Real Estate Transactions

Jeff Moerdler breaks down the top 10 legal issues facing data centers today – including the shift from leases to MSAs, the rise of leaseback transactions, data privacy challenges and the impact of COVID-19 and new technologies.

This alert discusses the U.S. Treasury’s proposed regulations on like-kind exchanges under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code, which provide guidance in light of statuary changes under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

The Second Circuit recently affirmed that a developer’s whitewashing of street art painted at the “5Pointz” warehouse complex in Long Island City was a violation of the Visual Artists Rights Act (“VARA,” codified at 17 U.S.C. § 106A).

This alert covers new regulations taking effect on February 13, 2020 that significantly broaden CFIUS’s jurisdiction by granting it significant new review power over foreign investments in US businesses and real estate.

This articles outlines the Treasury Department’s second set of proposed regulations, released on April 17, 2019, for the implementation of the Opportunity Zone Program.

This article outlines the Treasury Department’s initial guidance for implementation of the qualified opportunity zone tax incentive program, designed to encourage investment in low-income communities.

Last week, the long-awaited proposed bill for a comprehensive reform of the U.S. tax code (the “Proposed Tax Reform”) was finally released.

Even with a reduced lineup of only two commissioners — the Republican Acting Chair and one Democratic Commissioner — the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC” or “Commission”) filed an administrative complaint this week against the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board (the “Louisiana Board”) alleging that the Louisiana Board unreasonably restrains competition in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act by limiting the freedom of individual appraisers and their customers to engage in negotiations to set fees for real estate appraisals.

Last September, Governor Brown signed California Assembly Bill 2093 (“AB 2093”) which amended California Civil Code Section 1938 and created new obligations for commercial landlords. 

On September 23, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit concluded that, “for now, at least, the long war over Long Wharf is at an end.”

The Massachusetts Appeals Court issued an opinion on August 29, 2016, that has significant ramifications for developers seeking Comprehensive Permits for affordable housing projects under chapter 40B of the Massachusetts General Laws (“Chapter 40B”).

On April 15, 2016, the IRS released a generic legal advice memorandum (GLAM 2016-001) (the “April GLAM”) addressing the impact of so-called “bad boy” guarantees (also known as nonrecourse carve-out guarantees) on the characterization of underlying partnership debt as recourse vs. nonrecourse under Section 752 of the Internal Revenue Code.

In the Winter 2015 issue of the ABA’s Natural Resources & Environment magazine, John Barkett retraced the Supreme Court’s treatment of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) from Key Tronic to Waldburger and, looking back over that history, he makes the unassailable observation that the Court’s decisions have been, and will continue to be, guided by the plain meaning of CERCLA’s text.

You can bet on it! The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a new set of regulations effective January 2, 2015 that will create major burdens for underground storage tank (UST) owners and operators.

On January 1, 2014, a new law governing limited liability companies (“LLCs”) went into effect in California.

In September 2012, the California State Legislature enacted SB 1186 in an effort to cut back on opportunistic litigation and encourage compliance with disability access laws.