Commercial

  • May 14, 2024

    Fed Finds Big Banks Lack Data To Model Climate Risk

    A Federal Reserve analysis found that a group of the biggest banks in the U.S. mostly lacked the data to forecast the hypothetical effects of future climate-related disasters, even if such events are likely to drive up loan defaults.

  • May 14, 2024

    Cos. Ask NY Court To Invalidate 100s Of Pot Licenses

    New York state's beleaguered cannabis oversight agency has been hit with another lawsuit, this one seeking to invalidate hundreds of retail licenses that regulators issued to those most directly affected by the enforcement of marijuana prohibition laws.

  • May 14, 2024

    Property Deals See More Scrutiny As Tip Sparks Forced Sale

    The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States is likely this year to look at additional real estate deals near government property, experts told Law360 Tuesday, a day after the White House ordered a real property divestment near a Wyoming Air Force base following national security concerns.

  • May 14, 2024

    Goldman Sachs Secures $7B For Real Estate Credit Investing

    Goldman Sachs Alternatives pulled in more than $7 billion in its latest credit-focused fund and related investment vehicles, as the firm goes after financing opportunities in dislocated real estate markets across the world.

  • May 14, 2024

    Feds Dodge Salt Lake City's Suit Over $1B Gondola Plan

    A Utah federal judge on Tuesday dismissed the federal government from a Salt Lake City lawsuit challenging federal approvals of a $1 billion plan to address traffic congestion by building the world's longest gondola.

  • May 14, 2024

    Tenn. Judge Wants Default Win For Bank But No Atty Fees

    A Tennessee magistrate judge recommended partially granting a default judgment win to a bank suing a Florida-based developer accused of defaulting on about $15.3 million in loans, but also suggested denying the bank attorney fees.

  • May 14, 2024

    Polsinelli Grows With 2 CMBS Experts From Kilpatrick

    Polsinelli PC has brought on two shareholders in Florida and North Carolina from Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, bolstering the firm's real estate finance and financial services offerings, according to a Tuesday announcement.

  • May 14, 2024

    London-Based Legal Recruiter Opens 1st US Shop In Miami

    London-based legal recruiting firm Buchanan Law announced Tuesday that it is opening its first U.S. location and second shop overall in Miami, touting the city's status as a principal hub for the country's East Coast legal industry.

  • May 13, 2024

    REIT Inks Deal To End Investors' Board Takeover Bid

    Presidio Property Trust has agreed to nominate one new director to its board, ending a Zuma Capital Management-led investor group's bid to replace five of the real estate investment trust's six board members, in a deal guided by three law firms. 

  • May 13, 2024

    Petersen Health Receivership Deal Draws US Trustee Concern

    Senior living chain Petersen Health Care Monday told a Delaware bankruptcy judge it has struck a deal to resolve the status of a number of its facilities that are in receivership, but the U.S. Trustee's Office said the deal may bend the Bankruptcy Code too far.

  • May 13, 2024

    NJ Justices Hold Contract Supersedes Real Estate Wage Law

    The contract a real estate agent signed deeming him an independent contractor is enough to resolve his claims of improper wage deductions, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Monday, saying that a state three-prong test doesn't need to apply.

  • May 13, 2024

    White House Bars Real Estate Deal Near Air Force Base

    President Joe Biden is ordering a recent purchaser of real estate near an Air Force base in Wyoming to sell portions of the property, based on a public tip and a finding from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States that cryptocurrency mining there presents a national security risk.

  • May 13, 2024

    Nursing Home Says Buyer's Lease Silence Endangers Future

    An Ohio-based nursing home operator claimed Monday that its Pickaway County nursing home is in "imminent danger" because the company's owners are threatening the licensing and management of the nursing home by refusing to acknowledge terminated leases and not making the transition to a new lessee and operator.

  • May 13, 2024

    NYC Real Estate Week In Review

    Dylan Chan Law Firm, Norris McLaughlin and Morgan Lewis are among the law firms that grabbed work on the largest New York City real estate deals to hit public records last week, a slow period that saw only three deeds above the $15 million mark become public.

  • May 13, 2024

    Colliers Says Outer Boroughs Industrial Leases Jumped In Q1

    Industrial leasing in New York City's outer boroughs picked up in the first quarter, with a film studio leasing in central Queens leading the way, according to an analysis from Colliers.

