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Columns & Departments

Case Notes Image

Case Notes

Stewart E. Sterk

Tenant Entitled to Relief from Failure to Timely Exercise Renewal Option Neighbor Has Standing to Seek Damages for Violation of Zoning Ordinance

Features

Force Majeure and the Doctrine of Impossibility Image

Force Majeure and the Doctrine of Impossibility

John G. Kelly

The COVID-19 pandemic is resulting in landlords and tenants closely reviewing a clause in their lease that was long considered unimportant boilerplate. Yes, we are referring to the "force majeure" provision.

Features

Assignment and Consent Standards in Commercial Leases Image

Assignment and Consent Standards in Commercial Leases

John G. Kelly

Assignment provisions in commercial leases are heavily negotiated and very important to both landlords and tenants. This article presents a brief overview of the assignment provision in commercial leases, both office and retail.

Features

Neighbor Standing to Challenge SEQRA Determinations Image

Neighbor Standing to Challenge SEQRA Determinations

Stewart E. Sterk

When does an immediately adjacent neighbor have standing to challenge a SEQRA determination?

Features

SEC Proposes Changes to Accredited Investor Definition Image

SEC Proposes Changes to Accredited Investor Definition

Peter Fass

Real estate syndication offerings often rely on Rule 506 of Regulation D to exempt such offerings from registration under the Securities Act. Rule 506 requires that, with certain limited exceptions, purchasers of the securities offered are limited to accredited investors. Amendments proposed by the SEC in December modify certain of the existing categories of accredited investors and create certain new categories.

Features

In the Wake of Shields: Broader Implications for Decision on Commercial Landlord Liability Image

In the Wake of Shields: Broader Implications for Decision on Commercial Landlord Liability

David Incle Jr. & Christian R. Baillie

The Supreme Court of New Jersey recently revisited an oft-contested issue in the area of premises liability: whether a commercial landlord owes a duty to its tenant's business invitees to maintain the premises, under a triple net lease, where the tenant is in exclusive possession of the demised premises.

Features

Tips to Minimize Landlord's Exposure When a Commercial Tenant Files Bankruptcy Image

Tips to Minimize Landlord's Exposure When a Commercial Tenant Files Bankruptcy

Carmen Contreras-Martinez 

Landlords often have clues that a tenant is going to be filing for bankruptcy, rental payments are consistently late several months in a row and the tenant falls more than a month behind on the rent. But, it can still be shocking when a landlord receives a legal notice in the mail, instead of a rent check.

Features

Reset Clauses In Ground Leases Image

Reset Clauses In Ground Leases

Peter E. Fisch & Mitchell L. Berg

The purpose behind rent reset clauses is simple — to capture any change in the fair market value (and fair market rental value) of the leased property. However, the application of rent reset clauses in practice is anything but simple, and the consequences of such clauses can be significant.

Features

Flood and Terrorism Insurance Reauthorization: Safe for Now Image

Flood and Terrorism Insurance Reauthorization: Safe for Now

Jeffrey B. Steiner & Scott A. Weinberg

Federal programs have made insurance more readily accessible to protect real property in the event of a flood or an act of terrorism. These programs enable flood and terrorism insurance to be widely available at realistic price points by ensuring that the amount of the premiums payable for such insurance remain at a level that a borrower can afford, which in turn preserves the underwritten economics of the loan transaction.

Features

Local Law Banning Music Festival Is Not Unconstitutional Restraint of Speech Image

Local Law Banning Music Festival Is Not Unconstitutional Restraint of Speech

Steven M. Silverberg

A landowner challenged local zoning that banned holding a three-day music festival, arguing that the law was an unconstitutional violation of free speech and void for vagueness.

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