Commercial

  • November 26, 2024

    7th Circ. Says Insurer Must Defend $3.4M Faulty Work Row

    An architectural design firm's commercial general liability insurer must defend it and its owner against faulty work claims seeking more than $3.4 million in damages, the Seventh Circuit ruled, after the Illinois Supreme Court overturned prior appellate precedent siding with insurers in such disputes.

  • November 26, 2024

    Ohio Board Rejects Shuttered Golf Course's Bid To Cut Value

    A closed golf course failed to present evidence to lower its appraised value by roughly $640,000, the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals ruled Tuesday, saying the property's appraiser failed to account for the value of dilapidated buildings on the land.

  • November 26, 2024

    Ropes & Gray Expands NY Presence With New Midtown Lease

    Ropes & Gray LLP has signed a new lease with RXR Realty for larger office space in midtown Manhattan due to substantial growth in New York, the firm announced Monday.

  • November 25, 2024

    Gov't Defends EB-5 Rule That Hikes Up Petition Fees

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and its U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency pushed for an early win in Texas federal court against a suit challenging increases for filing fees for petitions related to USCIS' EB-5 immigrant investor program.

  • November 25, 2024

    Informant Says He Brought Developers To Madigan's Law Firm

    An ex-Chicago alderman who wore a wire to meetings with former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was back on the stand Monday describing how he arranged a meeting with developers of a Chicago apartment building at Madigan's law office, with jurors hearing a call in which Madigan said to "go ahead and process" a zoning change for that project after the alderman asked if the developer gave him legal work.

  • November 25, 2024

    Judge Bemoans 'Chaotic' Contracts In Jack Nicklaus IP Case

    The New York state judge presiding over golf legend Jack Nicklaus' intellectual property lawsuit on Monday signaled he may not be able to untangle a set of contradictory contracts, which could lead to a trial over who can use the "Golden Bear's" name and likeness.

  • November 25, 2024

    Fried Frank Advises Blackstone's $198M NYC Retail Deal

    Blackstone, advised by Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP, has bought a portfolio of four retail properties in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood for $197.5 million, the private equity firm announced Monday.

  • November 25, 2024

    Hemp Sellers Say Conn. Cannabis Laws Violate Constitution

    A dozen Connecticut hemp retailers filed a federal lawsuit against the governor and attorney general challenging a number of state laws meant to regulate so-called high-THC hemp products, claiming the statutes are so vague they are unconstitutional.

  • November 25, 2024

    NYC Real Estate Week In Review

    Goldgrub Law and Mandelbaum Barrett are among the law firms that steered the largest New York City real estate deals to hit public records last week, a period that saw several large residential transactions across Manhattan and Queens.

  • November 25, 2024

    Law Firm Leasing Surpasses Pre-COVID Rate So Far In 2024

    The rate at which U.S. law firms are signing major office leases — those at or above 20,000 square feet — has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, according to new data released by Savills on Monday, showing that while activity is up, firms are divided on whether to expand, downsize or maintain their square footage.

  • November 25, 2024

    Aztec Fund Can Sell Colorado Building For $4.5M In Ch. 11

    A Texas bankruptcy judge Monday gave his blessing for bankrupt private equity investor Aztec Fund Holding Inc. to sell one of its real estate properties to Valley Equity Group LLC for just over $4.5 million.

  • November 25, 2024

    AG Slams Bid To 'Indoctrinate' Public In NJ RICO Case

    New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin has rebuffed attacks from businessman George Norcross and others charged in his office's sprawling racketeering case in a pair of opposition filings, accusing the defendants of attempting to try the case in the press and contending that their argument to toss the case is out of place.

  • November 25, 2024

    Fla. Judge Trims Complaint Over Deadly Crane Collapse

    A Florida state court judge Monday dismissed several liability counts against a Connecticut manufacturer sued in a lawsuit over a crane collapse in downtown Fort Lauderdale that killed a worker and injured at least two other people, saying the liability allegations must be more specific.

  • November 25, 2024

    Land-Use Attys Praise NYC's Modified Zoning Plan

    Land-use attorneys say a revised version of Mayor Eric Adams' City of Yes plan — New York City's most comprehensive zoning overhaul in over 60 years, if approved — will speed up affordable housing production, yet they stressed a continued need for more infrastructure investment and funding.

  • November 25, 2024

    3 Firms Guide $11.5B Building Materials Co. Buyout

    Summit Materials Inc. announced Monday that it has reached an agreement to be bought out by rival Quikrete Holdings Inc. that sees the construction materials company valued at $11.5 billion, in a deal guided by Davis Polk, Troutman Pepper and Covington.

  • November 25, 2024

    Justices Won't Review Mich. Gun Range Ban

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a proposed gun range's challenge to a Michigan town's zoning denial, denying its petition over Second Amendment protections for firearm training.

  • November 22, 2024

    Trump Taps Hedge Fund Billionaire Bessent To Head Treasury

    President-elect Donald Trump on Friday announced that he's selected Scott Bessent, a billionaire hedge fund manager and the founder of Key Square Group, to serve as secretary of the Treasury in his upcoming administration.

  • November 22, 2024

    NJ Hospital Must Give Up More Info In Exemption Fight

    A New Jersey hospital seeking a property tax exemption for unused floors in its building must produce more documentation to show the extent to which it tried to sell or lease that space, the state Tax Court said.

  • November 22, 2024

    Trustee To Take Over Ch. 11 Of NY Bar Assoc. Building Owner

    A New Jersey bankruptcy judge on Friday sided with a lender of the insolvent owner of the historic New York County Lawyers Association Building in Manhattan, ordering that a Chapter 11 trustee take over the property owner's bankruptcy cases.

  • November 22, 2024

    Big Lots Can Close On $760M Asset Sale, Judge Says

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge Friday approved the $760 million sale of bankrupt discount retail chain Big Lots to a private equity group and told creditors they were out of time to challenge the company's Chapter 11 financing.

  • November 22, 2024

    Property Plays: Fannie Mae, Extell, Knott Development

    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.

  • November 21, 2024

    Ill. High Court Won't Shield Sun-Times In Trump Tax Case

    The Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Chicago Sun-Times can't use an anti-SLAPP law to duck a defamation suit over the paper's coverage of an investigation into a $1 million property tax reduction granted to Trump Tower during the president-elect's first term.

  • November 21, 2024

    Weed Co. Must Pay $5M To Entrepeneur In Investor Dispute

    A marijuana consulting firm must pay $5 million to a former business partner after allegedly derailing plans to purchase a marijuana grow facility in Michigan by convincing the main investors to put their money into a Colorado weed business instead.

  • November 21, 2024

    Concerns Remain Over Pricing In Final Calif. Insurance Rule

    Insurers in California will be able to price policies using catastrophe models meant to predict future climate risks, but they must adhere to one of several options for increasing coverage availability, under a final rule that has left lingering concerns. Here, Law360 provides a background and overview of the regulation on catastrophe modeling and ratemaking.

  • November 21, 2024

    NYC Watchdog Calls Stadiums Bad Bet In Willets Point Report

    New York City's Independent Budget Office said Thursday that stadiums have proved a poor use of tax dollars in the first tally of expenses since Mayor Eric Adams announced a project to bring a soccer stadium, hotel and affordable housing to the city's Willets Point district in Queens.

Expert Analysis

  • Calif. Ruling May Open Bankruptcy Trustees To Tort Liability

    Author Photo

    In Martin v. Gladstone, a recent California appellate court decision, the application of tort concepts to bankruptcy trustees could pose a new concern for trustees and federal receivers when controlling and maintaining commercial property, says Jarrett Osborne-Revis at Buchalter.

