Commercial
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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."
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March 26, 2024
Locke Lord Gains Real Estate Attorney From Boston Boutique
Locke Lord LLP announced the addition of a partner from the Boston-based real estate and commercial litigation boutique Nathanson & Goldberg PC, touting his combined litigation and transactional experience.
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March 25, 2024
Ex-LA Official Downplayed Role In Huizar Bribes, Jury Told
An FBI agent told California federal jurors in former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan's criminal trial Monday that Chan denied facilitating bribes between then-city councilor Jose Huizar and a developer when initially questioned by investigators, despite evidence showing he helped orchestrate Las Vegas trips and loans to help Huizar.
Expert Analysis
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Congress Needs To Enact A Federal Anti-SLAPP Statute
Although many states have passed statutes meant to prevent individuals or entities from filing strategic lawsuits against public participation, other states have not, so it's time for Congress to enact a federal statute to ensure that free speech and petitioning rights are uniformly protected nationwide in federal court, say attorneys at Skadden.
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As Sackett Trims Feds' Wetlands Role, States May Step Up
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency extinguishes federal authority over many currently regulated wetlands — meaning that federal permits will no longer be required to discharge pollutants in affected areas, but also that state regulators may take a more active role, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.
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Some Client Speculations On AI And The Law Firm Biz Model
Generative artificial intelligence technologies will put pressure on the business of law as it is structured currently, but clients may end up with more price certainty for legal services, and lawyers may spend more time being lawyers, says Jonathan Cole at Melody Capital.
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Trafficking Ruling Offers Liability Lessons For Hospitality Cos.
A California federal court recently dismissed a lawsuit accusing several national hotel chains of knowingly benefiting from sex trafficking at their premises, highlighting how hospitality leaders can protect their guests and staff, and shield their companies from liability and reputational damage, says Danielle Dudai at Hall Booth.
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A Lawyer's Guide To Approaching Digital Assets In Discovery
The booming growth of cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens has made digital assets relevant in many legal disputes but also poses several challenges for discovery, so lawyers must garner an understanding of the technology behind these assets, the way they function, and how they're held, says Brett Sager at Ehrenstein Sager.
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High Court's Ethics Statement Places Justices Above The Law
The U.S. Supreme Court justices' disappointing statement on the court's ethics principles and practices reveals that not only are they satisfied with a status quo in which they are bound by fewer ethics rules than other federal judges, but also that they've twisted the few rules that do apply to them, says David Janovsky at the Project on Government Oversight.
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What's Unique — And What's Not — In Trump Protective Order
A Manhattan judge's recent protective order limiting former President Donald Trump's access to evidence included restrictions uniquely tailored to the defendant, which should remind defense attorneys that it's always a good idea to fight these seemingly standard orders, says Julia Jayne at Jayne Law.
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Time For Law Schools To Rethink Unsung Role Of Adjuncts
As law schools prepare for the fall 2023 semester, administrators should reevaluate the role of the underappreciated, indispensable adjunct, and consider 16 concrete actions to improve the adjuncts' teaching experience, overall happiness and feeling of belonging, say T. Markus Funk at Perkins Coie, Andrew Boutros at Dechert and Eugene Volokh at UCLA.
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Justices Curb Fraud Theories, But That May Not Deter Feds
The U.S. Supreme Court’s opinions last week in Ciminelli v. U.S. and Percoco v. U.S. are the latest in a line of rulings aiming to limit the wire fraud statute’s application to state public corruption cases, but federal prosecutors will probably continue pursuing such cases using different charging language and other laws, says Alison Anderson at Boies Schiller.
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Good Faith Buyer Lessons From 5th Circ. Bankruptcy Ruling
The Fifth Circuit’s recent ruling in Palm Springs II, affirming the sale of property to a senior lender, is notable for its guidance on Section 363(m), including the ability of a senior lender to remain a good faith purchaser despite squeezing out a junior lender, says Shane Ramsey at Nelson Mullins.
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Tips For In-House Legal Leaders In A Challenging Economy
Amid today's economic and geopolitical uncertainty, in-house legal teams are running lean and facing increased scrutiny and unique issues, but can step up and find innovative ways to manage outcomes and capitalize on good business opportunities, says Tim Parilla at LinkSquares.
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How Cities Can Tackle Post-Pandemic Budgeting Dilemmas
Due to increasing office vacancies around the country, cities may consider politically unpopular actions to avoid bankruptcy, but they could also look to the capital markets to ride out the current real estate crisis and achieve debt service savings to help balance their budgets, say attorneys at Cadwalader.
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What Associates Need To Know Before Switching Law Firms
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
The days of staying at the same firm for the duration of one's career are mostly a thing of the past as lateral moves by lawyers are commonplace, but there are several obstacles that associates should consider before making a move, say attorneys at HWG.