Real Estate

April 18, 2024
Hedge Fund Says Its $100M Award Over Peru Bonds Is Valid

A hedge fund has asked a D.C. federal judge not to throw out its suit seeking to enforce a $100 million arbitral award it secured over Peru's valuation of old government bonds, saying the country wants to relitigate claims that were already rejected by the arbitrators.
April 18, 2024
NY Tribe Says Smoke Shop Group Can't Be Trusted With Data

The Cayuga Nation is urging a New York federal judge to keep one of the entrepreneurs it's accused of opening up an unlicensed smoke shop on tribal land from viewing spreadsheets purportedly detailing lost revenues the tribe suffered due to the store's operation, claiming he'll use the information to hurt the tribe's business.
April 18, 2024
OCC Fines Sterling Bank's Ex-CEO And SF Giants Owner

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said Thursday that it has issued more fines over a fraud-plagued loan program at Sterling Bank and Trust FSB, ordering a total of $700,000 in penalties for the bank's former CEO and its founder, who is also an owner of the San Francisco Giants.
April 18, 2024
Defense Paints Friend As Snitch In Ex-Ecuador Official's Trial

The defense attorney for former Ecuador comptroller Carlos Ramon Polit Faggioni painted a reinsurer who testified Wednesday against the official as a snitch and turncoat during a federal money laundering trial in Miami, saying he effectively became a government agent to get information that could be used against his friend.
April 18, 2024
Investors In Failed Manila Casino Deal Sue For SPAC Shares

Shareholders in a blank-check company that failed to take a Philippines casino public have intervened in two Delaware Chancery Court lawsuits to recoup their failed investments, with one seeking to litigate damages from the busted $2.6 billion deal and the other pushing for the company's liquidation.
April 18, 2024
Bank Regulators Appeal Texas Judge's Halt Of New CRA Rules

Federal regulators said Thursday that they are appealing a Texas federal judge's decision to block their rollout of new community lending rules amid a legal challenge from the banking industry.
April 18, 2024
Ohio Ex-Atty Gets Prison For Bilking Real Estate Clients

A former real estate attorney has been sentenced to four to six years of prison on charges he used his title company to steal from clients, the Ohio attorney general's office said Thursday.
April 18, 2024
Maui County Sued Over Wildfire Landfill Debris Storage

Maui County has been slapped with a lawsuit in Hawaii federal court alleging it relied on a deficient, 28-year-old environmental impact statement when taking over a nearly 20-acre parcel of land to house debris from last year's massive wildfires, in violation of the Hawaii Environmental Protection Act.
April 17, 2024
Damages Still Possible In Lease Tax Reimbursement Row

A Court of Federal Claims judge has ruled that the General Services Administration could unilaterally adjust the real estate tax reimbursement methodology under a lease for the Defense Health Agency's headquarters building, but the building owner may still be owed damages.
April 17, 2024
PG&E Sued For $225 Million Dixie Fire Forest Damage

Owners of the Collins Almanor Forest in Northern California have slapped PG&E with a complaint alleging that they incurred more than $225 million in damage after the Dixie Fire ripped through approximately 55,000 acres of their forest lands in July 2021.
April 17, 2024
Ga. Jury Finds Supplier At Fault For Botched Herbicide Job

An Atlanta federal jury on Wednesday found a company hired to thin out woods on a rural Georgia property and a subcontractor brought in to spray the property with herbicide were responsible for wrecking a developer's plans for turning the location into a quail hunting retreat.
April 17, 2024
Hawaii AG Releases Timeline Of Deadly Lahaina Wildfire

Hawaii's attorney general on Wednesday released findings from the first report of a three-part investigation into how state and county governments responded to the wildfires that ignited on the island of Maui last year, decimating the historic town of Lahaina and leaving more than 100 people dead.
April 17, 2024
States, Biz Groups Back Fight Over DOE Furnace Rules

Eighteen states and several business associations are backing gas utility groups' challenge to the U.S. Department of Energy's tighter energy efficiency standards for furnaces and water heaters, telling the D.C. Circuit that the agency is unlawfully forcing a switch to new appliances.
April 17, 2024
Racetrack's Unlisted Use Unremarkable, Mich. Justice Says

A Michigan Supreme Court justice said Wednesday it was not "particularly remarkable" that a zoning ordinance did not list all approved commercial uses, as residents push the court to restrict a race dragway's operations, noting that the law uses examples because it would be impossible to list everything allowed.
April 17, 2024
Fox Rothschild Hires Employment Atty In Atlantic City

Fox Rothschild LLP has added a labor and employment partner with decades of experience in collective bargaining, resolving workplace disputes and risk management to its Atlantic City, New Jersey, office.
April 17, 2024
No Redo For Insurer In Hail Damage Dispute, Judge Says

A Texas federal court refused to rethink its ruling denying an insurer's early win in a hail damage coverage dispute with a textile company, saying the insurer provided no new information that could change the court's finding or establish the court's manifest error.
April 17, 2024
Manatt Adds NY Bankruptcy, Financial Regulatory Partners

Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP announced that it hired a pair of experienced New York-based attorneys who focus their practices on regulatory matters as partners in its bankruptcy and financial regulatory practices.
April 17, 2024
Insurer Owes No More Water Damage Coverage, Court Says

A Nationwide unit was required to pay only $5,000 to a Tennessee building's owner after water from a sewer or drain pipe backed up and overflowed within, a Tennessee federal court ruled, finding a water damage exclusion in the company's policy made a $5,000 sublimit applicable.
April 17, 2024
9th Circ. Tosses $3.9M Tax Foreclosure Appeal As Premature

