Commercial
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February 14, 2025
Morgan & Morgan Atty Accused Of Setting Up Rape Charges
Three men, including a real estate executive and a broker, facing sexual assault charges are asking a Florida court to force prosecutors to hand over reports by the victim's attorney at Morgan & Morgan PA, who the defendants say became part of the prosecution team and helped bring the charges.
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February 14, 2025
Maine Judge Denies Challenge To Corporate Transparency Act
A Maine federal judge upheld the Corporate Transparency Act, rejecting one of several challenges across federal courts claiming Congress lacked the power to require companies to disclose their real owners.
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February 14, 2025
Calif. Insurance Chief Backs Wildfire Mitigation, Recovery Bills
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced his support Friday for a slew of bills aimed at addressing wildfire mitigation and recovery, including measures to maximize insurance claim payouts and stabilize the state's insurer of last resort.
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February 14, 2025
Adams Case Careens Toward 'Messy' Hearing, Experts Say
The Manhattan federal judge overseeing the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams is unlikely to rubber stamp a request from the U.S. Department of Justice to toss the case and may instead hold a hearing on the matter, which could get "messy" and "embarrassing," experts say.
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February 14, 2025
DOJ Files Motion To Drop Adams Case After Prosecutors Exit
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, following a flood of resignations by government lawyers who defied a top DOJ official's orders to drop the charges for political reasons.
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February 14, 2025
Akerman Brings On GC For Land Developer In Miami
Akerman LLP has expanded its real estate practice in Miami with a partner who formerly served as general counsel for the land developer of a master-planned community in South Florida.
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February 14, 2025
Developers Break Ground On New Orleans Office Project
Cypress Equities and Lauricella Land Co. announced that they have broken ground on an eight-story office tower in New Orleans' River District, adding that the project is the first Class A office building built within city limits since 1989.
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February 14, 2025
Data Center Execs See DeepSeek, Efficient AI As A Positive
Heads of two of the biggest data center companies said over the past week that the efficiencies of DeepSeek's artificial intelligence models are a boon for them and their industry, comments that come after their stock prices oscillated following news of the Chinese startup's product.
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February 14, 2025
KKR Secures Over $850M For Real Estate Credit Strategy
Global investment giant KKR on Friday announced it had clinched its second opportunistic real estate credit fund, raising over $850 million for a dedicated strategy of investments in senior loans and real estate securities in the U.S. and Western Europe.
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February 14, 2025
What REITs Should Know About ESG Under Trump
Public companies in the real estate space should heed President Donald Trump's orders dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and think about what those directives mean for their environmental, social and corporate governance practices, a Sidley Austin LLP practice leader said.
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February 13, 2025
Calif. Fire Debris Ruling Raises LA Blaze Recovery Concerns
A California appellate court's ruling that two homeowners didn't have a covered claim for wildfire debris in their home has raised policyholder concerns that the decision could restrict coverage for Los Angeles fire victims, but some carrier lawyers say the ruling's impact could be limited to claims for lighter damage.
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February 13, 2025
Eric Adams Donor Accused Of Stealing COVID Housing Funds
A New York City hotel owner with ties to Mayor Eric Adams was among three individuals accused of scheming to steal tens of millions of dollars from a program intended to get certain incarcerated individuals out of detention centers during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.
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February 13, 2025
Exec Cops To Conspiring To Overbill Gov't In Station Project
A former executive for a masonry contractor involved in the multimillion-dollar restoration of Philadelphia's historic 30th Street Station has admitted to a scheme that involved bribing an Amtrak employee to overcharge the federal government $2 million for the project, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia said Thursday.
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February 13, 2025
NC Biz Court Bulletin: Defaulted Notes, EB-5 Investor Fraud
The North Carolina Business Court has been handed in the first half of February a receivership case involving a defaulted $17.5 million promissory note, a fraud suit by Chinese EB-5 investors and a request to depose the chief legal officer of Smithfield Foods Inc.
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February 13, 2025
Ashford Closes $580M Mortgage Loan Secured By 16 Hotels
Dallas-based Ashford Hospitality Trust said it has secured $580 million in financing to pay off debt coming due this summer with a new loan secured by 16 properties, part of a nearly $1 billion portfolio in default after a 2018 deal.
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February 13, 2025
Profs Back Hotel Guests In 3rd Circ. Algorithmic Pricing Case
A group of academics has joined antimonopoly groups to support hotel guests accusing several Atlantic City casino hotels of using shared software to fix room rates in their Third Circuit fight to revive their suit.
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February 13, 2025
Brookfield Eyes Data Centers In Optimistic Market Outlook
Canadian asset manager Brookfield Corp. said Thursday in its fourth-quarter earnings call it expects the real estate market to recover, and sees big investment opportunities at the intersection of infrastructure and renewable power for data centers.
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February 13, 2025
Buyer Seeks $3.5M Price Cut Over Bungled Conn. Mill Cleanup
A property developer has asked a Connecticut Superior Court judge to lower the purchase price of a polluted industrial site in Branford from $6 million to $2.5 million, saying the seller failed to develop legitimate remediation plans and breached a settlement agreement that ended prior litigation.
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February 13, 2025
Three Firms Guide $375M Data Center Bridge Financing
Applied Digital Corp. closed on a $375 million financing with SMBC in a deal guided by Milbank, Lowenstein Sandler and Paul Hastings, a loan that the company says will help it pay down a senior secured note and continue construction on a North Dakota campus.
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February 13, 2025
NYC Man Pleads Guilty To $62.8M Crowdfunded CRE Scheme
A New York City man who raised $62.8 million through commercial real estate platform CrowdStreet for sham developments in Atlanta, Georgia, and Miami Beach, Florida, has pled guilty to a federal wire fraud charge.
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February 13, 2025
SDNY US Atty Resigns, Alleging Trump-Adams 'Quid Pro Quo'
Danielle R. Sassoon, the interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, resigned Thursday after she refused an order by U.S. Department of Justice officials to drop the federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams and expressed concern the move was part of an improper quid pro quo with President Donald Trump.
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February 13, 2025
Developer Starts $1B Fla. Mixed-Use Redevelopment Project
Terra started work on the first phase of its $1 billion redevelopment project that aims to turn the Dolphin Station Park-and-Ride Transit Terminal Facility in Miami-Dade County into a 47-acre, mixed-use community with transit options, homes and places to shop, the developer announced Thursday.
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February 12, 2025
Avison Young CEO Urges Steadiness For Real Estate In 2025
The head of global commercial real estate services firm Avison Young on Wednesday encouraged keeping a focus on the cyclical nature of the industry and long-term principles in the face of numerous current uncertainties in the world.
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February 12, 2025
Rhodium Says Landlord Tried To 'Destroy' It In $300M Suit
Bankrupt Bitcoin mining company Rhodium Encore has filed a $300 million lawsuit in Texas bankruptcy court accusing competitor Riot Platforms and landlord and power provider Whinstone US Inc. of sabotaging its business and driving it into bankruptcy.
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February 12, 2025
Developer Trio Plans To Build 1,600-Foot Manhattan Tower
Vornado Realty Trust, Rudin Management and Citadel are aiming to put up a roughly 1,600-foot tower on Park Avenue in Manhattan, and Law360 has added that project to its Tall Buildings Tracker.

