Commercial

  • December 16, 2024

    11th Circ. Says Citrus Grower's Coverage Row Was Ripe

    A citrus grower's bid for damages from its insurer in connection with environmental remediation costs was ripe, the Eleventh Circuit said, reviving the case after finding that a Florida district court wrongly dismissed it by conflating the issue of ripeness with the merits of the grower's claims.

  • December 16, 2024

    Minn. Panel Revives $1.5M Fire Loss Row Against State Farm

    A Minnesota state appeals court revived a property owner's $1.5 million bid for additional coverage over a building fire, finding Monday that while state law and the owner's State Farm policy required it to sue within two years of the loss, that requirement didn't extend to the owner's appraisal demand.

  • December 16, 2024

    Colo. Justices Revoke Decision On Eviction Jury Trials

    The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday rescinded its October ruling that tenants facing eviction are entitled to jury trials if there are factual disputes, after a tenant revealed in her rehearing petition that she was sent an eviction notice in the mail and wasn't personally served.

  • December 16, 2024

    SEC Wants Out Of PE Firm's 'Fishing Expedition' Suit

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has asked a Texas federal judge to toss a suit brought by a real estate-focused private equity fund alleging the SEC subjected it to an unconstitutional "fishing expedition" outside its regulatory purview, arguing that sovereign immunity bars the firm's claims and that the court has no jurisdiction over the case.

  • December 16, 2024

    Blindsided Developer Says $112K Legal Bill Should Be $25K

    A real estate developer fighting a $112,000 legal bill from Conrad & Scherer LLP testified in a Florida state court Monday that he hired the firm for its banking regulation expertise but not for trial work in a lawsuit over a luxury house in Colorado.

  • December 16, 2024

    Ex-Top Aide To NYC Mayor Denies Guilt As Indictment Looms

    A former top adviser to New York City Mayor Eric Adams professed innocence Monday as she braced for state criminal charges related to allegedly improper gifts.

  • December 16, 2024

    NYC Real Estate Week In Review

    Jeffrey Zwick & Associates PC and Hirschen Singer & Epstein LLP are among the firms that landed work on the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, with transactions in Manhattan and the Bronx leading the way.

  • December 16, 2024

    What They're Saying About South Florida Real Estate

    As 2024 comes to a close, Law360 Real Estate Authority checked in with attorneys, developers, brokers and other professionals to gather their views on what the year meant for the South Florida market and what they anticipate for 2025.

  • December 16, 2024

    High Court Won't Hear Wisconsin Takings Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to consider claims that federal courts wrongly shut the door on constitutional takings claims from two residents of Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, whose properties were taken to make way for a Foxconn Technology Group plant.

  • December 13, 2024

    5th Circ. Revives Challenge To Dallas Flood Project

    A Texas federal judge jumped the gun dismissing two Dallas property owners' claims that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has failed to fully analyze the potential impacts of a flood control project in the city, a Fifth Circuit panel said Friday.

  • December 13, 2024

    Kluger Kaplan Shifting To Bigger Space In Miami Office Tower

    Kluger Kaplan Silverman Katzen Levine PL renewed its lease for the 34-story Citigroup Center in downtown Miami, and also plans to move to a new 17,757-square-foot office space within the Class A office tower in the second quarter of 2025, the Citigroup Center announced Friday.

  • December 13, 2024

    NYC Hospital System Wants Out Of REIT's $50M Campus Suit

    The New York City Health and Hospitals Corp. and the New York City Economic Development Corp. asked a New York federal court Friday to dismiss a $50 million suit that accused them of being misleading when it came to the development of a floodwall that's supposed to be part of a commercial life sciences campus project.

  • December 13, 2024

    Conn. Stadium Bidder Can't Pursue 'Sham' Process Claims

    An unsuccessful bidder for the redevelopment of Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford, Connecticut, lacks standing to carry on a 56-count lawsuit against 19 defendants that it accused of executing a "sham" process, a state appeals court ruled Friday.

  • December 13, 2024

    Gibson Dunn Adds Real Estate Atty Focused On Data Centers

    Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP said Dec. 12 that it's brought on a real estate and digital infrastructure lawyer who represents the owners and operators of data centers as the rise of artificial intelligence fuels surging demand for such facilities.

  • December 13, 2024

    Trio Lands $600M Loan For Data Center Development

    Three companies developing a 50-megawatt build-to-suit data center in northern Virginia obtained a $600 million loan that was arranged by Newmark Group Inc., the commercial real estate adviser announced Friday.

  • December 13, 2024

    Mystery Lawyer Guides $140M Ex-Con Landlord Loan Deal

    Most attorneys take a victory lap after sealing a nine-figure real estate deal, but when Dalan Real Estate purchased a roughly $140 million New York City loan portfolio from Axos Bank comprising loans backed by a notorious landlord's properties, the lawyer who represented the bank was nowhere to be found.

