Commercial

  • January 13, 2025

    REITs Warned To Eye Regulatory Response To LA Fires

    Investment bank Piper Sandler Cos. is warning of regulatory fallout from the still-blazing Los Angeles fires that may harm real estate investment trusts, adding it expects to see REITs voluntarily take steps to ameliorate pressure on renters. 

  • January 13, 2025

    Hotel Asset Manager Ashford Settles SEC Cyber Report Suit

    Ashford Inc. has agreed to pay more than $115,000 to settle the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's charges that the asset manager failed to properly disclose a cyberattack that led to the leak of hotel customers' personal information.

  • January 13, 2025

    SEC To Collect $63M In Latest Recordkeeping Sweep

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Monday that subsidiaries of Blackstone Inc. and Charles Schwab Corp. were among those swept up in the latest round of recordkeeping fines, promising to collect over $63 million from 12 firms whose employees are accused of discussing business through their personal devices.

  • January 13, 2025

    Ind. Senate Bill Seeks To Cap Local Property Tax Hikes

    Indiana would not allow a political subdivision to increase its property tax levy if there is not an increase in the subdivision's assessed value under a bill introduced Monday in the state Senate.

  • January 13, 2025

    NYC Real Estate Week In Review

    Greenberg Traurig LLP and DLA Piper are among the law firms that handled the largest real estate deals to hit New York City public records last week, a period that saw a number of transactions that signed and closed near the year-end deadline become public.

  • January 13, 2025

    Ky. House Bill Seeks Referendum Toward Axing Property Tax

    Kentucky would put forward a referendum asking voters to give lawmakers the power to eliminate the state's property tax by exempting all property classes from tax under a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives.

  • January 13, 2025

    Tax-Lien Biz Atty Accused Of Duping Bank Can't Touch Money

    A Manhattan federal judge declined Monday to unfreeze assets on behalf of a former compliance lawyer accused of duping a bank into lending his tax-lien investment firm $20 million, complicating his plan to go to trial with private counsel.

  • January 13, 2025

    76ers Drop Controversial Plan For New Center City Arena

    The Philadelphia 76ers are going to stay in South Philly rather than pursuing a plan to move into a new stadium by Chinatown, according to announcements Monday from the City of Brotherly Love's mayor and the 76ers' owner.

  • January 13, 2025

    Proskauer Faces Revived DQ Bid In NJ Hospital Antitrust Fight

    CarePoint Health is once again pushing to have Proskauer Rose LLP disqualified as counsel for healthcare network RWJBarnabas Health Inc. in an antitrust lawsuit in New Jersey federal court, asserting that a magistrate judge erred in previously denying its request.

  • January 13, 2025

    Latham-Led StepStone Tops $1B For Infrastructure Fund

    Private markets investment firm StepStone Group Inc., advised by Latham & Watkins LLP, on Monday announced it had clinched its inaugural infrastructure co-investment fund and related separate accounts after securing more than $1.4 billion in capital commitments.

  • January 13, 2025

    Kramer Levin Elevates Partner To Land-Use Co-chair

    New York City law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP has promoted James P. Power to co-chair of its land use department. The leadership update comes at a time of dramatic changes to land use in New York City, and Power said he expects there to be a lot of development activity.

  • January 13, 2025

    Justices Won't Hear Farm's Bid To Retake Denver Airport Land

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a Colorado farm company's petition arguing Denver can't hold onto land originally seized for the Denver International Airport now that the city plans to build a private commercial complex on the property.

  • January 10, 2025

    Under The Radar: Bankruptcy News You May Have Missed

    Solar power company iSun asked to switch its bankruptcy proceedings to a Chapter 7, after finding that it couldn't afford its Chapter 11 plan. Nash Engineering Co.'s Chapter 7 trustee asked a bankruptcy judge to sign off on a $9 million settlement with two insurers that had bought back their policies in 2020. And the Second Circuit put out the call for would-be bankruptcy judges to submit their applications to sit on the bench in Manhattan.

  • January 10, 2025

    Receiver Sought For Pittsburgh Landmark In $143M Default

    A group of lenders seeking to foreclose on part of Pittsburgh's Station Square development over a $143 million loan default wants a Pennsylvania state court to appoint a receiver to take over management and marketing of the properties, according to court filings.

  • January 10, 2025

    Property Plays: Palladius, Tishman Speyer, Stockdale

    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.

  • January 10, 2025

    LA Fire Insured Damages Could Top $20B, JP Morgan Says

    Insured losses from wildfires still blazing through Los Angeles could exceed $20 billion, J.P. Morgan analysts said in client notes, a steep increase from the more than $12 billion California insurers incurred from the next costliest spate of wildfires in 2018.

  • January 10, 2025

    Ferguson Braswell Adds 5-Atty Vogt Resnick Team In Calif.

    Ferguson Braswell Fraser Kubasta PC has grown its presence in Orange County, California, with the addition of five Vogt Resnick & Sherak LLP attorneys and a new office space.

  • January 10, 2025

    Sullivan & Cromwell Advises NYC Tower's $2.9B CMBS Refi

    Tishman Speyer landed a $2.85 billion commercial mortgage-backed securities loan refinancing the firm's New York City office tower known as The Spiral, in a deal guided by borrower counsel Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, per the borrower and Morningstar.

  • January 10, 2025

    Construction Exec Cops To Unlawfully Funding NYC Mayor

    A Turkish-born construction executive with ties to Eric Adams told a Manhattan federal judge Friday that he funneled unlawful donations to the New York City mayor's campaign, as prosecutors secured a guilty plea in their high-profile political corruption investigation.

