Commercial

  • August 01, 2024

    VICI Passes On Caesars Indianapolis Racino

    VICI Properties Inc., a real estate investment trust focused on gaming and resorts real estate, said  Aug. 1 in a call with analysts that it would not pursue a deal to purchase an Indianapolis racino and said it is well-prepared for potential mergers and acquisitions of its casino operators.

  • August 01, 2024

    Bahamas Resort Developer Seeks $1.5B In Builder Fraud Trial

    Counsel for the now-defunct developer of the Bahamian luxury resort Baha Mar opened a bench trial in New York state court Thursday arguing the company lost more than $1.5 billion because of a Chinese state-owned construction firm's "lies, competing agendas and broken promises."

  • August 01, 2024

    Real Estate Lawyers On The Move

    Honigman and Gordon Rees are among the firms that have made recent real estate or construction hires.

  • August 01, 2024

    Office REIT To Liquidate After Facing Investor Pressure

    The president of Equity Commonwealth announced that the company will sell its four remaining office properties and wind down operations, after the real estate investment trust faced multiple calls to liquidate by activist stockholders.

  • August 01, 2024

    Investor Hits Arbor Realty With Securities Fraud Claims

    An investor accused real estate investment trust Arbor Realty Trust Inc. in New York federal court of misleading its investors about how the REIT was doing financially.

  • August 01, 2024

    3 Firms Advise JV To Build Downtown Denver Data Center

    Infrastructure investment firm Stonepeak said it has reached an agreement with American Tower affiliate CoreSite to build a $250 million multiphase data center in downtown Denver, Colorado, in a deal advised by Sidley Austin LLP, Sullivan & Worcester LLP and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.

  • July 31, 2024

    Top California Real Estate News In 2024 So Far

    Catch up on the hottest real estate news out of California so far this year, from homeless policy shifts and rent algorithm disputes to a $5 billion mixed-use project and a shareholder activist campaign.

  • July 31, 2024

    Steward Health Care Gets OK To Close 2 Mass. Hospitals

    A Texas bankruptcy judge Wednesday approved the closure of two Massachusetts hospitals owned by Steward Health Care after the debtor said that it was unable to find buyers for them.

  • July 31, 2024

    Separate Easement Contribution Docs Critical, IRS Atty Says

    Conservation easement donors must always keep separate documents from their donees that acknowledge the gifted property to qualify for a charitable tax deduction in the event the IRS requests such information during an audit, according to an agency counsel Wednesday.

  • July 31, 2024

    Public Storage Sees Declining Move-In Rents Abate In Q2

    Public Storage is continuing to see a slump in incoming rent from tenants moving into new storage units compared to last year, though the losses are decreasing quarter-over-quarter, according to executives in a Wednesday earnings call.

  • July 31, 2024

    Bank Of America Expects Easing Of Office Loan Losses In '24

    Bank of America said it saw losses on its office loans slow down in the second quarter and predicted fewer write-offs in the second half of 2024 in announcing earnings recently.

  • July 31, 2024

    Calif. Real Estate Pros Expect More Distress, Fewer Projects

    A majority of surveyed California real estate professionals foresee rising distress levels and a significant decline in new developments in the coming years, according to a new report.

  • July 31, 2024

    Minn. Tax Court Agrees Parking Lot's Value Is $4M, Not $10M

    A Minneapolis parking lot would be best valued as a buy-and-hold investment property and thus its assessed value should be lowered from $10.3 million to $3.9 million, the Minnesota Tax Court said.

  • July 31, 2024

    Minn. Shopping Center's $97M Value Upheld By State Justices

    A Minnesota shopping center was correctly valued for tax purposes at nearly $97 million, the state Supreme Court said Wednesday, rejecting the property owner's argument that the valuation should consider a calculation of effective rent instead of market rent.

  • July 31, 2024

    Fox Rothschild Faces Malpractice Suit Over Land Row

    Two siblings have brought legal malpractice claims against Fox Rothschild LLP and a firm partner in New Jersey state court, accusing the lawyer of bungling a 1984 property deed and a 1993 trust belonging to their stepfather.

  • July 31, 2024

    Public Interest Firm Adds K&L Gates Ex-Partner As Managing Atty

    The Fairness Center, a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based nonprofit legal services organization representing public-sector union employees against union officials, has expanded its leadership team this week by adding a former K&L Gates partner as a managing attorney.

  • July 31, 2024

    Ohio Tax Board Says Two McDonald's Properties Overvalued

    Two Ohio McDonald's restaurants were overvalued by the Lorain County Board of Revision, the state tax appeals board ruled, agreeing with the company's appraisal taking into consideration comparable properties.