  • May 10, 2024

    Vegas Hotels, Software Cos. Escape Price-Algorithm Suit

    A Nevada federal judge has permanently tossed a proposed class action that accused two software companies and multiple hotel operators of using an algorithm software in a price-fixing scheme for hotel room prices on the Las Vegas Strip.

  • May 10, 2024

    Boston's Industrial Market Seeing Vacancies Rise

    The vacancy rate of metropolitan Boston's industrial sector rose to 9.8% in 2024's first quarter, which is four percentage points higher than the rate seen at the end of 2021, Colliers reported Friday.

  • May 10, 2024

    Disney World's Lone Independent Resort Gets $734M Refi

    JLL's hotels and hospitality group said Friday that it had arranged a $735 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan to refinance the Walt Disney Co.'s Swan & Dolphin resort, a 2,619-key property adjacent to theme parks in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

  • May 10, 2024

    Activist Blasts REIT Buybacks, Hotel Sale During Proxy Fight

    Activist investor Blackwells Capital LLC has sharply criticized a plan by Braemar Hotels & Resorts to sell a California hotel for $165 million and use part of the proceeds for share buybacks as Blackwells is pressuring shareholders to shake up the board of the real estate investment trust at an upcoming meeting.

  • May 10, 2024

    Ex-Wife's Deal With Dallas CRE Firm Ends Kickback Claims

    The former wife of Dallas commercial real estate executive Clifford Fischer has agreed to drop a federal lawsuit accusing Fischer and members of an advisory board to his company of running a scheme to pay themselves unspecified millions in illegal kickbacks for business referrals.

  • May 10, 2024

    NY Judge Won't Toss Lender's Win In 3M Campus Suit

    A New York federal judge refused to reconsider a lender's victory over a loan guarantor who allegedly owed payments for a $64 million loan related to 3M's now-foreclosed Austin, Texas, campus, but found the billing too high when determining attorney fees.

  • May 10, 2024

    3 Takeaways From The Real Deal's New York City Forum

    Industry professionals at The Real Deal's New York City Real Estate Forum this year aired a lot of grievances about housing and development policies in the Big Apple and Empire State, though panels also touched on a major problem facing lenders. 

  • May 10, 2024

    Simpson Thacher, Sheppard Mullin Guide $246M NYC Deal

    Blackstone affiliates offloaded 21 properties surrounding New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport to Terreno Realty Corp. in a $246 million deal guided by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP.

  • May 10, 2024

    3 Firms Advise On $250M Great Wolf Waterpark Financing

    VICI Properties Inc. said Friday it has originated a $250 million mezzanine loan as part of $1.5 billion in financing to waterpark operator Great Wolf Resorts Inc., in a transaction advised by Hogan Lovells, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP.

  • May 09, 2024

    10th Circ. Appeal May Expand Pollution Coverage In NM

    The Tenth Circuit will hear oral arguments May 20 to determine whether absolute pollution exclusions doom a New Mexico property owner's quest for $120,000 in defense coverage in a case attorneys say could determine the future of such environmental coverage in the state.

Expert Analysis

  • Best Practices For Lenders To Limit Recourse Liability

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    As projects face loan maturities in a higher interest rate environment, lenders should diligently observe even seemingly innocuous formalities following an event of default in order to minimize potential recourse liability, especially when borrowers have certain covenants, say Ryan Goins and Matthias Kleinsasser at Winstead.

  • The Basics Of Being A Knowledge Management Attorney

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Michael Lehet at Ogletree Deakins discusses the role of knowledge management attorneys at law firms, the common tasks they perform and practical tips for lawyers who may be considering becoming one.

  • Rising Interest Rates Bring Risk For Construction Contractors

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    With rising interest rates causing many construction projects to be slowed or halted, it's important for general contractors to implement safeguard measures against the risk of significant financial losses caused by owner-driven schedule modifications, says Kevin Riexinger at Gfeller Laurie.

  • Keys To Navigating The Post-Pandemic CRE Market

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    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.

  • To Hire And Keep Top Talent, Think Beyond Compensation

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    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.

  • How Rate Exportation Is Shifting Amid Regulatory Trends

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    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.

  • How The Commercial Real Estate Slump May Weigh On Banks

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    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.

  • Negotiating Material Escalation In Construction Contracts

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    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.

  • Landlords Should Prep As WeWork Faces Potential Ch. 11

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    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.

  • Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure

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    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.

  • Key Drivers Behind Widespread Adoption Of NAV Financing

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    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.

  • Conn. Ruling Highlights Keys To Certificate-Of-Need Appeals

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    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.

  • The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'

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    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.