Commercial

  • October 25, 2024

    'Starting Point' Algorithm Enough To Fix Prices, DOJ Says

    The Justice Department is using the first algorithmic price-fixing case to reach an appeals court to argue that just because an algorithm only set "starting points" doesn't make its use legal, in a Ninth Circuit amicus brief backing efforts to revive a room rate lawsuit against Las Vegas casino hotels.

  • October 25, 2024

    Weyerhaeuser Expects To Hit $1B In Timber Deals By 2026

    The CEO of lumber company Weyerhaeuser told investors in a call Friday that it expects to close $1 billion worth of "strategic timberland acquisitions" by the end of 2025.

  • October 25, 2024

    Property Plays: Skyline, Rockefeller Center, Capital One Arena

    Property Plays is a weekly roundup of the latest loans, leases, sales and projects around the country. Send your tips — all confidential — to realestate@law360.com.

  • October 25, 2024

    Clarion Partners Sells Bay Area Office Complex For $162M

    Real estate investment firm Clarion Partners sold off an office complex in San Francisco's East Bay area to commercial real estate company PSAI Realty Partners in a $162 million deal guided by Newmark Group Inc., the real estate adviser announced.

  • October 25, 2024

    Wells Fargo Wants Quick Win In NYC Office Foreclosure Suit

    Wells Fargo is urging a New York federal court to grant it an early win in its commercial mortgage foreclosure suit as it seeks to take control of a midtown Manhattan office building after the owner fell behind on its $31.5 million loan.

  • October 25, 2024

    Cleveland Browns Sue City To Protect Stadium Move Plan

    The Cleveland Browns took their city to Ohio federal court to protect their plan to move the NFL team to an adjacent town, saying a Buckeye State law restricting how and when sports teams can move out of taxpayer-supported stadiums is unconstitutional.

  • October 25, 2024

    Adams Rips Feds, Calling Explanation For Leaks 'Far-Fetched'

    Attorneys for New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Friday renewed their claims that the prosecutors handling his bribery and corruption case leaked secret grand jury information to the press, arguing that the alternative explanation that either Adams or his co-defendants made the leaks was a "far-fetched claim."

  • October 24, 2024

    2nd Circ. Largely OKs Gun Control Law After High Court Order

    The Second Circuit on Thursday stood by its previous decision that largely vacated an order enjoining several of New York's gun restrictions, saying a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling the high court told it to consider on remand had "little direct bearing" on its prior conclusions.

  • October 24, 2024

    2nd Circ. Revives Claims Against Insurer In $21M Injury Suit

    The owners of a construction site entangled in litigation over a worker's spinal cord injury can keep pursuing breach of contract claims against the insurance company that backed the worker's ostensible employer, the Second Circuit ruled Wednesday, overturning a lower court.

  • October 24, 2024

    NYC Council Passes Bill Requiring Hotel Licenses

    The New York City Council passed a bill Wednesday that requires hotel operators to be licensed with the government in order to do business in the city.

  • October 24, 2024

    La. Biz Development Office Extends Industrial Tax Break Regs

    An emergency rule in Louisiana extended the effectiveness of regulations implementing a recently issued gubernatorial executive order that made several adjustments to the state's industrial tax exemption program.

  • October 24, 2024

    EPA, Air Force Commit To PFAS Plan For Tucson Airport

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Air Force said they're committing to a framework to address "forever chemical" contamination at the Tucson International Airport Area Superfund Site in southeastern Arizona.

  • October 24, 2024

    Atlanta Demands End To Almost-Starbucks Demolition Suit

    The City of Atlanta has asked a Georgia federal judge to finally put an end to a suit from a company that says the city illegally initiated condemnation proceedings against a disused restaurant property, telling the court the suit contains "no substantive claims regarding any federal question."

  • October 24, 2024

    Miami Development Site Draws $35M Stalking Horse Bid

    A nearly 16-acre site along Biscayne Boulevard in Miami drew a $35 million stalking horse bid, setting the opening offer for the site ahead of a court-ordered sale in January.

  • October 23, 2024

    Mich. Panel Reverses Insurer's $1.2M Fire Subrogation Win

    A Michigan state appeals court rejected a property insurer's subrogation bid against commercial tenants over a roughly $1.2 million building fire, finding that while the tenants' lease generally required them to keep their property in good condition, there was no specific provision holding them liable for their own negligence.

  • October 23, 2024

    Judge Says $85M Signature Bank Lawsuit Came Too Late

    A New York federal judge has permanently tossed a lawsuit brought by a developer and its affiliates alleging that a former Signature Bank employee fraudulently misled them into unfavorable financial transactions, saying the claims are time-barred under the bank's one-year statute of limitations and not adequately pled.

  • October 23, 2024

    Behind The Scenes Of NYC's Film Studio Real Estate Boom

    Film and streaming production facilities in New York City are blossoming, spurred on by an explosion in demand for production space from streamers and $7.7 billion in state film tax credits, and attorneys are busy advising on all aspects of financing and developing studios.

  • October 23, 2024

    NJ City Permitted Bigger Project To End Suit, Opponent Says

    A property owner's nonprofit has brought a new lawsuit claiming that the city of Hoboken, New Jersey, gave a developer more than $50 million in project benefits in a settlement that could nearly double the scope of a pair of mixed-use developments along the scenic Palisades cliffs.

  • October 23, 2024

    Denver Office Space Saw Record High In Q3, Report Says

    Metropolitan Denver office spaces experienced "record-high availability" in 2024's third quarter, according to a report from Savills.

  • October 23, 2024

    USDA Unveils $1.5B In Conservation, Climate-Smart Projects

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday revealed a $1.5 billion investment in 92 partner-driven conservation projects through the agency's Regional Conservation Partnership Program. 

