Commercial

  • April 17, 2025

    Cuban Island Owner Wants $36M In Helms-Burton Case

    A Cuban-American man who says he is the rightful heir to an island off the coast of Cuba that was seized by the Communist government asked a Miami jury on Thursday for an award of more than $36 million against Expedia, which the man claims illegally trafficked in the stolen property by offering reservations for resorts on the island through its website.

  • April 17, 2025

    Colo. FAIR Plan Gives Policyholders Options At A Cost

    Colorado launched the country's first new Fair Access to Insurance Requirements, or FAIR, Plan in 40 years to offer residents another tool in an increasingly challenging wildfire, hail and wind market, but experts emphasized that this limited form of coverage is not intended to address affordability concerns.

  • April 17, 2025

    Colo. Insurance Bills Offer Promise But Uncertain Costs

    Colorado lawmakers are contemplating insurance bills that experts say could help improve the state's market by boosting home resilience, but there are still cost concerns and skepticism that other proposals are workable, like a state reinsurance program.

  • April 17, 2025

    Naftogaz Wins Enforcement Of $5B Russia Award In France

    A French court has signed off on a bid by Ukraine's state-owned oil and gas company to enforce a $5 billion arbitral award it won against Russia after the Kremlin seized its Crimean assets, the company said on Thursday.

  • April 17, 2025

    QXO Prices $500M Offering Connected To $11B Beacon Buy

    Building products distribution company QXO Inc. announced the pricing of a stock offering, with plans to raise $500 million, which will be used to finance a portion of its pending $11 billion acquisition of Beacon Roofing Supply Inc.

  • April 17, 2025

    Cushman Expects Stubborn Office Vacancies In Austin

    After unusual market disruptions brought on by the pandemic, Cushman & Wakefield says it expects high office vacancies in Austin, Texas, to linger for a few more years and that unprecedented demand for the city's industrial assets will stabilize gradually.

  • April 17, 2025

    Moderna Says New Drug Plant Riddled With Defects, Mold

    Life sciences company Moderna is suing a Massachusetts construction firm over multiple alleged defects in a recently built production facility for one of its experimental cancer drugs, including leaks that led to mold growth so "extensive and pervasive" the entire roof has to be replaced.

  • April 17, 2025

    Petersen Health Gets Initial OK To Take Votes On Ch. 11 Plan

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Thursday provisionally approved skilled nursing facility operator Petersen Health Care's bid to send its Chapter 11 liquidation plan out to creditors for voting, months after the company sold off most of its assets.

  • April 17, 2025

    Blackstone Sees 'Speed Bump' In Real Estate Recovery

    Officials at investment giant Blackstone told analysts on April 17 that they expected the direct impact of tariffs on its businesses to be limited, although a wider downturn could be more troubling.

  • April 16, 2025

    Real Estate Lawyers Chart Dealmaking Under Tariffs

    As real estate transaction attorneys navigate uncertainty in the market, some deals are being put on ice, while elsewhere, clients are rushing to negotiate protections from price hikes or find opportunistic deals.

  • April 16, 2025

    Trump Ends Clinton, Carter Policies On Fed Facility Sites

    President Donald Trump rolled back two decades-old orders directing the federal government to prioritize urban areas and historic districts when choosing locations for federal facilities.

  • April 16, 2025

    IBM Sues Insurers Over $900M In Environmental Expenses

    IBM has taken several of its excess commercial general liability insurers to New York federal court, arguing that following IBM's coverage settlements with underlying insurers, they are now on the hook for over $900 million in environmental remediation expenses incurred under policies issued between 1961 and 1970.

  • April 16, 2025

    Luxury Boutique Offices Sprout Up Around Miami

    Though there have been hints of a slowdown in the Miami office market, which has seemed impervious to the economic headwinds roiling the sector nationwide, one area moving at full speed is the development of high-end boutique projects in desirable enclaves outside the city's central business district.

  • April 16, 2025

    Office Demand Steady Despite Trade Policy Turbulence

    Commercial broker Cushman & Wakefield said shifting U.S. trade policy didn't have a noticeable effect on demand for office space in the first quarter as the sector showed continued signs of stabilization.

  • April 16, 2025

    Dems Ask GSA To Explain Federal Asset Disposal Plans

    Democrats on the House Oversight Committee urged the General Services Administration to explain its moves to list federal properties for disposal, expressing concern about how the agency has identified buildings for sale.

  • April 16, 2025

    Prologis Says Logistics Renters Cautious Amid Tariff Tumult

    Prologis executives said on Wednesday that logistics asset leasing activity dropped 20% over the past two weeks, with many companies waiting to see how things pan out after President Donald Trump temporarily paused higher tariffs on all countries except China.

  • April 16, 2025

    Exxon Urges Justices To Resolve Seized Cuba Property Claim

    Exxon Mobil Corp. asked the U.S. Supreme Court to scrutinize a ruling frustrating its attempts to collect damages from Cuban property confiscated decades ago, arguing the Trump and Biden administrations' opposing stances on such lawsuits present a chance for the court to settle the political debate.

