Features

Climate Issues Becoming More Critical for Commercial Real Estate Development
Considerations for severe weather and climate, in general, have real estate developers putting more focus on how they build and operate. But add to that rising insurance rates, which have dealt a big blow to budgets as premiums continue to climb.
Features

PA Court Rules Against Property Owners Alleging Impermissible Spot Zoning
In a recently published opinion, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court rejected an appeal brought by neighboring property owners alleging that a local ordinance constituted impermissible spot zoning. In its analysis, the Commonwealth Court emphasized the heavy burden a challenger must meet to overcome the presumptive validity of a zoning ordinance.
Columns & Departments
Co-ops and Condominiums
Summary Judgment Denied In Trespass and Nuisance Claim Against Upstairs Neighbor
Features

NYC Local Law 18 On Short-Term Rentals Takes Effect
New York City's Short-Term Rental Registration Law (Local Law 18), which directly impacts the ability of an individual unit owner to rent his or her apartment on a short-term basis, took effect on Sept. 5, 2023.
Features

Is the Receiver or Debtor More Likely to Preserve and Maximize the Value of the Property In a Bankruptcy?
Many clients are not aware that the Bankruptcy Code provides that, upon the filing of a bankruptcy case, the receiver is required to give back possession of the mortgaged property to the debtor unless the lender obtains an order from the Bankruptcy Court excusing the receiver from this requirement.
Features

Evaluating Commercial Leases Post-'Rohrmoos'
Rohrmoos should encourage lawyers drafting leases, and those in lease disputes, to account for some new practical considerations. The drafting attorney should — if they are not already — include a clause in the lease expressly stating the parties' covenants are independent from one another.
Features

Local Law 18: A Change to Short-Term Rentals In New York City
On Sept. 5, 2023, the New York City Short-Term Rental Registration Law (Local Law 18) took effect which directly impacts the ability of an individual unit owner to rent his or her apartment on a short-term basis.
Features

Are Law Firms' Real Estate and Tech Spending Invariably at Odds?
But in place of the common assumption from the COVID years that real estate and technology spending were inversely related, it's becoming increasingly clear that the two line items — which trail only talent on the overall cost hierarchy — have a more complex relationship.
Features

2024 Could Mark a Turning Point for Office Sector
The drumbeat of bad news from the office sector has been so pervasive over the past years that it has almost become a fact of life. But a new report suggests that 2024 could mark a turning point — with the possibility in a few years that demand for office space will exceed supply.
Columns & Departments
Development
Contract Vendee Lacks Standing to Challenge Denial of Permit Application Board's Denial of Site Plan Approval Invalidated Inadequate SEQRA Review Requires Denial of Site Plan Approval
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
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- Private Equity Valuation: A Significant DecisionInsiders (and others) in the private equity business are accustomed to seeing a good deal of discussion ' academic and trade ' on the question of the appropriate methods of valuing private equity positions and securities which are otherwise illiquid. An interesting recent decision in the Southern District has been brought to our attention. The case is <i>In Re Allied Capital Corp.</i>, CCH Fed. SEC L. Rep. 92411 (US DC, S.D.N.Y., Apr. 25, 2003). Judge Lynch's decision is well written, the Judge reviewing a motion to dismiss by a business development company, Allied Capital, against a strike suit claiming that Allied's method of valuing its portfolio failed adequately to account for i) conditions at the companies themselves and ii) market conditions. The complaint appears to be, as is often the case, slap dash, content to point out that Allied revalued some of its positions, marking them down for a variety of reasons, and the stock price went down - all this, in the view of plaintiff's counsel, amounting to violations of Rule 10b-5.Read More ›
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- Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the RoughThere is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.Read More ›
- Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent TrollsWith trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.Read More ›