Commercial
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August 26, 2025
Kirkland Guides REIT's $285M Seattle Office Tower Refi
Hudson Pacific Properties Inc., guided by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, obtained a five-year, interest-only $285 million loan in a Wells Fargo-led deal to refinance a loan secured by the real estate investment trust's 668,000-square-foot office tower in Seattle's Denny Triangle neighborhood.
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August 26, 2025
White & Case Guides Hotel REIT's $480M Company Sale
Braemar Hotels & Resorts Inc., guided by White & Case LLP, wants to sell itself for at least $480 million, the luxury hotels- and resorts-focused real estate investment trust announced Tuesday.
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August 26, 2025
Feds Look To Dismiss Calif. Tribe's $700M Casino Dispute
The U.S. Department of the Interior, with the backing of two tribes and the California Gaming Association, is looking to dismiss a lawsuit over its decision to temporarily nix eligibility for a proposed $700 million casino and hotel project, arguing it doesn't constitute a final agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act.
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August 26, 2025
Ohio House Bills Seek To End Or Limit Property Taxes
Three bills introduced in the Ohio House of Representatives would eliminate property taxes by 2030, allow voters to introduce ballot initiatives to lower property taxes and increase the approval threshold for passage of certain property taxes.
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August 26, 2025
Tax Credit Dispute Sparks $1.3M Lawsuit Against Jersey City
A prominent Garden State developer filed a lawsuit against New Jersey's second-largest city, claiming the city improperly reversed its position on a longstanding tax agreement — demanding nearly $1.3 million in back payments that the developer says it does not owe.
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August 26, 2025
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Fried Frank, Davis Polk and Seyfarth guided a Manhattan real estate deal north of $1 billion, the first 10-figure New York City deed that's hit records this year and one of three large trades that became public last week.
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August 26, 2025
Calif. Senate OKs New Tax Default Property Sales Rules
California county boards of supervisors would be required to take new steps before approving the sale of a tax-defaulted property under a bill passed by the state Senate.
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August 26, 2025
Medical Cannabis REIT Seeks Escape From Shareholders' Suit
A cannabis-focused real estate investment trust and its executives told a Maryland federal court to permanently dismiss a proposed securities class action, arguing that most of the "core" accusations about them misleading shareholders "are speculative or factually unsupported."
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August 26, 2025
Dick's Sporting Goods Gets $2.4B Foot Locker Deal Cleared
Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. said Tuesday that the waiting period has expired for its planned $2.4 billion purchase of Foot Locker, after it had previously given the Federal Trade Commission additional time to review the deal.
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August 26, 2025
Fried Frank Guides NYC Office-To-Hotel Conversion Bid
An affiliate of Kensico Properties filed an application with the Department of City Planning to convert a New York City office building into a 30-story hotel, guided by Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP.
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August 26, 2025
Buchalter Adds Ex-Carlton Fields Attys To LA Office
Buchalter has hired two former Carlton Fields attorneys as shareholders for its corporate team in Los Angeles, and one of the announced hires is returning to the firm after almost 30 years.
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August 25, 2025
Rite Aid, Lease Buyer Hit Back At Landlord's Sale Objection
Bankrupt drugstore chain Rite Aid and the discount clothing retailer Ross Dress For Less are pushing back against a landlord who objected to the debtor's sale of 18 store leases to Ross, saying the planned sale is in Rite Aid's best interest.
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August 25, 2025
Alaska Looks To Reopen Tribal Gaming Lease Dispute
Alaska is asking a D.C. federal court to reopen a dispute that rejected an Indigenous tribe's bid to secure the right to open a bingo hall, alleging that the tribe is now claiming governmental powers over the land and treating it as Indian Country under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
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August 25, 2025
Atlanta-Area Hotels Failed To Stop Sex Trafficking, Suit Says
A group of Atlanta-area hotel owners and operators, including Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, were sued in Georgia federal court by a woman who alleged that they did nothing to prevent her from being trafficked for sex as a minor even at their properties though the signs were blatant.
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August 25, 2025
Ex-TSA Attorney Among 3 New Lawyers At Kaplan Kirsch
A former Transportation Security Administration attorney is among three lawyers who recently joined Kaplan Kirsch LLP, a Denver-based law firm that specializes in representing state, local and tribal government agencies on projects such as airport expansions and new rail lines.