  • April 16, 2025

    Exelon Buys DC Office Building From Brookfield For $175M

    Utilities giant Exelon Corp. has bought a Washington, D.C. office building that serves as a headquarters for one of its electricity subsidiaries from Brookfield Properties for $175 million, according to deed records.

  • April 16, 2025

    Meridian Capital Promotes Legal Head To General Counsel

    Meridian Capital Group announced Tuesday that its head of legal has been promoted to general counsel in a move that comes about a year after the firm came under new leadership.

  • April 16, 2025

    Pryor Cashman Adds New Real Estate Partner For NYC Office

    Pryor Cashman LLP announced Wednesday that it had hired Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP attorney Paul J. Proulx for the firm's real estate and land use/zoning teams in its New York City office.

  • April 15, 2025

    Massive Calif. Fire Assessment Pass-Through Sparks Suit

    Public interest nonprofit Consumer Watchdog sued California's insurance chief in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday to stop him from allowing insurance companies to offset hundreds of millions of dollars in assessment costs as surcharges onto policyholders, claiming the decision was made without any public input, in violation of the state's Administrative Procedure Act. 

  • April 15, 2025

    Funding Cuts Cause Q1 Hurdles For Life Sciences Real Estate

    The U.S. life sciences real estate market was hit with challenges in the first quarter of 2025 due to funding cuts for the National Institutes of Health that were announced earlier this year, according to a report from real estate company Savills.

  • April 15, 2025

    Chinese Real Estate Developer Hit With Involuntary Ch. 11

    Three creditors of Chinese real estate developer Xinyuan Real Estate Co. Ltd. filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition against the company late Monday, saying it is in default on $170 million in note debt.

  • April 15, 2025

    Brooklyn Office Space Seeing Leasing Surge, CBRE Reports

    New York City's borough of Brooklyn went through "a surge of leasing" for office space after a total of 509,000 square feet was leased in Q1 2025, according to a CBRE report published Tuesday.

  • April 15, 2025

    Brookfield Lands $1.3B From Citibank For Hudson Yards Office

    Brookfield Properties secured $1.25 billion in financing from Citibank on its 16-story Five Manhattan West building in a transaction advised by Dechert LLP and Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • A Look At Recent Case Law On Expedited Judgment In NY

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    A number of recent New York state court decisions clarify and refine the contours surrounding Civil Practice Law and Rule 3213, providing landlords, lenders and other payees guidance on how to seek accelerated judgment in certain litigation, says Alexander Lycoyannis at Holland & Knight.

  • Dealmaker Lessons From CFIUS' New Enforcement Webpage

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    The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States’ recently launched webpage, which details the actions — and inactions — that led to enforcement activity, provides important insights for dealmakers about filing requirements, mitigation commitments and the cost of noncompliance, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Reassessing Lease Provisions To Account For ESG Initiatives

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    As companies seek to build ESG considerations into their businesses, it's crucial to understand how such initiatives can quickly become significant enough to compel reassessment of lease agreement provisions, and how best to modify leases accordingly, say Julian Freeman and Gabe Pitassi at Cox Castle.

  • Avoid Getting Burned By Agencies' Solar Financing Spotlight

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    Recently coordinated reports and advisories from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission maximize the spotlight on the consumer solar financing market and highlight pitfalls for lenders to avoid in this burgeoning field, says Mercedes Tunstall at Cadwalader.

  • Co-Tenancy Clause Pointers For Shopping Center Landlords

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    Large retail tenants often require co-tenancy provisions in their leases, entitling them to remedies if a shopping center's occupancy drops in certain ways, but landlords must draft these provisions carefully to avoid giving tenants too much control, says Gary Glick at Cox Castle.

  • Assessing Algorithmic Versus Generative AI Pricing Tools

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    A comparison of traditional algorithmic pricing models and those powered by generative artificial intelligence can help regulators and practitioners weigh the pros and cons of relying on large language models to price products or services, say Maxime Cohen at McGill University, and Tim Spittle and Jimmy Royer at Analysis Group.

  • Navigating A Potpourri Of Possible Transparency Act Pitfalls

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    Despite the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's continued release of guidance for complying with the Corporate Transparency Act, its interpretation remains in flux, making it important for companies to understand potentially problematic areas of ambiguity in the practical application of the law, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Keys To Successful Commercial Property Insurance Claims

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    While insurance needs for commercial leasing arrangements are driven by the characteristics of the premises and the nature of the tenants' intended operations, there are several universal best practices landlords and their counsel can follow when making claims after loss or damage.

  • Tips For Handling Single Asset Real Estate Bankruptcy Cases

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Bankruptcy counsel should consider several strategies when representing either a debtor or lender in single asset real estate debtor Chapter 11 cases, which generally arise when a debtor is forced to file for relief to stop an impending foreclosure sale.