18 new commercial real estate matters, November 2 – November 8, 2026

Fountain Place, LLC v. City of Logan Development Authority (Tax-Rebate Development Agreement Dismissal Affirmed)

West Virginia's Intermediate Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of a shopping center owner's suit demanding a 57% business-tax rebate the City of Logan stopped paying in 2021 under a 1997 annexation incentive deal.

Ritz-Carlton Development Co. Loses Appeal Over $122M Eagle County Tax Assessment on Bachelor Gulch Timeshares

Colorado's Court of Appeals affirmed Eagle County's roughly $122 million valuation of the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch's 54 fractional-ownership condominium units, rejecting Marriott subsidiary RCDC's bid for a fractional-ownership valuation discount.

Norhaven Partners, LLC v. Bartow County (Georgia Court of Appeals Affirms County's Industrial Conditional Use Permit Over Developer's Zoning Challenge)

The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed Bartow County's grant of a conditional use permit letting Rice Commercial Investments expand an industrial waste-processing operation next to developer Norhaven Partners' planned 97-unit townhome community.

PowerHouse Hillwood Holding LLC v. Commonwealth Edison Co. (FERC Blocks ComEd's Bid to Cancel $20B Joliet Data Center's Power Agreement)

FERC rejected ComEd's attempt to cancel the transmission agreement behind Hillwood's $20B Joliet data center over a disputed $1 credit filing, leaving the underlying contract fight to a federal judge in Chicago.

Landowner Sues Botetourt County Over Closed-Session Approval of Google Data Center Agreement

A Botetourt County, Virginia landowner sued the county, its Board of Supervisors and Google subsidiary Helio Capital LLC, alleging the board approved a $14 million data center agreement in closed session without disclosing its terms.

Phoenix Must Defend Data-Center Zoning Rules or Face $54M Takings Claim, Arizona Court Rules

A Texas developer suing Phoenix over data-center zoning won an order forcing the city to justify its ordinance at trial, keeping alive its claim for $54 million in lost property value under Arizona's Proposition 207.

JZ Investments, Inc. v. Chen Ji, Belpointe Prep LLC, Belpointe Prep OC LLC and BPOZ Storrs Holding, LLC

JZ Investments sued partner Chen Ji and Belpointe affiliates, alleging Chen misappropriated EB-5 funds and signed an unauthorized 2023 deal stripping JZ's ~30% stake in a UConn-area development.

CommunityAmerica Credit Union v. Liberty 35 Wacker LLC (Leo Burnett Building Foreclosure)

CommunityAmerica Credit Union sued in Cook County to foreclose a $236 million loan on Shaya Prager's 35 West Wacker Drive office tower after borrower Liberty 35 Wacker LLC defaulted.

Sinmier, LLC v. Everest Indemnity Insurance Co. (Sixth Circuit Affirms Lender's Insurance Claims Died With Its Own Settlement)

The Sixth Circuit held lender Sinmier's deed-in-lieu settlement with defaulted borrower Vintro extinguished its mortgagee insurable interest, dooming its suit against the resort's insurers.

American Dream Mall Locks In $850M Tax Cut, Beating Back Bondholder Challenge

New Jersey's Tax Court ruled the Freeze Act bars East Rutherford from raising the American Dream Mall's assessment back up for 2026-27, rejecting the bondholder trustee's bid to defeat the freeze.

Torchlight Sues Prime Group to Halt JW Marriott Chicago Conversion Work

Torchlight, special servicer for bondholders that foreclosed on Chicago's JW Marriott, sued developer Mike Reschke's Prime Group in Cook County, saying unpermitted demolition cut the hotel's phone and internet on a sold-out night.

ZOM Holding Files Chapter 11 After $308.6M Judgment Over Alleged Joint-Venture Freeze-Out

ZOM Holding and two affiliates filed Chapter 11 in Florida to fund an appeal of a $308.6 million Arizona judgment after a jury found ZOM froze out planned joint-venture partner Gray Development Group on a Phoenix multifamily and commercial pipeline.

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Tech Park Owner LLC (Rochester Tech Park $96.9M CMBS Foreclosure)

Wells Fargo is seeking summary judgment to foreclose on Rochester Tech Park, a 288-acre former Kodak office-and-industrial complex, alleging the owner owes $96.9 million on a defaulted 2017 CMBS loan.

Wilmington Trust v. 250 Livingston Owner LLC, Clipper Realty Inc. and Clipper Realty L.P. (CMBS Foreclosure)

A CMBS trustee sued to foreclose a $125 million loan on Clipper Realty's 250 Livingston Street office tower in Brooklyn after New York City agencies vacated all 342,496 square feet, winning a receiver in April 2026 with the case still unresolved.

City of Chicago Dept. of Public Health v. City of Chicago Dept. of Administrative Hearings (Southeast Side Recycling Permit Denial Reinstated)

An Illinois appeals court reinstated Chicago's denial of a large recycling facility permit for RMG affiliate General III, LLC on the Southeast Side, reversing a hearing officer's ruling that had cleared the applicant.

Columbus v. Ohio Wholesale Auto Sales, L.L.C. (Dismissed Foreclosure Does Not Extinguish Mortgage, Ohio Appeals Court Holds)

Ohio's Tenth District ruled a trial court wrongly held mortgagee Wiltshire Capital Partners' dismissed foreclosure case barred it, under res judicata, from any share of the City of Columbus's eminent domain payment on the same property.

SMRE Roswell SPE, LLC v. Melgar (Off-Duty Officer's Mistaken Unit Raid Revives Premises-Liability Claims)

Georgia's Court of Appeals revived premises-liability and punitive-damages claims against apartment owner SMRE Roswell SPE after an off-duty officer working as the complex's security wrongly raided an occupied unit using an outdated vacancy list.

NFI Apartment Management, L.L.C. v. Third Coast Insurance Company (Fifth Circuit Affirms Time-Barred Hail Coverage Claim)

The Fifth Circuit affirmed summary judgment against a San Antonio apartment owner's insurer over a $359,856.60-deductible hail claim, holding its 2024 suit came years after the limitations clock started running.

CRED iQ: CMBS Distress Hits 11.2% as Stress Shifts From New York to Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston