Commercial

  • January 13, 2025

    Judge Says California Tribe Can't Block Casino Land Decision

    A California tribe can't block the Interior Department from taking 65 acres into trust for a fellow state tribe's proposed casino project, a federal district judge said, arguing that it has not satisfied the burden to prove an immediate threat of irreparable harm.

  • January 13, 2025

    Newsom Waives Permits, Enviro Rules To Rebuild LA Faster

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom in an executive order Sunday suspended state environmental rules and permitting in coastal areas, a move intended to help rebuild from wildfires causing extensive destruction in Los Angeles.

  • January 13, 2025

    NY Dispensaries Say Pot Agencies Broke Proximity Rules

    A group of four adult-use marijuana dispensaries are suing New York's cannabis regulators, aiming to vacate the issuance of licenses for four competing dispensaries that they say violate the state's 1,000-foot buffer between outlets.

  • January 13, 2025

    Ex-Cook County Assessor Officer Hit With Bribery Charges

    A chief hearings officer for former Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios' office accepted bribes, including from a law firm's tax consultant, when handling a property assessment appeal, a new lawsuit in Illinois federal court alleges.

  • January 13, 2025

    Interior Department Approves Ore. Tribal Casino Amid Lawsuit

    The U.S. Department of the Interior gave its final approval to Oregon's first off-reservation casino amid litigation that looked to block the project, ending a 13-year application process for the Coquille Indian Tribe.

  • 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

    SEC Sues Hotel Asset Manager Ashford Over Cyber Reports

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday sued asset manager Ashford Inc. for allegedly failing 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.

Expert Analysis

  • Timeline Considerations For Boston's New RE Review Process

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    Boston's newly reimagined large real estate project review process, featuring early community engagement, holds impacts for project timelines that land use counsel must account for when guiding developers through approvals, says David Linhart at Goulston & Storrs.

  • The Story Of 2024's Biggest Bank Regs, And Their Fate In 2025

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    U.S. federal bank regulators were very active in 2024 with initiatives ranging from antitrust and capital to proposals regarding controlling shareholders and incentive-based compensation, but many regulations face an uncertain future under the new administration, say attorneys at Latham.

  • 2024 IPO Market Trends, And What To Expect Next Year

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    The initial public offering market returned to historically typical levels on a deal count basis in 2024 but continued to lag based on proceeds raised due to a larger number of smaller IPOs this year, and signs point to continued ongoing momentum in the next year, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Adapting Force Majeure To A Predictably Unpredictable World

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    As the climate and political landscapes get more complicated, force majeure provisions will likely be triggered increasingly often, demanding an evolving understanding of when events and their impacts are truly unforeseeable, say attorneys at Nossaman.

  • Impact Of Corporate Transparency Act Ambiguity On Banks

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    Even though banks generally needn't file beneficial ownership information reports, financial institutions must continue to monitor the status of the Corporate Transparency Act and understand its requirements in case the nationwide injunction that was issued against the CTA earlier this month is overturned, say attorneys at Armstrong Teasdale.

  • Green Projects Face States' Foreign Land Ownership Limits

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    As states impose restrictions and disclosure requirements around foreign investment in agricultural land — in some cases piggybacking on existing federal rules — renewable energy developers and investors must pay close attention to how the rules vary, says Daniel Fanning at Husch Blackwell.

  • How Landlords Can Navigate Cannabis-Related Leases

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    As the cannabis industry continues to rapidly grow, landlords should consider a variety of lease terms and operational details that may help mitigate uncertainty involving federal laws, zoning restrictions and tax implications, says Kyla Baker at Holland & Knight.

  • Lights, Camera, Real Estate: Preparing For Film Facility M&A

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    As the entertainment industry struggles to recover from multiple strikes and a decline in production, certain aspects of selling or acquiring production facilities may become important to consider, as these assets are valued very differently from typical commercial real estate properties, say attorneys at Olshan Frome.

  • Corporate Liability Issues To Watch In High Court TM Case

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    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a trademark dispute between Dewberry Group and Dewberry Engineers next week, presenting an opportunity for the court to drastically alter the fundamental approach to piercing the corporate veil, or adopt a more limited approach and preserve existing norms, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • Plugging Gov't Leaks Is Challenging, But Not A Pipe Dream

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    As shown by ongoing legal battles involving New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Sean “Diddy” Combs, it’s challenging for defendants to obtain relief when they believe the government leaked sensitive information to the media, but defense counsel can take certain steps to mitigate the harm, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

  • A Legal Perspective On NYC's Retail Real Estate Evolution

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    As New York City's retail market begins to show signs of resilience after the challenges of recent years, landlords must be cognizant of legal implications from shifting trends toward shorter-term leases and pop-up stores, says Andrea Gendel at Pryor Cashman.

  • What Interest Rate Cuts Mean For Housing Markets

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    The Federal Reserve's recent reduction of interest rates may provide limited immediate relief for real estate sectors, but offers potential opportunities for commercial real estate investors and construction firms, which now face an environment ripe for new projects, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • 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.