Commercial
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April 29, 2024
WeWork Wins Conditional OK Of Ch. 11 Plan Disclosures
A New Jersey bankruptcy judge gave conditional approval Monday to bankrupt flexible office space company WeWork Inc.'s reorganization plan disclosure statement over the objection of WeWork's former owner Adam Neumann, finding the disclosure contained adequate information.
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April 29, 2024
Wash. Solar Co. Will Pay $465K To End Noncompete Suit
A Washington state judge has given a preliminary nod to a $465,000 settlement to end litigation accusing a residential solar energy equipment company of forcing workers to sign illegal noncompete clauses as a condition of employment.
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April 29, 2024
Builders Say State Rulemaking At Stake In Mich. PFAS Case
A homebuilders' group has backed industrial giant 3M in urging the state's highest court to preserve a lower court ruling wiping out limits on forever chemicals, with a trade group official saying the decision could affect other state agency rulemaking.
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April 29, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Davis Polk, Greenberg Traurig and Simpson Thacher are among the law firms that handled the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, a period that saw two buildings trade for north of $100 million and a four-building portfolio also sell for nine figures.
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April 29, 2024
Solar Tech Co. Plans $294M Factory In NC
Vietnamese solar technology company Boviet Solar will invest $294 million into its upcoming solar panel manufacturing plant in Greenville, North Carolina, the company and the state's governor announced.
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April 29, 2024
NY Real Estate Pro Is Latest Morrison Cohen Atty To Join Loeb
Loeb & Loeb announced the addition of another former Morrison Cohen attorney on Monday, this time a real estate partner with a record of success in the New York metropolitan area.
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April 29, 2024
Haynes Boone Relocates SF Office In 6th Firm Move Since Fall
Haynes and Boone LLP announced Monday that it has moved its San Francisco office to a larger location in the heart of the city's Financial District.
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April 29, 2024
Smith Gambrell Adds 4 Attorneys To New York Office
Smith Gambrell & Russell LLP has added four attorneys in its New York office, two through a merger with a firm that specialized in representing companies from German-speaking countries in the U.S., and two from the recently shuttered Ingram LLP.
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April 29, 2024
Google Plans To Invest $3B In Data Centers In Virginia, Indiana
Google will invest $2 billion into a Fort Wayne, Indiana, data center campus project and also plans to invest $1 billion into three Virginia data center campuses, the company announced.
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April 29, 2024
Minn. Tax Court Won't Change Medical Building Value Boost
The Minnesota Tax Court said it correctly increased the valuation of a medical building, rejecting the building owner's arguments that it improperly applied valuation approaches to the property in a previous decision.
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April 26, 2024
How Legos, 'Working Girl' Sealed $10B Sibling Rivalry Win
A father-son attorney team used Legos and an argument borrowed from the 1988 film "Working Girl" to help a Los Angeles jury understand how their client's own brother illegally stole his multibillion-dollar real estate business, leading to a $10 billion verdict for their client and his other brothers, the attorneys told Law360.
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April 26, 2024
Silver Star Drops Federal Securities Suit Against Ex-Chair
Silver Star Properties agreed to drop its federal suit accusing its former executive chair Allen R. Hartman of trying to get his job back by soliciting shareholders to replace the Texas-based REIT's board of directors, as a similar battle plays out in Maryland state court.
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April 26, 2024
Truist Unit Survives Early Dismissal Bid In NC Poaching Suit
Truist Financial Corp. and its real estate finance arm can move forward with the bulk of their suit accusing three former executives of absconding for a competitor with several dozen colleagues in tow, after North Carolina's business court judge largely denied the defendants an early exit.
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April 26, 2024
Blackstone Must Face Claims Of Price-Fixing At Vegas Hotels
A Las Vegas hotel price-fixing suit against Blackstone and others has survived the private equity firm's motion to dismiss, with a Nevada federal judge ruling the plaintiffs had shown enough to allege Blackstone was in control of one of the target hotels, the Cosmopolitan Hotel, at the time of the alleged scheme.
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April 26, 2024
Bankrupt NYC Building Owners, Rent-Strikers Settle Claims
The bankrupt owners of several Manhattan apartment buildings asked a New York federal bankruptcy court to approve the settlement of the claims of rent-striking tenants, the tenants' debt and a related adversary proceeding.
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April 26, 2024
Ga. Residents Want In On $300M Monkey Farm Fight
Four Georgia residents have asked a federal judge to let them intervene in a dispute over the construction of a sprawling primate-rearing farm in Bainbridge, alleging the local development authority that approved a $300 million bond deal for the project is colluding with the farm's backers to advance the project.
