Commercial
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June 14, 2024
Russian Businessman's Fight To Enforce $92M Award Ends
A Russian businessman's decade-long fight to enforce a $92 million arbitral award — a dispute that spurred the U.S. Supreme Court to let him forge a new path to enforcing foreign arbitral awards — finally came to an end this week, as the parties inked a settlement on the eve of a racketeering trial.
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June 14, 2024
Feds, Tribes Say Mill Owners Liable For 150 Years Of Pollution
The federal government, the state of Washington and a slew of tribes are suing the owners of a shuttered sawmill and a property group that now oversee the sawmill area's development, alleging that for more than a century, hazardous substances from the operation released into Port Gamble Bay and have harmed its natural resources.
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June 14, 2024
BP Unit Slapped With $300M Franchise Termination Suit
A trio of entities controlled by two self-proclaimed franchise veterans filed suit in Ohio federal court against a travel center operator acquired by BP in 2023, alleging the company terminated a franchise agreement without warning and caused at least $300 million in damages.
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June 14, 2024
T-Mobile Sues NJ Town Over Plan For School Cell Tower
T-Mobile has been paying on a lease for a proposed cell tower site for nearly 14 years, but it cannot build the tower because the New Jersey town the land sits in won't approve the necessary applications, the mobile behemoth says in a new lawsuit.
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June 14, 2024
Citadel Expands Footprint At Soon To Open Miami Office
Citadel expanded its footprint at a new 57-floor Class A office building in Miami, grabbing another two floors and 37,000 feet at 830 Brickell Plaza, a representative for the hedge fund confirmed Friday.
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June 14, 2024
Miami Tower Takes $668M In Fla.'s Biggest Construction Loan
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP and Saul Ewing LLP advised developer Property Markets Group on taking out a $668 million construction loan — the largest in state history — for its Waldorf Astoria Hotel and Residences Miami.
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June 14, 2024
DOJ Can't Force Retroactive FARA Registration, DC Circ. Says
The U.S. Department of Justice can't force casino magnate Steve Wynn to retroactively register as a foreign agent because his alleged lobbying efforts on behalf of China ended years ago, a D.C. Circuit panel ruled Friday.
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June 14, 2024
Data Center Builder Starts $10B Project In Illinois
Sears' former headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, is being turned into a $10-billion campus that will have five hyperscale data centers, Compass Datacenters announced.
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June 14, 2024
Polsinelli Adds Ex-Withers Real Estate Atty In NY
Polsinelli PC has hired a commercial real estate attorney from Withers as a shareholder in New York.
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June 14, 2024
Real Estate Broker Claims Lewis Brisbois Breached Deal
A real estate broker who had exclusive rights to represent Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP has slammed the firm with a breach of contract suit in California state court, alleging its abrupt termination of their deal will cost him millions in commissions.
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June 14, 2024
Goetz Fitzpatrick To Merge With Platzer Swergold Next Year
Goetz Fitzpatrick LLP and Platzer Swergold Goldberg Katz & Jaslow LLP will combine forces next year to create a single New York City firm.
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June 13, 2024
Mich. Co. Claims Mexico Owes $2.7B For Illegal Land Grab
A Michigan consumer products manufacturer has asked an international tribunal to order Mexico to pay it $2.7 billion, saying the country wrongfully seized 700 acres of the company's agricultural land in the Mexican state of Jalisco.
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June 13, 2024
NYC Sued Over Policy Targeting Unlicensed Pot Stores
More than two dozen New York City retailers have launched a proposed federal class action against the city alleging that enforcement of a new policy targeting stores for selling cannabis without a license has resulted in the unconstitutional closing of hundreds of businesses.
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June 13, 2024
Monsanto Can't Plead Ignorance On PCB Pollution, Cities Say
Chicago suburbs looking to hold Monsanto and related businesses accountable for their financial share of reducing pollutants in water that flows into Lake Michigan urged an Illinois state court to keep their case alive, arguing the companies should have known about the dangers of the chemicals in products.
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June 13, 2024
NJ Justices Create New Liability Rule For Property Owners
The New Jersey Supreme Court on Thursday voted 4-3 to craft a new rule stating that owners of commercial vacant lots have a duty to maintain the public sidewalks abutting the lots, and reinstated a woman's trip-and-fall injury suit.
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June 13, 2024
Indicted Ex-Conn. Official Missed Gun Sale Deadline, Feds Say
Former Connecticut state budget official Konstantinos Diamantis has missed deadlines to remove guns from his residence and claimed he couldn't locate his passport despite orders to surrender it to federal authorities while he awaits trial on bribery and extortion charges, a U.S. probation officer reported Wednesday.
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June 13, 2024
CRE Expert Joins Emmet Marvin's Real Estate Finance Group
Emmet Marvin & Martin LLP announced that the firm has added a partner to its real estate finance group, bringing with her the commercial real estate expertise she gained from Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP.
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June 13, 2024
Data Center Developer Secures Upsized $9.2B Investment
Hyperscale data center campus company Vantage Data Centers on Thursday announced that it secured a $9.2 billion equity investment from DigitalBridge Group Inc. and Silver Lake, which is nearly $3 billion more than anticipated when the investment was first announced back in January.
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June 13, 2024
Red Roof Had 'Revolving Door' For Trafficking, Ga. Jurors Told
A former Red Roof Inn Inc. employee and the leader of a nonprofit testified Thursday about sex trafficking they saw take place at two metro Atlanta Red Roof Inn locations as part of a landmark civil trial in which 11 women allege the company knew trafficking was taking place at the locations and did nothing to stop it.
