28 new commercial real estate matters, October 26 – November 1, 2026
Every lawsuit, ruling and settlement added to the CREdocket tracker that week, grouped by practice area, with a one-line brief for each. Open any matter for the full write-up and its sources.
Landlord–Tenant (1)
District of Columbia v. RealPage, Inc. (JBG Smith and MAA's $9.3M Consent Judgments)
JBG Smith agreed to pay $8.1 million and Mid-America Apartment Communities $1.2 million to settle the D.C. Attorney General's claims that both landlords used RealPage's software to coordinate apartment rents.
Zoning & Land Use (7)
637 Arnold, LLC v. Arnold Shores, LLC (NJ Appellate Division Affirms Mixed-Use Hotel-Restaurant-Spa Zoning Approval)
New Jersey's Appellate Division affirmed a zoning board's approval letting a historic Point Pleasant Beach building be converted into a restaurant, spa, and boutique hotel, rejecting a neighboring owner's repeat variance challenge.
RJ's International Trading, LLC v. Crown Castle South, LLC (Florida Supreme Court: Easement Attorney's-Fee Clauses Don't Run With the Land)
Answering a certified question from the Eleventh Circuit, Florida's Supreme Court held an easement's prevailing-party attorney's-fee clause is a personal covenant that doesn't bind successors like Crown Castle.
Matter of Bruck v. Town of Rochester Planning Bd. (Adaptive-Reuse Site Plan Upheld Over Parking-Calculation Challenge)
New York's Third Department upheld a Planning Board's site plan approval for Accord LLC's mixed-use granary redevelopment, rejecting neighbors' claims that the project deviated from the approved plan and miscalculated restaurant parking.
Goochland County's Data Center Zoning Overlay Faces Key Court Test
Four Goochland, Virginia residents suing to void a zoning overlay that allows data centers in the West Creek business park reached a pivotal hearing in Goochland Circuit Court.
Copper Mill Sues Joint-Venture Partners POB Capital and Pactolus Over Collapsed Dorchester Development Deal
Boston developer Copper Mill sued joint-venture partners POB Capital and Pactolus Private Wealth Management, alleging they secretly shopped a $67.5M Dorchester development site at a higher price instead of funding the deal.
ECO TIP West, LLC v. Chatham County, North Carolina (Data Center Moratorium Vested-Rights Ruling)
A Chatham County, North Carolina judge granted summary judgment to data center developer ECO TIP West, ruling its $11 million project had vested rights predating the county's moratorium and ordering the county to pay damages for the delay.
Thor Equities, LLC v. City of Urbana, Ohio (Data Center Moratorium and Targeted Rezoning Suit)
Thor Equities sued Urbana, Ohio in federal court, saying the city passed an emergency moratorium and rezoned its land to block a $1 billion, 460,000-square-foot data center after Thor had already spent $19.6 million on the project.
Construction Defect (3)
Commercial Painting Company Inc. v. The Weitz Company LLC (Punitive Damages for Contractor Fraud Survive Contractual Waiver)
Tennessee's Court of Appeals upheld $3.9 million in punitive damages against general contractor Weitz for concealing a schedule extension from its drywall subcontractor, rejecting Weitz's damages-waiver defense.
PMC Property Group, Inc. v. Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (New Minnesota Alter-Ego Suit Follows Dismissal From Philadelphia Glass-Defect Case)
PMC Property Group sued Apogee Enterprises in Minnesota federal court, seeking a declaration that Wausau and Viracon are Apogee's alter egos after a Philadelphia judge dismissed Apogee from PMC's defective-glass suit for lack of jurisdiction.
Stay Lifted in Mechanics'-Lien Fight Over Monarch Casino's Black Hawk Expansion
A Colorado judge lifted the stay in PCL Construction's $45.5 million mechanics'-lien foreclosure suit against Monarch Casino's Black Hawk expansion, reviving a dispute already tied to a $74.6 million judgment in a companion case.
Lending & Foreclosure (8)
Kansas Bank Wins $46M Final Judgment, Seeks Sheriff's Sale of Stalled Mission Gateway Site
Metropolitan Commercial Bank won a $46.24 million final judgment against Aryeh Realty and asked a Kansas court for a sheriff's sale of the long-vacant former Mission Mall site in Mission, Kansas.
CMBS Trustee Hits West Loop's 540 W. Madison With $310 Million Foreclosure Suit
A bondholder trustee sued to foreclose on 540 W. Madison, a 1.15M-square-foot, 81%-leased Chicago office tower, after its senior loan matured unpaid in September 2026.
Old Second National Bank Sues to Foreclose River North Building, Pursues $2.9M Personal Guaranty Claim
Old Second National Bank sued to foreclose a River North Chicago building owed roughly $9 million, while separately pursuing a $2.9 million personal guaranty claim against the investor behind the defaulted loan.