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April 26, 2024
Colo. House OKs Lower Age For Historic Structure Tax Credit
Colorado would reduce the age requirement for the properties eligible for the state's historic structures tax credit, postpone its sunset and make other changes under legislation approved by the state House on Friday.
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April 26, 2024
Colo. House OKs Land Cleanup Tax Credit Extension
Colorado would extend its income tax credit for certain environmental remediation of contaminated property for five years under legislation approved Friday by the House of Representatives.
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April 26, 2024
The Week In Trump: Tabloid Testimony, High Court Drama
Donald Trump and his attorneys have been fighting high-stakes legal battles on several fronts as they grappled with a criminal hush money trial in Manhattan, argued at the U.S. Supreme Court for presidential immunity and tried to quash criminal election interference-related charges in Georgia.
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April 26, 2024
Default Risk At Major SF Complex Drives April CMBS Distress
Kroll Bond Rating Agency said Friday that special servicing on a $1.3 billion loan for one of San Francisco's biggest apartment complexes accounted for more than a third of new distress among commercial mortgage-backed securities this month.
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April 26, 2024
Proxy Fight Between Activist Investor, Retail REIT Heats Up
The battle between activist investor Erez Asset Management and Whitestone REIT picked up steam on Friday, with Erez blasting the shopping center-focused real estate investment trust's claims that a recent board nomination campaign is solely focused on forcing a sale of the REIT.
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April 26, 2024
Greenberg Traurig Inks TPG's Discounted NYC Office Buy
Greenberg Traurig LLP guided TPG Capital's purchase of a Manhattan office building for $147.5 million, nearly a third of the pricetag paid by seller RREEF Management LLC a decade earlier, according to county property records.
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April 25, 2024
Atty Sued For Malpractice Can't Rep His Firm, Ex-Client Says
A Seattle real estate broker suing her former attorney for allegedly botching arbitration proceedings has told a Washington state judge that that attorney can't both be a defendant and represent his firm in their counterclaims for unpaid fees.
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April 25, 2024
Incarceration Can't Get Default Nixed In $92M Award Suit
A California federal court has refused to set aside an entry of default against a Russian businessman accused of engaging in a scheme to avoid paying a more than $92 million arbitral award, rejecting his defense that he couldn't respond because he was incarcerated in France.
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April 25, 2024
Real Estate Exec Can't Escape Shareholder's Self-Dealing Suit
A California federal judge ruled that a derivative shareholder suit accusing the president of a real estate management and investment firm of misusing nearly $35 million of company revenue now passes the so-called Zuckerberg test since the plaintiff sufficiently pled that demand on the company's board members would be futile.
Expert Analysis
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Litigation Can Facilitate EB-5 Investor Visa Determinations
Processing times in the EB-5 investor visa program continue to rise, but filing a mandamus claim in the right venue against U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services may offer applicants mired in delay a means to expedite processing, says Mark Stevens at Clark Hill.
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ABA's Money-Laundering Resolution Is A Balancing Act
While the American Bar Association’s recently passed resolution recognizes a lawyer's duty to discontinue representation that could facilitate money laundering and other fraudulent activity, it preserves, at least for now, the delicate balance of judicial, state-based regulation of the legal profession and the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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Regulators Must Get Creative To Keep Groundwater Flowing
Even as populations have boomed in Sun Belt states like Arizona, California and Texas, groundwater levels have diminished due to drought and overuse — so regulators must explore options including pumping limits, groundwater replenishment and wastewater reuse to ensure future supplies for residential and commercial needs, says Jeffrey Davis at Integral Consulting.
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Law Firm Professional Development Steps To Thrive In AI Era
As generative artificial intelligence tools rapidly evolve, professional development leaders are instrumental in preparing law firms for the paradigm shifts ahead, and should consider three strategies to help empower legal talent with the skills required to succeed in an increasingly complex technological landscape, say Steve Gluckman and Anusia Gillespie at SkillBurst Interactive.
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Key Provisions In Florida's New Insurer Accountability Act
Florida's recent bipartisan Insurer Accountability Act introduces a range of new obligations for insurance companies and regulatory bodies to strengthen consumer protection, and other states may follow suit should it prove successful at ensuring a reliable insurance market, say Jan Larson and Benjamin Malings at Jenner & Block.
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Best Practices For Lenders To Limit Recourse Liability
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.
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The Basics Of Being A Knowledge Management Attorney
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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.
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Rising Interest Rates Bring Risk For Construction Contractors
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.
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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.