Do COVID-19 Shutdown Orders Excuse Lease Guarantors?
July 01, 2022
Section 22-1005 of the New York City Administrative Code provides relief for individuals who guaranteed commercial leases when the tenant defaulted as a result of government orders issued during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent months, however, litigation has emerged about the scope of that relief.
Long Term Demand Should Shield Commercial Real Estate from Inflation Impact
July 01, 2022
The U.S. economy is "still strong" and will support commercial real estate space demand, though inflation will remain a multi-year headwind, forcing the Fed to tighten monetary policy. And though rising interest rates may restrain CRE transaction activity, it won't be on a broad basis, with effects most visible in the property types and markets with the most aggressive pricing run-up over the last few years.
The Interplay Between Vendor Finance Agreements and Bankruptcy
July 01, 2022
While regularly used among lenders, manufacturers, and dealers, treatment of Inventory financing program agreements in bankruptcy is not uniform, and uncertainty exists with respect to how such agreements may be treated in the context of a manufacturer's Chapter 11.
Commercial Assets Feel Pinch of Climbing Interest Rates and Inflation
July 01, 2022
Inflation revs up the acceleration engine and, as a response, the Fed makes the biggest single hike in interest rates in four decades, with the promise of more to come. The changes in monetary policy are causing rising issues for capital markets and financing for commercial real estate.
Landlord & Tenant Law
June 01, 2022
Habitability and Harassment Claims Survive Motion to Dismiss
COVID-19 Does Not Trigger Frustration of Purpose or Impossibility Defenses
Tenant Entitled to Actual Damages for Landlord Breach, But Not to Suspension Payment
Renovations Qualified Apartment for High-Rent Vacancy Decontrol
COVID-19 Does Not Excuse Failure to Pay Rent
A Primer on Landlord Exculpatory Provisions In Leases
June 01, 2022
Keystone Specialty Services Co. v. Ebaugh
Practitioners should take note that depending on the jurisdiction, a well-drafted exculpatory clause may afford additional protections to a commercial landlord, even from its own negligent acts.
Supreme Court Addresses Municipal Sign Regulations, Again
June 01, 2022
In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court applied strict scrutiny to a sign regulation as it related to directional signs placed by a local congregation that held services at different locations each week. The Court took another look at the issue of strict scrutiny relating to "off-premises" signs in the case of City of Austin, Texas v. Reagan National Advertising , in which the majority concluded that strict scrutiny should not apply to determining whether the off-premises sign regulations at issue violated the First Amendment.