Federal National Mortgage Association v. SYS Augusta LLC (Multifamily Loan Default and Acceleration Suit)
Fannie Mae sued SYS Augusta LLC in Georgia federal court, saying the owner of Falcon Crest Apartments defaulted on a $21.45 million loan after missing payments and now faces a separate condemnation action on the property.
Illinois Center Foreclosure: Cook County Judge Clears $260M CMBS Sheriff's Sale of AmTrust's Chicago Towers
A Cook County judge ruled against an AmTrust RE affiliate on a $260 million CMBS loan on Chicago's Illinois Center towers, clearing the way for a Nov. 12, 2026 sheriff's sale.
111 West 57th Investment LLC v. ACREFI Mortgage LLC (No-Consideration Fund Transfer Claim)
AmBase's 111 West 57th Investment LLC accused Apollo's ACREFI Mortgage of transferring funds to its parent, ARI, for no consideration, escalating the Steinway Tower mezzanine fight in a new Manhattan Supreme Court suit.
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Servicer Accuse Chicago Investor's Portfolio Entities of Multistate Mortgage Fraud
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's servicer Walker & Dunlop have sued entities tied to Chicago investor Chaim Bialostozky, alleging inflated property values on roughly $44 million of defaulted apartment loans across Illinois, Oklahoma and Connecticut.
In re Jon Venetos: Lenders File Involuntary Chapter 7 Petition Against Lurin Capital Founder
Silver Point Finance, Vista Bank and NexPoint Real Estate Finance forced Lurin Capital founder Jon Venetos into involuntary Chapter 7, citing $33.7 million in personal guaranty judgments from his multifamily syndication collapse.
Eminent Domain (4)
Lampton Securities Partnership, LLP v. Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government (Reverse Condemnation Ripeness Ruling)
Kentucky's Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of Lampton Securities' reverse condemnation suit over an Ohio River floodplain tract, holding the claim wasn't ripe because Lampton never sought a variance from the floodplain board.
Portage Township of St. Joseph County, Indiana v. City of South Bend (Eminent Domain in Redevelopment Areas Requires Council Authorization)
Indiana's Court of Appeals reversed a condemnation action against a developer's property, holding only a city's legislative body, not its mayor, can authorize eminent domain in a redevelopment project area.
BFT Rental, LLC v. City of Fayetteville (Eminent Domain Compensation Appeal)
BFT Rental, LLC lost its bid for more than the $112,180 the City of Fayetteville deposited for a condemned easement after BFT failed to appear for its own jury trial on just compensation.
GRE Downtowner LLC v. City of Seattle: Washington Appeals Court Revives Multifamily Owner's Regulatory-Takings Claim Over Rent Ordinances
A Washington appeals court revived GRE Downtowner's inverse-condemnation suit against Seattle, holding the cumulative effect of a series of rent and eviction ordinances may have taken the value of its affordable-housing property.
Commercial Lease Disputes (4)
Texas Appeals Court: Dental Tenant's Square-Footage Fraud Claim Against Former Landlord Is Time-Barred
A Texas appeals court ruled a dental practice's fraud and overcharge claims against its former shopping-center landlord Brixmor were filed too late, affirming summary judgment.
Renaissance Midtown W. LLC v. Lividini & Co., LLC: Appeals Court Affirms Dismissal of Landlord's Unpaid-Rent and Guaranty Claims
A New York appeals court affirmed dismissal of Renaissance Midtown West's suit against former tenant Lividini & Company, holding the landlord forfeited its rent claim by reentering and reletting the space without giving the lease-required notice.
Illinois Appeals Court: Landlord Proved Conversion of Its Billboard Structures, But Gets Only Nominal Damages
An Illinois appeals court found Link Media Midwest converted billboard structures on Michelmann's leased Quincy lot, but limited recovery to nominal damages because Michelmann never proved the structures' fair market value.
Alexandria Real Estate Fights to Keep Its Option on a Manhattan Life-Science Expansion Parcel From New York City
Alexandria Real Estate Equities is suing NYC Health + Hospitals and the city's Economic Development Corporation to stop them from terminating its option to expand its Manhattan life-science megacampus, after sinking $185.9 million into pre-construction costs.
Premises Liability (1)
Seneca Ins. Co. Inc. v. Cobleskill Enter., LLP (Smoke-Detector Warranty Breach Voids Hotel Fire Coverage)
New York's Third Department ruled Seneca Insurance owes no coverage for a 2018 hotel and bowling-alley fire, finding the owner breached its policy's smoke-detector warranty as a matter of law.
Get it by email. The week's new matters, rulings in cases we follow and market signals, every Monday. Subscribe free.
Browse everything in the litigation tracker, or get alerts on your own tenants, borrowers and guarantors with CREdocket Monitor.