The Ninth Circuit dismissed a man's challenge to a court order that he believed allowed the government to foreclose on his property to pay his son's tax liabilities of more than $3.9 million, saying Wednesday that the appeal was premature because the order wasn't final.
April 17, 2024
4th Circ. Affirms No Shield From IRS For Home In Bankruptcy

A North Carolina man who filed for bankruptcy protection and owes federal tax debt cannot shield the house he owns with his wife from the Internal Revenue Service, which is pursuing the asset as a creditor in the proceedings, the Fourth Circuit affirmed Wednesday.
April 17, 2024
Goodwin Brings On Cooley Litigator In San Francisco

Goodwin Procter LLP has expanded its litigation team, announcing Tuesday it brought in a longtime Cooley LLP trial attorney as a partner in its San Francisco office.
April 16, 2024
Corp. Transparency Act A Valid Use Of Powers, 11th Circ. Told

The U.S. Department of Treasury told the Eleventh Circuit that a federal district court erred in finding the Corporate Transparency Act unconstitutional, saying the lower court misunderstood the law's scope and relation to efforts to curb financial crime.
April 16, 2024
Tribal Groups Want Full 9th Circ. To Rehear Oak Flat Appeal

An Apache nonprofit is asking the Ninth Circuit's entire 29-judge panel to review its lawsuit that seeks to block a copper mining company from destroying a sacred Indigenous religious site, arguing that an en banc hearing is warranted given the appellate court's latest split decision on the land transfer.
April 16, 2024
Trump, Insurer Defend $175M Bond In NY AG Case

Donald Trump and the Delaware insurer that agreed to post the former president's $175 million bond in his civil business fraud case told a Manhattan judge that they have the money in cash, after New York Attorney General Letitia James questioned the sufficiency of the bond.
April 16, 2024
Virginia Judge Tosses State Broadband Law Challenge

The Association of American Railroads has lost its challenge to a Virginia federal law that gives broadband providers easier access to railroad property and that the group says constitutes illegal taking, after a judge knocked out all the suit's claims for various reasons.

Expert Analysis

What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like

As the legal landscape shifts, it’s become increasingly clear that the BigLaw business model must adapt in four key ways to remain viable, from fostering workplace flexibility to embracing technology, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
The Year Ahead In Foreign Investment And National Security

In 2024, expect the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, already at the forefront of addressing national security threats, to increase monitoring and enforcement related to outbound investment, focus on supply chain resilience in nondefense sectors, and heighten oversight of agricultural transactions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News

Media coverage of new lawsuits exploded last year, demonstrating why defense attorneys should devise a public relations plan that complements their legal strategy, incorporating several objectives to balance ethical obligations and advocacy, say Nathan Burchfiel at Pinkston and Ryan June at Castañeda + Heidelman.
Sale-Leasebacks May Provide A Safe Financing Alternative

Amid rising interest rates and unpredictable market conditions, sale-leasebacks can be a useful investment option for both buyers and sellers, though their potential drawbacks demand careful consideration, says Chanel Di Blasi at Crosbie Gliner.
5 Recent Developments Family Offices Are Watching In 2024

Although family offices have long been exempt from many of the more onerous regulations and reporting requirements governing U.S. investment advisers and asset managers, recent amendments to federal rules will have an impact on how family offices invest and operate in 2024, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
A Challenging CRE Environment Holds Opportunities In 2024

As the commercial real estate market faces reduced occupancy levels and rising financing costs, the new landscape will be favorable to those who can leverage capital, strategic vision and expertise to meet challenges like taking on distressed properties and converting office space to residential use, say Nesa Amamoo and Vered Rabia at Skadden.
Law Firm Strategies For Successfully Navigating 2024 Trends

Though law firms face the dual challenge of external and internal pressures as they enter 2024, firms willing to pivot will be able to stand out by adapting to stakeholder needs and reimagining their infrastructure, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.
The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from associate retention strategies to ethical billing practices.
5 Most Notable Class Action Standing Cases Of 2023

Key appellate class action decisions this past year continued the trend of a more demanding approach to the threshold issue of standing during each phase of litigation, say attorneys at MoFo.
Attorneys' Busiest Times Can Be Business Opportunities

Attorneys who resolve to grow their revenue and client base in 2024 should be careful not to abandon their goals when they get too busy with client work, because these periods of zero bandwidth can actually be a catalyst for future growth, says Amy Drysdale at Alchemy Consulting.
A Difficult Year For CRE, But Future May Be Brighter

2023 was a challenging year for the commercial real estate industry, marked by significant uncertainty, but market pressure and signs of rising interest rates provide some reasons to be cautiously optimistic for the year ahead as pandemic headwinds and gridlock fade away, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023

Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.
3 Developments That Will Affect Hospitality Companies In 2024

As the hospitality industry continues its post-pandemic recovery, it faces both challenges and opportunities to thrive in 2024, including navigating new labor rules, developing branded residential living spaces and cautiously embracing artificial intelligence, says Lauren Stewart at Sheppard Mullin.
What WeWork's Ch. 11 Filing Means For Landlords

WeWork’s recent Chapter 11 filing in New Jersey has the potential to be one of the most consequential cases in the real estate industry in many years, and presents a number of issues for landlords, including unexpired leases, assumption, assignment and more, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
How Attorneys Can Be More Efficient This Holiday Season

Attorneys should consider a few key tips to speed up their work during the holidays so they can join the festivities — from streamlining the document review process to creating similar folder structures, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.