  • December 13, 2024

    New York Firms Whiteman Osterman, Nolan Heller Merge

    New York law firm Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP announced Thursday a merger with business firm Nolan Heller Kauffman LLP that will bring 113 attorneys under the Whiteman Osterman name.

  • December 13, 2024

    Fight Over $40M Discount For Boston Casino Headed To Trial

    A Massachusetts judge declined to toss allegations that Wynn Resorts lied to a landowner to secure a $40 million discount on real estate where the company built the Encore Boston Harbor casino, teeing up a bench trial in the case.

  • December 12, 2024

    Pawnbroker Pleads Guilty To Bribing Ex-Newark Deputy Mayor

    A Garden State pawnbroker and jeweler admitted in New Jersey federal court Thursday that he took part in a bribery scheme to influence a former Newark official regarding the acquisition and redevelopment of city-owned properties.

  • December 12, 2024

    Ch. 7 Trustee Must Explain $200M Holdback Bid, Court Told

    The owner of two bankrupt real estate companies has asked a Connecticut state court for permission to question the Chapter 7 trustee who wants a $200 million placeholder in connection with a shareholder's derivative claims, arguing the trustee must detail his allegations of the owner diverting millions to other business interests.

  • December 12, 2024

    11th Circ. Won't Rehear Guatemala Power Plant Fight

    The Eleventh Circuit will not reconsider its decision refusing to vacate an arbitral award issued following an ill-fated Guatemalan power plant construction project, rejecting arguments that the tribunal improperly turned a blind eye to alleged corruption underlying the project.

  • December 12, 2024

    JLL Predicts CRE Supply Shortages, An Office Pivot In 2025

    Supply shortages will be the name of the game across nearly every commercial real estate asset class in 2025, lending an advantage to early movers as transaction activity begins to heat up again, per a December report from JLL on commercial real estate trends in 2025.

  • December 12, 2024

    Cannabis Shops Ask DC Judge To Halt Store Shutdowns

    A coalition of Washington, D.C.-based recreational marijuana shops is asking a D.C. federal judge to put a stop to district regulators' enforcement actions against their stores, saying the businesses face "imminent destruction" absent an injunction.

  • December 12, 2024

    NY Courts Defy Watchdog, Won't Release Judicial Ethics Data

    Counsel for the New York State Unified Court System told the state transparency watchdog Wednesday it has no obligation to release judges' and court officials' financial disclosure data under public records law.

  • December 12, 2024

    Saul Ewing Named In Wage Class Reps' Hidden-Asset Suit

    A Pittsburgh-based home health care company and its counsel from Saul Ewing LLP are improperly shuffling assets in order to avoid paying future judgments, according to a lawsuit by representatives of a proposed wage class seeking $12.2 million.

Expert Analysis

  • Adjusting Deals To Reflect Shifts In The CRE Market

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    As the commercial real estate market strengthens and moves out from a challenging time, industry participants should consider any concessions made due to recent trends and update transaction documents accordingly before entering into new deals, says Alexander Davis at Mayer Brown.

  • 4 International Arbitration Trends To Monitor In 2024

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    Global growth slowed substantially in 2023, and may continue into 2024 due to geopolitical instability, which could fuel four key trends in international arbitration in the coming year, including investor-state and commercial arbitration, an increase in arbitration out of China, and more, say Gregory Litt and Sharmistha Chakrabarti at Skadden.

  • How DOI Aims To Modernize Resource Damage Assessments

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    The U.S. Department of the Interior's recent proposal to redesign its Type A rule for conducting natural resource damage assessment and restoration activities could lead to a more streamlined, flexible assessment process that would benefit both natural resource trustees and potentially responsible parties, says Brian Ferrasci-O'Malley at Nossaman.

  • Key Issues When Navigating A Tenant's Bankruptcy

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    In light of recent Chapter 11 filings by Rite Aid and WeWork — companies with thousands of commercial leases — practitioners should review issues that can arise when bankruptcy is used to exit a lease, including the consequences of lease rejection and the statutory cap on landlord damage claims for a rejected lease, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • The Year Ahead In Foreign Investment And National Security

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    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.

  • Sale-Leasebacks May Provide A Safe Financing Alternative

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    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

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    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

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    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.

  • What The 2023 Bank Failures Taught Us, And What's To Come

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    As 2023 draws to a close, it's apparent that the bank failures this past spring sparked a seismic shift in the regulatory and supervisory landscape for banking organizations, and the consequences are still continuing to be felt throughout the financial sector as we head into 2024, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • A Difficult Year For CRE, But Future May Be Brighter

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    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.

  • 3 Developments That Will Affect Hospitality Companies In 2024

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    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

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    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.

  • The 4 Top Philadelphia Commerce Court Opinions Of 2023

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    Four 2023 rulings from the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas — including decisions on judicial privilege, stay requests, sheriff's sales and the appointment of a receiver — highlight the court's commitment to stringent standards and address evolving challenges in commercial litigation, say Jonathan Hugg and Sarah Boutros at Eckert Seamans.