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June 13, 2024
Pryor Cashman Aided Developer Fraud, Owes $5.7M, Cos. Say
New York-based law firm Pryor Cashman LLP has been hit with a $5.7 million lawsuit in state court accusing it of aiding and abetting fraud while representing a real estate developer by allegedly providing false information to another party in a transaction involving a Manhattan property.
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June 13, 2024
Ohio Senate OKs Requiring Tax Payments For Property Splits
Ohio would require delinquent property taxes to be paid before a real parcel was subdivided or transferred and would prohibit tax-delinquent property owners from buying tax-foreclosed property under a bill passed by the state Senate.
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June 13, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Willkie, Latham and Milbank were among the law firms that handled the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, a period that saw three deals north of $100 million hit records.
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June 12, 2024
Mississippi Casino Developer's Creditors Want To Force Ch. 7
Creditors for developer Diamondhead Casino Corp., which has been trying for years to build a casino in Mississippi near the Gulf Coast, filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition in Delaware bankruptcy court against the company Wednesday, saying they are owed $2.4 million.
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June 12, 2024
CMBS Loan Special Servicers Rack Up Fees — And Lawsuits
Commercial mortgage-backed securities deals are structured to protect special servicers from litigation, but a recent crop of lawsuits and counterclaims may make it harder for them to continue business as usual.
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June 12, 2024
NY Court Strikes Housing Tax Break's Labor Dispute Process
A New York state court has undercut a provision in a since-expired affordable housing tax break that enabled a city watchdog to issue judgments against developers who underpaid construction workers, deeming the provision unconstitutional because decisions could not be appealed.
Property Plays: Net Lease REIT, Vornado, Citadel
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.
Historic Brownfields Funding Is Fueling Cleanup Catch-Up
Under the time crunch of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, funding for brownfield cleanups has increased by more than 700% in the last three years as cities and nonprofits vie to tackle their most complex sites.
Perkins Coie Real Estate Chair Eyes Energy As Rates Hold
As the Federal Reserve continues to hold on interest rates and hint that it may take longer to start lowering them, more real estate investors are looking to alternative energy projects, Perkins Coie's real estate leader told Law360 Real Estate Authority in a recent interview.
Expert Analysis
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How A Bumblebee Got Under Calif. Wildlife Regulator's Bonnet
A California bumblebee's listing as an endangered species could lead to a regulatory quagmire as California Department of Fish and Wildlife permits now routinely include survey requirements for the bee, but the regulator has yet to determine what the species needs for conservation, says David Smith at Manatt.
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The Clock Is Ticking For Fla. Construction Defect Claims
Ahead of the fast-approaching July 1 deadline for filing construction defect claims in Florida, Sean Ravenel at Foran Glennon discusses how the state's new statute of repose has changed the timeline, and highlights several related issues that property owners should be aware of.
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Playing Chess Makes Me A Better Lawyer
There are many ways that chess skills translate directly into lawyer skills, but for me, the bigger career lessons go beyond the direct parallels — playing chess has shown me the value of seeing gradual improvement in and focusing deep concentration on a nonwork endeavor, says attorney Steven Fink.
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Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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Ohio Tax Talk: The Legislative Push For Property Tax Relief
As Ohio legislators attempt to alleviate the increasing property tax burden, four recent bills that could significantly affect homeowners propose to eliminate replacement property tax levies, freeze property taxes for longtime homeowners, adjust homestead exemptions annually for inflation, and temporarily expand the homestead exemption, say Raghav Agnihotri and Rachael Chamberlain at Frost Brown.
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Tips For Advising CRE Owners Affected By Houston Storms
As Houston residents begin the arduous process of recovery after this month's devastating storms, attorneys should guide commercial real estate owners and managers toward immediate action under their insurance coverage to facilitate restoration and a return to normalcy, says Justin Ratley at Munsch Hardt.
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Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.
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How Real Estate Cos. Can Protect Their IP In The Metaverse
The rise of virtual and augmented reality creates new intellectual property challenges and opportunities for real estate owners, but certain steps, including conducting a diligence investigation to develop an understanding of current obligations, can help companies mitigate IP issues in the metaverse, says George Pavlik at Levenfeld Pearlstein.
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Ga. Law Creates Challenges For Foreign Ownership Of Land
Under Georgia's new law limiting certain foreign possessory interests in agricultural land and land near military properties, affected foreign persons and entities will need to do significantly more work in order to ensure that their ownership remains legal, say Nellie Sullivan and Lindsey Grubbs at Holland & Knight.
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Questions Remain After Mass. Adverse Possession Case
A recent Massachusetts Land Court decision, concerning an adverse possession claim on a family company-owned property, leaves open questions about potential applicability to closely held corporations and other ownership types going forward, says Brad Hickey at DarrowEverett.
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4 Takeaways From Biden's Crypto Mining Divestment Order
A May 13 executive order prohibiting the acquisition of real estate by a foreign investor on national security grounds — an enforcement first — shows the importance of understanding how the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States might profile cross-border transactions, even those that are non-notified, say attorneys at Kirkland.
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Insurer Quota-Sharing Lessons From $112M Bad Faith Verdict
In Indiana GRQ v. American Guarantee and Liability Insurance, an Indiana federal jury recently issued a landmark $112 million bad faith verdict, illustrating why insurers must understand the interplay between bad faith law and quota-sharing before entering into these relatively new arrangements, say Jason Reichlyn and Christopher Sakauye at Dykema.