  • October 23, 2024

    Judge Says Ex-Steward Hospital Nurse Row Out Of His Hands

    A Texas bankruptcy judge Wednesday declined to order the new owner of former Steward Health Care hospitals in Massachusetts to take back changes to nurses' union contracts it assumed under his sale order, saying it wasn't up to him to make the call.

  • October 23, 2024

    Skyline Investments Inks $101M Sale Of 11 Courtyards

    Skyline Investments Inc. has sold 11 Courtyard-branded hotel properties across seven states for $101 million to unnamed buyers, offloading nearly all of a portfolio the company purchased in 2017, according to a statement from broker Marcus & Millichap Inc.

  • October 23, 2024

    Securities Claim Cut From Fraud Suit Against Calif. Developer

    A California federal judge trimmed a securities claim from a Sonoma resident's suit against a real estate company embroiled in a fraud scandal and recommended that the rest of the claims be brought in state court.

  • October 23, 2024

    Hunton Real Estate Leader Eyes Deal Volume Uptick In 2025

    Real estate investors are closely monitoring the Federal Reserve's next moves, and with the belief that more rate cuts are coming, deal volume will likely pick up next year, one of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP's real estate leaders told Law360 in a recent interview.

  • October 23, 2024

    Construction Pro Boosts Cullen And Dykman Litigation Team

    Leadership at Cullen and Dykman LLP announced the addition of an attorney specializing in construction law, saying the move gives the regional firm increased capacity to take on high-profile cases.

Expert Analysis

  • Pending Legislation Holds Promise For SF Buildings

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    Recently introduced state and local legislation could make it easier for office-to-residential conversion projects in San Francisco to secure approval and funding sources, although financial incentives similar to those implemented by other states may be necessary to ensure the feasibility of such projects, say Caroline Chase and Nick DuBroff at Allen Matkins.

  • SVB Collapse Underscores Policy And Regulatory Pitfalls

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    The recent failures of three American banks reveal hidden vulnerabilities, raise concerns about moral hazard, and highlight the need for tighter regulation and closer monitoring of unrealized investment-portfolio losses in the U.S. banking system, says attorney Patrick Meson.

  • NY Bankruptcy Court Pivots On Commercial Rent Damage Cap

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    A New York bankruptcy court departed from its prior precedent in the recent Cortlandt Liquidating case, effectively lowering the commercial rent damages cap, and making the court a little less friendly for landlords but potentially an attractive venue for debtors planning to reject significant commercial leases, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • Bankruptcy Sales Uncertain After Justices' Section 363 Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's holding in MOAC v. Transform that Section 363(m) of the Bankruptcy Code is not a jurisdictional provision means parties to 363 sales are now at the mercy of courts that may have differing perspectives on the issue, creating uncertainty for trustees, third parties and purchasers, say Thomas Loeb and Carrie Brosius at Vorys.

  • Commercial Real Estate Lending Checkup Amid Market Unrest

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    Given the sustained volatility of current lending markets, now may be a good time for financing institutions to dust off their commercial real estate agreements and update them if necessary, say Emil Petrossian and Alexander Miller at Glaser Weil.

  • La. Suit Could Set New Enviro Justice Litigation Paradigm

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    Inclusive Louisiana v. St. James Parish, a lawsuit filed recently in Louisiana federal court that makes wide-ranging and novel constitutional and statutory claims of environmental racism based on centuries of local history, could become a new template for environmental justice litigation against governments and businesses, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Policyholder Lessons From Sandy No-Coverage Decision

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    A New York federal court recently decided that in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Madelaine Chocolate knew Great Northern Insurance’s all-risk policy offered no coverage for storm surge — an important reminder that policyholders should review policy language for ambiguities or anti-concurrent causation clauses, say Dennis Artese and Joshua Zelen at Anderson Kill.

  • 5th Circ. Offers Expert Opinion Guidance For Insurance Cases

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    A recent Fifth Circuit decision in Majestic Oil v. Lloyd's of London provides insight into how Texas' concurrent causation doctrine could affect insurance cases where the cause of damage is at issue, and raises considerations for litigants faced with new or revised expert reports after the deadline has passed, say Brian Scarbrough and Cianan Lesley at Jenner & Block.

  • FTC Proposal Greatly Widens Auto-Renewal Regulation

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    The Federal Trade Commission's proposed rule on automatic renewal subscriptions would impose significant new obligations on sellers of negative option plans and expand the agency's enforcement powers, likely requiring companies to examine and change their practices, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • Now Is The Time For Independent Industry Self-Regulation

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    The high level of trust in business, coupled with the current political and legal landscape, provides an opportunity for companies to play a meaningful role in finding solutions to public policy issues through the exploration of independent industry self-regulation models, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • 20 Years On, Campbell Holds Lessons On Reining In Ratios

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    Twenty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in State Farm v. Campbell provided critical guidance on the constitutionally permissible ratio of punitive to compensatory damages — and both Campbell and subsequent federal circuit court decisions informed by it offer important pointers for defendants, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • How Bank Turmoil Is Affecting Real Estate Purchases, Sales

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    The new uncertainty in the availability of financing from bank lenders that were previously considered "money good," spurred by the bank crisis, has inserted a wrinkle in the commercial real estate market that alters some of the dynamics between a buyer and seller, says Simran Bindra at Thompson Coburn.

  • How CMS Proposal Would Change PE Deal Transparency

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    The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently proposed a new rule that would require the disclosure of additional ownership regarding Medicare and Medicaid nursing facilities, an approach that many states have started to take and reflects the Biden administration's scrutiny on private equity deals, say attorneys at Kirkland.