  • January 10, 2025

    Stockdale Takes Out $164M Loan To Buy LA-Area Mall

    Stockdale Capital Partners took out a $164 million mortgage to fund its acquisition last month of The Oaks, a 1.2 million-square-foot Class A mall near Los Angeles.

  • January 10, 2025

    Potomac Law Group Adds Real Estate Leasing Atty In Seattle

    Potomac Law Group has continued a hiring spree that spilled over into the new year, hiring a Seattle-based partner who focuses her practice on retail leasing issues.

  • January 09, 2025

    Surprise NC Downzoning Ban Hamstrings Local Gov. Control

    An unassuming provision tacked onto the end of a hodgepodge year-end bill in North Carolina has had a chilling effect on real estate development across the state amid fears for its sweeping consequences.

  • January 09, 2025

    Steptoe & Johnson Boosts Dallas Headcount With 3 Attys

    Steptoe & Johnson PLLC boosted its Texas ranks Thursday with three seasoned attorneys who will bring in experience in mergers and acquisitions, lending, and commercial real estate, a move the firm claimed would help bolster its long term growth plan.

  • January 09, 2025

    AT&T Settles Suit Over Faux Pine Tree Antennas

    AT&T is dropping its suit against the city of Walla Walla, Washington, over a 65-foot-tall utility pole that was slated to look like a pine tree, agreeing to use a separate location just outside the city limits.

  • January 09, 2025

    JLL Lines Up $300M Luxury Nashville Hotel Refi

    A 21-story, 800-key downtown Nashville luxury hotel received $300 million in refinancing, in a deal set up and closed by JLL's Capital Markets team, the broker announced Jan. 9.

Expert Analysis

  • How CFIUS' Updated Framework Affects Global Investors

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    The recent change to the monitoring and enforcement regulations governing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States will broaden administrative practices around nonnotified transaction investigations, increase the scope of information demands from the committee and accelerate its ability to impose mitigation on parties, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Foreclosing Lenders Still Floating In Murky Legal Waters In NY

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    The New York foreclosure landscape remains in disarray after the state's highest court last month declined to weigh in on whether legal changes from 2022 that severely curtailed lenders' ability to bring successive foreclosure cases were retroactive, says Brian Rich at Barclay Damon.

  • NYC Hotel Licensing Law's Costs May Outweigh Its Benefits

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    A hotel licensing bill recently approved by New York's City Council could lead to the loss of many nonunionized hotels that cannot afford to comply, says Stuart Saft at Holland & Knight.

  • Calif. Ruling Offers Hope For Mitigated Negative Declarations

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    In Upland Community First v. City of Upland, a California appeals court upheld a warehouse development's mitigated negative declaration over its greenhouse gas emissions thresholds — a rare victory against this type of challenge providing reassurance that such declarations can be upheld, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • There's No Crying In Property Valuation Baseball Arbitration

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    The World Series is the perfect time to consider how the form of arbitration used for settling MLB salary disputes — in which each side offers competing valuations to an arbitrator, who must select one — is often ideal for resolving property valuation disputes, say Sean O’Donnell at Herrick Feinstein and Mark Dunec at FTI Consulting.

  • Webuild Ruling Complicates Arb. Award Enforcement In US

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    A Delaware federal court's recent decision in Sociedad Concesionaria Metropolitana de Salud v. Webuild, if read literally, could undercut the United States' image as a proarbitration jurisdiction by complicating creditors' efforts to enforce awards against property in this country, says Jeff Newton at Omni Bridgeway.

  • How To Avoid A Costly CPA Limitation Hidden In Most Leases

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    The lease audit rights clause is a seemingly innocuous provision in most commercial real estate leases that ends up costing tenants millions of dollars each year, as they have unwittingly agreed to retain only an accountant to investigate and settle financial issues, says Jason Aster at KBA Lease Services.

  • Navigating FEMA Grant Program For Slope Fixes After Storms

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    In the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, it is critical for governments, businesses and individuals to understand the legal requirements of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's grant programs to obtain funding for crucial repairs — including restoration of damaged infrastructure caused by landslides and slope failures, says Charles Schexnaildre at Baker Donelson.

  • Smith's New Trump Indictment Is Case Study In Superseding

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    Special counsel Jack Smith’s recently revised Jan. 6 charges against former President Donald Trump provide lessons for prosecutors on how to effectively draft superseding indictments in order to buttress or streamline their case, as necessary, says Jessica Roth at Cardozo Law School.

  • Consider Best Legal Practices For Commissioning Public Art

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    Commissioning public art for real estate projects can provide many benefits to real estate developers and the public, but it's important to understand the unique legal and contracting aspects of the process to ensure that projects are completed on time and on budget, says Sarah Conley Odenkirk at ArtConverge.

  • Applying High Court's Domestic Corruption Rulings To FCPA

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the domestic corruption statutes in three decisions over the past year and a half, it’s worth evaluating whether these rulings may have an impact on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, and if attorneys can use the court’s reasoning in international bribery cases, says James Koukios at MoFo.

  • Climate Among Many Factors Driving Up RE Insurance Costs

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    A proactive approach to risk management may determine the viability of the U.S. commercial real estate sector as weather crises and other factors drive insurance costs higher, says Ulrick Matsunaga at Crosbie Gliner.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Debriefings, Timeliness, Documentation

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    ​James Tucker at MoFo examines three recent decisions from the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims concerning an agency's decision not to hold post-award discussions, a timeliness trap in certain Federal Supply Schedule procurements and the importance of providing contemporaneous documentation in price-evaluation protests.