Commercial

  • October 22, 2024

    Real Estate Exec Guilty Of $77M WeWork Stock Fraud

    A Manhattan federal jury on Tuesday convicted the former CEO of real estate investment firm Arciterra for trying to manipulate the price of WeWork stock via a $77 million tender offer on the cusp of the office-sharing company's bankruptcy filing in late 2023.

  • October 21, 2024

    $77M WeWork Bid Was Fraud 'From Beginning To End,' Jury Told

    New York federal prosecutors made their final pitch on Monday to jurors weighing the fate of the former CEO of real estate investment firm Arciterra accused of manipulating the market through a bogus $77 million tender offer to take control of WeWork, saying it was a sophisticated fraud and not a real play for control of the company.

  • October 21, 2024

    2nd Circ. Axes Claims Victoria's Secret Mogul Aided Epstein

    The Second Circuit on Monday refused to revive a suit accusing billionaire developer and Victoria's Secret tycoon Leslie Wexner, his wife and four of their organizations of facilitating Jeffrey Epstein's sexual assault of a minor, finding the appeal improperly raised new arguments.

  • October 21, 2024

    Madigan Part Of 'Corruption At The Highest Levels,' Jury Told

    Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his loyal right hand Michael McClain engaged in an eight-year "campaign of bribery," leveraging his public office and leadership roles to steer business to Madigan's property tax law firm, enrich his allies with do-nothing jobs and maintain his considerable political power, prosecutors told an Illinois federal jury Monday.

  • October 21, 2024

    9th Circ. Doubts Calif. City Can Sue Over Housing Mandates

    A Ninth Circuit panel expressed skepticism Monday that Huntington Beach, California, has standing to sue the state in federal court over California's housing mandates because it's an autonomous charter city, with one judge saying the city "is not some free floating entity that gets to do whatever it wants."

  • October 21, 2024

    Colo. Tenants Facing Eviction Are Entitled To Jury Trials

    The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Monday that tenants in the state have a right to jury trials in eviction actions filed by their landlords if factual disputes exist in the case.

  • October 21, 2024

    US, Land Donor Settle Fight Over $1.9M Cut To Deduction

    The federal government settled a suit brought by a Louisiana partnership that accused the IRS of using a flawed appraisal to drive down its tax deduction for a land donation by nearly $1.9 million, according to Louisiana federal court filings.

  • October 21, 2024

    KKR-Managed REIT GC Moves To Elevated Role At KKR

    KKR Real Estate Finance Trust, the publicly traded real estate investment trust externally managed by asset management giant KKR, said in a public filing Monday that its general counsel will step back from the REIT as his role broadens at KKR.

  • October 21, 2024

    DC Moves To Buy NBA, NHL Arena In $800M Overhaul Plan

    Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser on Monday announced the introduction of legislation to buy Capital One Arena for $87.5 million to keep the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards in town, after months of negotiations with Sidley Austin LLP advising the arena owner.

  • October 21, 2024

    NYC Real Estate Week In Review

    Greenberg Traurig and Fried Frank were among the law firms that handled the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, a period headlined by a nearly $160 million Manhattan deal.

  • October 21, 2024

    5th Circ. Asked To Nix Insurer's $2.2M Assault Coverage Win

    A group of Texas trial lawyers urged the Fifth Circuit to reverse a Texas federal court's order permitting a bar's insurer to pay only its $1 million limit for a $3.2 million personal injury judgment, arguing the underlying plaintiffs made a valid presuit settlement demand.

  • October 21, 2024

    Justices Won't Review IRS' Additions To Developer's $2M Deal

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it wouldn't review an Eleventh Circuit decision allowing the Internal Revenue Service to back out of a deal to settle an Alabama real estate developer's tax debt for $2 million.

  • October 18, 2024

    Law360 MVP Awards Go To Top Attys From 74 Firms

    The attorneys chosen as Law360's 2024 MVPs have distinguished themselves from their peers by securing hard-earned successes in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters and record-breaking deals.

  • October 18, 2024

    5th Circ. Partially Upholds $2M Win In Hurricane Coverage Suit

    The Fifth Circuit has upheld in part a Louisiana church's more than $2 million judgment win against an insurer that was accused of not paying enough for the church's hurricane damage claims.

  • October 18, 2024

    Feds Defend Bribery Charge Against NYC Mayor Adams

    Federal prosecutors pushed back Friday on New York City Mayor Eric Adams' attempt to erase a bribery charge from his indictment, arguing that while Adams claims his acts were "routine" and allowed under a recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent, a jury could still find his alleged favor trading illegal.

  • October 18, 2024

    NFL Stadiums May Lose $11B To Climate Change By 2050

    Three NFL stadiums could suffer up to an estimated $11 billion in losses by 2050 due to climate change, according to a recent report from a climate risk data analytics company.

  • October 18, 2024

    Minn. Tax Court Refuses Big Changes To Parking Lot's Value

    The Minnesota Tax Court lowered the assessed value of a parking lot property by about $200,000 to $11.7 million, rejecting arguments for larger changes by the property owner and a county.

  • October 18, 2024

    NYC Building Sold After Losing Half Of Tenants To Ch. 11

    A historic mixed-use building in New York City's Chelsea neighborhood that was ravaged by the bankruptcies of two major tenants has been acquired and recapitalized by a partnership of RXR Realty and Hudson Bay Capital through a $421 million financing package from Blackstone, the buyers announced Friday.

  • October 18, 2024

    Winston & Strawn Expands New Miami Office Footprint

    Winston & Strawn LLP is planning to rent more room at Miami's largest office building come 2025, cementing its presence at the property it once deemed a temporary home while it waited for construction at the 830 Brickell office tower to wrap up, a managing partner of the law firm told Law360 Friday.

  • October 17, 2024

    Ex-NFL Player Indicted For Real Estate Embezzlement

    Former Detroit Lions player Chris Harrison skimmed loan proceeds intended for real estate developments to fund personal expenses, including Rolex watches, landscaping services and a home mortgage, federal prosecutors alleged when announcing charges against the former NFL player on Thursday.

  • October 17, 2024

    Lender Says Denver Property Owner Defaulted On $27M Loan

    A lender told a Colorado state court that it wants a Denver retail property to be placed in receivership after the owner allegedly defaulted on a $27.1 million commercial mortgage loan this month.

  • October 17, 2024

    Milton Brings High Insured Costs, Familiar Pressures To Fla.

    While Florida avoided a worst case scenario following Hurricane Milton's landfall, insurance experts say that the high cost of the storm will add familiar pressures to a Florida homeowners insurance market that has been battered for years by storms.

  • October 17, 2024

    Mont. Tax Board Upholds Assessment On Storage Facility

    The owner of a Montana commercial property used to house storage units was unable to lower its value because the state Tax Appeal Board gave more weight to the state Department of Revenue's valuation using an income analysis. 

  • October 17, 2024

    Fried Frank Guides Extell's $159M Madison Avenue Tower Buy

    Fried Frank advised on Extell Development's acquisition of a 24-story tower at 655 Madison Avenue for nearly $160 million after seller Williams Equities moved to demolish the building in August.

  • October 17, 2024

    Trepp Eyes CMBS Loans On Southeast Coast After Hurricanes

    Real estate research firm Trepp has its eye on four commercial mortgage-backed securities collateralized by office, hotel and mall properties in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the firm reported Oct. 16.

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.