  • Considerations For Navigating Mixed-Use Developments

    Author Photo

    As mixed-use developments continue to rise in popularity, developers considering this approach to urban planning must be aware of key considerations ranging from title and zoning laws to proper engagement with stakeholders, says Mehdi Sinaki at Michelman & Robinson.

  • 1st Tax Easement Convictions Will Likely Embolden DOJ, IRS

    Author Photo

    After recent convictions in the first criminal tax fraud trial over allegedly abusive syndicated conservation easements, the IRS and U.S. Department of Justice will likely pursue other promoters for similar alleged conspiracies — though one acquittal may help attorneys better evaluate their clients' exposure, say Bill Curtis and Lauren DeSantis-Then at Polsinelli.

  • Compliance Primer: Foreign Investment In US Real Property

    Author Photo

    The rise in foreign investment in U.S. real property, especially agricultural land, has led to increased national security concerns, meaning it’s important to understand reporting requirements under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act and state-level statutes, and to monitor legislative proposals that could create more stringent reporting and review processes, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • How CRE Loans Would Shift Under New Bank Capital Rules

    Author Photo

    Attorneys at MoFo discuss how commercial real estate loans would fare under federal banking agencies' proposed changes to how large banks risk-weight loans, particularly how CRE loans are weighed based on the current standardized framework versus the proposed expanded approach.

  • Calif. GHG Disclosure Law Will Affect Companies Worldwide

    Author Photo

    California's Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, which will require comprehensive greenhouse gas emissions disclosures from large companies operating in the state, will mean compliance challenges for a wide range of industries, nationally and globally, as the law's requirements will ultimately trickle out and down, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • What Retail Landlords Must Know About Permitted Transfers

    Author Photo

    As trying economic times require tenants to create options to cease their operations by transferring their lease obligations to other parties, retail landlords must give significant thought to how permitted transfers are drafted, and how parties are to be protected in the present and the future, says Scott Grossfeld at Cox Castle.

  • Proactive Measures While NY Foreclosure Law Is In Limbo

    Author Photo

    While questions about the scope and constitutionality of New York's Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act might not be resolved by courts for years, lenders, borrowers and other interested parties can take action to protect their rights and potentially expedite appellate review, say Allison Schoenthal and Andrew Kim at Goodwin.

  • EB-5 Investment Period Clarification Raises More Questions

    Author Photo

    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' recent clarifying guidance for EB-5 investors, specifying that the statutory investment period begins two years from the date of investment, raises as many questions as it answers given related agency requirements and investors' potential contractual obligations, says Daniel Lundy at Klasko Immigration Law Partners.

  • A Guide For Landlords Pivoting To Medical Office Buildings

    Author Photo

    The current commercial real estate landscape presents a unique opportunity for landlords, real estate developers and investors to accommodate the growing health care industry's need for office buildings, though proper navigation of complex regulations and leasing concerns is necessary, says Mehdi Sinaki at Michelman & Robinson.

  • NY Co-Ops Must Avoid Pitfalls When Navigating Insurance

    Author Photo

    In light of skyrocketing premiums, tricky exclusions and dwindling options, New York cooperative corporations must carefully review potential contractors' insurance policies in order to secure full protection, as even seemingly minor contractor jobs can carry significant risk due to New York labor laws, says Eliot Zuckerman at Smith Gambrell.

  • What To Consider When Converting Calif. Offices To Housing

    Author Photo

    In light of California legislators' recent efforts to expedite the process for converting offices into residential buildings, developers should evaluate both the societal upsides, and the significant economic and legal hurdles, of such conversions, says Steven Otto at Crosbie Gliner.

  • Ch. 12 Ruling Is A Helpful Addition To Interest Rate Case Law

    Author Photo

    In its recent In re: Topp ruling, the Eighth Circuit addressed the question of which rate of interest debtors should pay under a bankruptcy plan, showing that the choice of interest rate plan is a factual issue subject to appellate review for clear error, and not a legal issue subject to de novo review, says Donald Swanson at Koley Jessen.