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August 25, 2025
Vornado To Buy NYC Office Tower, Scraps Residential Plan
Vornado Realty Trust will pay $218 million to acquire and redevelop a 36-story office condominium into a new office property, canceling the seller's previous plan to convert the property into a residential building, the real estate investment trust announced Monday.
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August 25, 2025
Morrison Cohen Hires Ex-K&L Gates Real Estate Partner
Manhattan-based Morrison Cohen LLP announced Monday the hiring of a former K&L Gates LLP partner for its real estate practice.
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August 25, 2025
Texas Bill Would OK Low-Population Voter-Approval Tax Rates
The Texas voter-approval property tax rate, the maximum rate a local government can adopt without voter approval, would be reduced for smaller taxing authorities under a bill passed in the state Senate and a House committee.
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August 22, 2025
DC Circ. Weighing $47M Award Is Told Due Process At Stake
A Mexican businessman at the center of an allegedly fraudulent loan scheme underpinning an international tribunal's $47 million award to a Canadian investor is urging the D.C. Circuit to cancel the award, calling the underlying arbitration a "blatant denial" of due process.
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August 22, 2025
NYC Mall Lenders, Developer Ax Foreign Investor Suit
A New York federal judge dismissed foreign investors' suit over the loss of their investment in a New York City mall project, finding they failed to prove their investments were lost because parties allowed their funds to be subordinated to later financing provided by a Goldman Sachs affiliate.
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August 22, 2025
AY Strauss Boosts Commercial Real Estate Group With 4 Attys
A.Y. Strauss announced Friday that it has added two partners, one who comes aboard from Dechert LLP and another who formerly led a practice group at a boutique firm, and two other attorneys to bolster its capacity to handle commercial real estate matters.
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August 22, 2025
Rubin And Rudman Adds Environmental Land Use Law Expert
Rubin and Rudman LLP has hired a partner to the firm's environmental, land use and zoning practice group whose transactional and regulatory compliance focus will complement the firm's bench of environmental land use law and real estate law experts and litigators.
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August 22, 2025
Mich. Bills Seek New Tax On Electric Infrastructure Upgrades
Michigan would exempt replacement electric distribution infrastructure from property tax and instead impose an annual tax on the electric utility that owns the infrastructure under bills introduced in the state House of Representatives.
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August 22, 2025
Real Estate AI Co. Can't Dodge $100M Share Deal Breach Suit
A New York federal judge has mostly denied reAlpha Tech Corp.'s bid to toss a Luxembourg-based investment firm's suit seeking to enforce a $100 million share purchase agreement, rejecting reAlpha's arguments seeking to toss the suit's breach of contract and damages claims but dismissing the plaintiff's declaratory judgment claim.
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August 22, 2025
Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Weil, Fried Frank
In this week's Taxation With Representation, private equity firm Thoma Bravo buys human resources software provider Dayforce Inc. in a take-private deal, Lowe's buys Foundation Building Materials, Nexstar Media Group Inc. acquires fellow media company Tegna Inc., and Soho House & Co. Inc. inks a take-private deal with hotel operator MCR.
Expert Analysis
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Consider Best Legal Practices For Commissioning Public Art
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.
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Applying High Court's Domestic Corruption Rulings To FCPA
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.
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Climate Among Many Factors Driving Up RE Insurance Costs
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.
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Bid Protest Spotlight: Debriefings, Timeliness, Documentation
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.
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A Look At Recent Case Law On Expedited Judgment In NY
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.
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Dealmaker Lessons From CFIUS' New Enforcement Webpage
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.
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Reassessing Lease Provisions To Account For ESG Initiatives
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.
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Avoid Getting Burned By Agencies' Solar Financing Spotlight
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.
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Co-Tenancy Clause Pointers For Shopping Center Landlords
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.
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Assessing Algorithmic Versus Generative AI Pricing Tools
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.
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Navigating A Potpourri Of Possible Transparency Act Pitfalls
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.
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Keys To Successful Commercial Property Insurance Claims
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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.
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Tips For Handling Single Asset Real Estate Bankruptcy Cases
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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.