  • July 31, 2024

    Rising Star: Kirkland's James Clark

    James Clark of Kirkland & Ellis LLP has for years worked on one of the world's largest development and infrastructure projects — a Herculean undertaking in Saudi Arabia — and in the process has earned a spot among the construction law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 31, 2024

    Rising Star: Fried Frank's Julianne Befeler

    Julianne Befeler of Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP has been a key adviser on complex commercial real estate transactions for heavy hitters including Brookfield Asset Management, Brookfield Properties and Blackstone Inc., earning her a spot among the real estate law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 31, 2024

    Rising Star: Simpson Thacher's Sam Rudik

    Sam Rudik, a recently promoted partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, guided Blackstone on several billion-dollar transactions over the past three years, including a handful of major development deals and acquisitions involving data centers, landing him a spot among real estate attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 30, 2024

    4th Circ. Refuses To Certify Class Of Golf Course Investors

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday declined to reverse a lower court order denying class certification to a group of Chinese investors who allege their money was used to purchase several golf courses, ruling they are not similar enough to make certification proper.

  • July 30, 2024

    Fla. County Board OKs Funding For $1.3B MLB Stadium

    A Florida county's commissioners on Tuesday approved $312.5 million in funding to go toward a new, $1.3 billion stadium for MLB's Tampa Bay Rays team.

  • July 30, 2024

    Ex-HFZ Capital Chief Can't Reduce Bail In $86M Fraud Case

    A Manhattan judge on Tuesday denied, for now, a request by the former head of troubled real estate firm HFZ Capital Group to lower a hefty bail requirement so he can get out of Rikers Island while fighting $86 million theft and tax fraud charges.

  • July 30, 2024

    Legalization Foes Mount New Challenge To NY Pot Program

    A group of anti-cannabis activists renewed their challenge to New York's proposal to use public funds to help marijuana retailers launch their businesses, alleging in a new state court lawsuit that the policy violates federal law.

  • July 30, 2024

    Orrick Reps NY Gov't In $140M Loan To Pace University

    The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, advised by Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, provided Pace University with a more than $140 million mortgage loan, according to official property records.

Expert Analysis

  • 4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    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.

  • What Calif. Pot Permit Ruling Means For Enviro Compliance

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    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.

  • Rare Reg A+ Fines Reflect New Era Of SEC Enforcement

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent announcement of civil penalties against 10 microcap companies for violations of Regulation A+ shows that as the SEC continues to expand its enforcement efforts, its focus remains on protecting investors of all sizes — including those investing in the historically less-scrutinized Reg A+ issuers, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Factors To Consider When Structuring Data Center Contracts

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    Data center leases and service agreements grant very similar rights and impose similar obligations, but they also hold notable differences and a range of factors that are important to consider when selecting which form of agreement to use, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • Rethinking Mich. Slip-And-Fall Defense After Top Court Ruling

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    The Michigan Supreme Court recently overturned three decades of premises liability jurisprudence by ruling that the open and obvious danger defense is no longer part of a traditional duty analysis, posing the question of whether landowners will ever again win on a motion for summary dismissal, say John Stiglich and Meriam Choulagh at Wilson Elser.

  • Subchapter V Eligibility Ruling Raises Uncertainty For Tenants

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    A Virginia bankruptcy court’s recent ruling in Macedon Consulting — that all remaining rent under a lease should be factored into a lessee's Subchapter V eligibility — raises the question, but does not address, how a court should calculate the amount of debt owed under a lease, creating significant risk for potential tenant debtors, says Sam Ashuraey at Ashuraey Law.

  • Parsing Tax Implications Of NYC Office Leasing Transactions

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    Though New York City's tax laws generally do not require negotiated contractual risk allocation in the case of sublease and early lease termination transactions, it is still helpful for counsel to both landlords and tenants to understand the laws' nuances, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Caregiver Flexibility Is Crucial For Atty Engagement, Retention

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    As the battle for top talent continues post-pandemic, many firms are attempting to attract employees with progressive hybrid working environments — and supporting caregivers before, during and after an extended leave is a critically important way to retain top talent, says Manar Morales at The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.

  • NY's Take On Premises Insurance Policies: What's In A Name?

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    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.

  • Bankruptcy Ruling Shows Section 363's Magic Has Its Limits

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    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.

  • In-Office Engagement Is Essential To Associate Development

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    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.

  • Shifts In The CRE Landscape Demand Creative Loan Solutions

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    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.

  • How To Recognize And Recover From Lawyer Loneliness

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    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.