Commercial
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July 09, 2025
USDA To Crack Down On Foreign Ownership Of Farmland
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced it will work to block purchases of U.S. farmland by "nationals from countries of concern or other foreign adversaries," particularly near sites such as military bases, and "aggressively" overhaul how the department reviews agricultural investments linked to countries including China, Russia and Iran.
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July 09, 2025
Jones Foster Brings On Fla. Real Estate Veteran In Jupiter
The sole shareholder and president of Gary Dytrych & Ryan PA in North Palm Beach has taken his decades of experience in real estate law to Jones Foster PA's Jupiter, Florida, office.
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July 09, 2025
NY Judge Combines Ready Capital Investors' Stock-Drop Suits
A New York federal judge has consolidated multiple stock-drop class actions against real estate finance company Ready Capital Corp., appointed a lead plaintiff and picked Levi & Korsinsky LLP as lead counsel.
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July 09, 2025
Mass. Cos. Must Keep Bottled Water Flowing In PFAS Case
A Massachusetts federal judge has ordered defendant companies to keep providing bottled water to residents of Westminster, Massachusetts, maintaining the status quo while the court determines whether those companies have made the residents' tap water sufficiently safe from so-called forever chemicals.
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July 08, 2025
Fla. Distorted Detention Center Construction, Group Says
An environmental nonprofit claimed in Florida federal court filings Tuesday it has evidence additional land in the Everglades is being used to construct a federal immigration detention center, alleging a misrepresentation from Florida officials that the camp is built on the footprint of an existing airport structure.
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July 08, 2025
Kansas Extends STAR Bonds To Continue Chiefs, Royals Talks
Kansas lawmakers have approved a one-year extension of the state's Sales Tax and Revenue bonds while the Missouri-based Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas City Royals continue talks with officials about migrating to Kansas.
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July 08, 2025
Kohl's Says Self-Storage Renovation Led To Pa. Mall Exit
In seeking to ditch a lawsuit, Kohl's on Tuesday told a Pennsylvania federal judge that a mall owner breached a lease of two decades with an unwanted renovation project that added a nearby self-storage business and cut off the retailer's access to the mall's interior.
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July 08, 2025
Tax Court Says IRS Offer In $57M Easement Case Isn't Binding
A settlement offer the Internal Revenue Service said it mistakenly made to a partnership after rejecting its $57 million conservation easement deduction is not binding, the U.S. Tax Court said Tuesday, declining the partnership's request to enforce the deal.
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July 08, 2025
4 Firms Guide BlackRock's ElmTree Acquisition Deal
BlackRock Inc. will acquire net lease real estate investment firm ElmTree Funds, which oversees $7.3 billion worth of assets as of March 31, in a deal guided by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP, Sidley Austin LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP, BlackRock announced.
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July 08, 2025
Fla. Probes Internet Figures, REIT And Suspect Ponzi Scheme
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Tuesday announced his office has subpoenaed two internet personalities and their real estate investment trust based on allegations that they pocketed money intended for property purchases in what authorities say appears to be a Ponzi scheme.
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July 08, 2025
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Bleakley Platt and Waxman Law are among the law firms that helped with the largest New York City real estate deals that became public last week, with a nine-figure Queens trade leading the way.
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July 08, 2025
Hospitality REIT Offloads Seattle Hotel In $145M Deal
Braemar Hotels & Resorts sold a 369-room Seattle hotel for $145 million, a property first purchased in 2007 as part of a 51-property portfolio, the real estate investment trust announced Tuesday.
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July 07, 2025
Newark Property Buyer Wins Appeal Over Axed $32.8M Sale
A New Jersey appellate panel on Monday upheld a trial court's ruling that a real estate investment firm properly terminated its $32.8 million purchase agreement for a mixed-use building in Newark after receiving a noncompliant estoppel certificate from one of the tenants, rejecting the seller's argument that the certificate's deficiencies were immaterial.
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July 07, 2025
Taft Adds CRE, Project Finance Attorney In Indianapolis
Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP has hired Thomas M. Hanahan as a partner in its real estate practice group in Indianapolis.
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July 07, 2025
Fla. Firm Advises Blackstone's $200M Gulf Coast Resort Buy
Blackstone agreed to pay $200 million to acquire a Gulf Coast resort, with Florida-based Farr Law Firm advising seller Allegiant Travel Co.
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July 07, 2025
Maine Authorizes Task Force To Explore Property Tax Changes
Maine authorized the creation of a task force to explore the need for legislation and constitutional amendments to provide more effective property tax relief for residents under a bill signed by the governor.
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July 07, 2025
Tishman Speyer Lands $385M Refi For NYC Office Tower
Tishman Speyer landed a $385 million refinancing of its Class A office property at 300 Park Ave., two years after its commercial mortgage-backed securities loan was sent to special servicing, the property owner announced Monday.
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July 07, 2025
NY Firm Guides Power Authority On $206M Queens Site Buy
The New York Power Authority, advised by Bleakley Platt & Schmidt LLP, has completed a $206 million acquisition of a former Queens power plant site from a BP affiliate, with the purchase intended to bolster clean energy infrastructure.
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July 03, 2025
NY Landlord Sues Walmart, Others In Del. Alleging Fraud
A New York City landlord sued Walmart Inc. and the bankruptcy successor to Bonobos Inc. in Delaware's Court of Chancery late Thursday, asserting hundreds of million in claims and compensatory and punitive damages under both Delaware and New York law arising from an allegedly fraudulent transfer of a Fifth Avenue retailer's lease and obligations.
