brooks Pierce.
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Landlords Should Prep As WeWork Faces Potential Ch. 11
After years of financial trouble and the recent announcement that it has substantial doubt that it would be able to continue as a going concern, WeWork may have a bankruptcy filing in its future that would have a significant impact on landlords and other stakeholders who are owed money by the company, say attorneys at Cadwalader.
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Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure
Growing interest and controversy in litigation financing raise several salient concerns, but exploring recent compelled disclosure trends from courts around the country can help practitioners further their clients' interests, say Sean Callagy and Samuel Sokolsky at Arnold & Porter.
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Key Drivers Behind Widespread Adoption Of NAV Financing
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.
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Conn. Ruling Highlights Keys To Certificate-Of-Need Appeals
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.
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The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'
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.
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Pickleball Makes Waves In Fla. Real Estate, With Risks In Play
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.
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4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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.
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What Calif. Pot Permit Ruling Means For Enviro Compliance
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.