Although marijuana is now legal for recreational or medical use in 37 states, it is still a federal crime to grow, sell or possess marijuana. With Congress unable to come to an agreement on marijuana's legal status, the Biden administration has been considering other means at its disposal to change its legal status. Following the recommendation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last...
If the days of “extend and pretend” actually come to an end for commercial real estate loans this year, there will be a greater focus on investors’ rights to information regarding troubled properties.
New York's recreational cannabis industry has the potential to be a multibillion-dollar industry. Yet, in the first year of legality, New York cannabis is struggling to generate the expected tax revenues for the state government, with a meager $70 million in legal sales as of August. This may come as a surprise to New Yorkers, who have become accustomed to seeing dispensaries on virtually every...
Adverse market conditions and lower valuations are creating litigation risks for commercial real estate (CRE) deal parties, particularly in the office sector. At the same time, opportunities exist for refinancing and a rebound in value where regulations can be eased or adapted to help CRE survive and thrive through the post-pandemic storm.
An inescapable result of high interest rates and post-pandemic trends is downward pressure on commercial real estate valuations, especially in the office sector. Given commercial mortgage-backed securities and other deal structures in which control of the loan rests with the lowest priority interest that is in the money, reduced valuations will likely become the flashpoint for CRE litigation.
In 2022, the Uniform Law Commission adopted new amendments to the model Uniform Commercial Code ("UCC") to address cryptocurrency transactions, including secured lending involving digital assets. These amendments have been enacted by at least five states (Washington, New Mexico, Colorado, Indiana and North Dakota) and introduced in another 21 states (including California and Texas, but not New...
As observed with the rescue of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, the systemic risk exception allows the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to intervene in situations where the stability of the financial system is at risk. Although it was deployed in the 2008 financial crisis and more recently in the latest banking turmoil, there is no guarantee it will be applied again, if...