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July 03, 2025
Gov't Must Still Face Claim In Calif. Shipyard Cleanup Suit
A California federal judge on Thursday granted the U.S. government's bid to trim some claims from a suit challenging aspects of the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Superfund site cleanup in San Francisco, but not all of them.
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July 03, 2025
Fla. Court Rejects Oral Pact Cutting Loan Interest To 7%
A Florida state appeals court has sided with a Nevada-based lender, reversing an oral agreement to reduce interest on a $2.6 million loan from 25% to 7%, saying such agreements must be in writing.
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July 03, 2025
The Firms That Won Big At The Supreme Court
The number of law firms juggling three or more arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court this past term nearly doubled from the number of firms that could make that claim last term.
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July 03, 2025
Residents Urge Judge To Redo Ruling Backing Alaska Casino
A group of Anchorage, Alaska, residents opposed to a plan to build a casino urged a federal judge to reconsider a ruling finding the Native Village of Eklutna has sovereign immunity and can't face a lawsuit seeking to block the development plan.
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July 03, 2025
Breaking Down The Vote: The High Court Term In Review
The U.S. Supreme Court once again waited until the term's closing weeks — and even hours — to issue some of its most anticipated and divided decisions.
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July 03, 2025
EQT Fund Snaps Up Calif. Industrial Portfolio
EQT Real Estate's industrial fund acquired a 2.04 million-square-foot portfolio of four fully leased, Class A modern logistics facilities in Manteca, California, the real estate arm of EQT Group announced.
Expert Analysis
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Negotiating Triparty Hotel Agreements To Withstand Risk
Brewing economic uncertainty in the hospitality industry underscores the importance of subordination, nondisturbance and attornment agreements, and hotel managers should tightly negotiate these agreements to ensure remedies will not disturb key rights, say attorneys at Sidley.
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CRE Challenges Demand New Lease And Development Plans
As developers and landlords face declining occupancy of commercial, industrial and office space post-pandemic, a combination of business and lease considerations may better position stakeholders to protect the value and profitability of their commercial real estate, says Geoffrey Leskie at Segal McCambridge.
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Ch. 11 Free-And-Clear Sale Ruling Takes Pragmatic Approach
A recent ruling from a New York bankruptcy court in which the debtors were allowed to sell interests free and clear regardless of a lienholder's objection signals a practical approach and a recalibration of the balance between debtor flexibility and creditor protections, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.
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What's At Stake As 9th Circ. Eyes Cultural Resource Damages
In Pakootas v. Teck Cominco, the Ninth Circuit is faced with the long-unresolved question of whether cultural resource damages are recoverable as part of natural resource damages under the Superfund law — and the answer will have enormous implications for companies, natural resource trustees and Native American tribes, says Sarah Bell at Farella Braun.
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5 Insurance Types For Mitigating Tariff-Related Trade Losses
The potential for significant trade-related losses as a result of increased tariffs may cause companies to consider which of their insurance policies, including marine, builders risk, trade credit, and directors and officers, could provide coverage to alleviate the financial impact, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
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Avoiding Pitfalls Around New Calif. Commercial Lease Law
A California law that became effective this year requires commercial landlords to extend certain protections previously afforded to residential tenancies, and a few key provisions of the law especially warrant reexamination of leasing and operational processes, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Measuring And Mitigating Harm From Discriminatory Taxes
In response to new tariffs and other recent "America First Trade Policy" pronouncements, corporations should assess and take steps to minimize their potential exposure to discriminatory and reciprocal tax measures that are likely to come, say economists at Charles River Associates.
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Addressing Tariff Price Escalation In Construction Contracts
As construction projects across the U.S. face uncertainty surrounding material price increases driven by government-imposed tariffs, owners and developers should draft strong contracts to protect themselves from tariff-related cost overruns and delays, say attorneys at Akerman.
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How The CRE Industry Is Adapting To Tariff Uncertainty
Amid uncertainty about pending tariffs and their potential ripple effects, including higher material costs, supply chain delays and tighter margins, commercial real estate industry players are focusing on strategic planning and risk mitigation, says Daniel Diaz Leyva at Day Pitney.
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Reconciling 2 Smoke Coverage Cases From California
As highlighted by a California Department of Insurance bulletin clarifying the effect of two recent decisions on insurance coverage, the February state appellate ruling denying coverage for property damage from smoke, ash and soot should be viewed as an outlier, say attorneys at Reed Smith.
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Contractor Remedies Amid Overhaul Of Federal Spending
Now that the period for federal agencies to review their spending has ended, companies holding procurement contracts or grants should evaluate whether their agreements align with administration policies and get a plan ready to implement if their contracts or grants are modified or terminated, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
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Contract Disputes Recap: Terminations Galore
Attorneys at Seyfarth examine three recent decisions in which the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals and the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals provide valuable insights into contract terminations, modifications and the jurisdictional requirements for claims.
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Making The Opportunity Zones Program Great At Last
As the opportunity zone program approaches its expiration, the Republican-led government could take specific steps to extend and improve the program, address its structural flaws, encourage broader participation and enable it to live up to its promised outcomes, say attorneys at Pillsbury.