Emerging Hot Spots In Real Estate Practices
New real estate practice areas are emerging as the commercial real estate lending landscape shifts, office landlords look to repurpose their buildings, distress plays out and a race to build data centers shows no sign of slowing.

Latham, Hogan Lovells Advise Hyatt's $2.6B Playa Hotels Buy
Latham & Watkins LLP guided Hyatt Hotels Corp. on a $2.6 billion acquisition announced Monday of Playa Hotels & Resorts NV — which operates resorts in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica — and worked with Hogan Lovells on the deal.

Industrial REIT Says Interest Rates Dampen 2025 Outlook
A Rexford Industrial Realty Inc. executive told investors that, while the real estate investment trust had "solid results" in the fourth quarter, high interest rates and other economic factors are poised to slow its growth in 2025.
Expert Analysis
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Nippon Order Tests Gov't Control Over Foreign Investments
The U.S. government is primarily interested in restraining foreign transactions involving countries of concern, but former President Joe Biden’s January order blocking the merger of Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel shows that all foreign direct investments are under the federal government’s microscope, say attorneys at Blank Rome.
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A Look At A Possible Corporate Transparency Act Exemption
Attorneys at Kirkland offer a deep dive into the application of the Corporate Transparency Act's reporting requirements specifically to U.S.-domiciled co-issuers in typical collateralized loan obligation transactions, and consider whether such issuers may be able to assert an exemption from the CTA's reporting requirements.
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As EPA Backs Down, Expect Enviros To Step Up Citizen Suits
As President Donald Trump's U.S. Environmental Protection Agency draws down federal enforcement efforts, environmental groups will step into the void and file citizen suits — so companies should focus on compliance efforts, stay savvy about emerging analytical and monitoring methods, and maintain good relations with neighbors, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.
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Emphasize Social Spaces During RE Project Public Review
As Boston continues to work through revisions to its public review process for real estate projects, developers attempting to balance impact mitigation and community improvements may benefit from emphasizing the ways in which development plans can facilitate open social exchange, says David Linhart at Goulston & Storrs.
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What Contractors Can Do To Address Material Cost Increases
In light of the Trump administration's plans to increase tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, construction industry players should proactively employ legal strategies to mitigate the impacts that price increases and uncertainty may have on projects, says Brenda Radmacher at Seyfarth Shaw.
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Reg Waiver Eases Calif. Rebuilding, But Proceed With Care
California Gov. Gavin Newsom's executive order suspending some environmental review and permitting requirements for the reconstruction of homes and businesses damaged by recent wildfires may streamline rebuilding efforts, but will require careful navigation of the evolving regulatory landscape, says Gregory Berlin at Alston & Bird.
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Insurance Considerations For LA Wildfire Recovery
Businesses and homeowners affected by the destructive Southern California wildfires must act swiftly and strategically to navigate the complexities of the insurance recovery process, including by identifying all applicable policies, documenting damage thoroughly and keeping abreast of relevant state law, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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LA Wildfires' Effect On Calif. Insurer Of Last Resort
Attorneys at Willkie discuss the background of California's insurer of last resort — known as the Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan — and examine the process of assessing member insurers and relevant recent property insurance market developments in light of the destruction from the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires.
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Public Corruption Enforcement In 2024 Has Clues For 2025
If 2024 activity is any indication, the U.S. Supreme Court will likely continue to rein in expansive prosecutorial theories of fraud in the year to come, but it’s harder to predict what the new administration will mean for public corruption prosecutions in 2025, says Cathy Fleming at Offit Kurman.
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Small Biz Caught In Corporate Transparency Act Crossfire
Despite compliance being put on hold due to a nationwide preliminary injunction, small businesses have been caught in the middle of the legal battle over the Corporate Transparency Act — and confusion over the law's requirements could result in major penalties, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.
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What's Ahead As Transparency Act Comes To A Crossroads
Synthesizing the contrasting federal district and appellate court rulings on the Corporate Transparency Act’s validity reveals several main areas of debate that will likely remain at issue as challenges to the law continue winding through the courts, say attorneys at Farella Braun.
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Timeline Considerations For Boston's New RE Review Process
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.
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The Story Of 2024's Biggest Bank Regs, And Their Fate In 2025
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.