Eminent Domain
Verified Update
Ruling Issued
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.
Lampton Securities Partnership, LLP sued Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government and the Louisville and Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District for reverse (inverse) condemnation, alleging that 1997 floodplain ordinances stripped all economically beneficial use from a roughly two-acre Ohio River tract it bought for $800,000 in 1998. On October 30, 2026, the Kentucky Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for the government defendants, holding that Lampton's claim was not ripe because it never applied to the Metro Sewer District's Floodplain Board for a variance -- relief the ordinance made available and that the Board had granted to other landowners.
Reverse condemnation claim over a 2-acre tract Lampton bought for $800,000 in 1998; the opinion states no damages figure sought
Oct 30, 2026
Court of Appeals of Kentucky
Zoning & Land Use
Verified Update
Ruling Issued
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.
The Appellate Division of New Jersey's Superior Court affirmed a trial court's dismissal of a neighboring commercial property owner's prerogative-writs challenge to use variances the Point Pleasant Beach Zoning Board of Adjustment granted for a mixed-use redevelopment of the historic Gottlieb Building. The Board had unanimously approved a restaurant and spa on the ground floor and a previously approved boutique hotel use on the second floor; objector 637 Arnold, LLC argued the public notice was deficient and the Board misapplied New Jersey's variance standards, but the per curiam panel found no basis to disturb the trial court's reasoning and affirmed.
no damages at issue; dispute over use variances for a mixed hotel/restaurant/spa redevelopment of a historic downtown building
Oct 30, 2026
Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division
Zoning & Land Use
Verified Update
Ruling Issued
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.
The Florida Supreme Court, answering a certified question from the Eleventh Circuit, held on October 29, 2026 that a prevailing-party attorney's-fee provision in an easement agreement is a personal covenant that does not run with the land. Crown Castle South, LLC therefore cannot be forced to pay RJ's International Trading, LLC's attorney's fees under a fee clause that Crown Castle's predecessors-in-interest, not Crown Castle itself, agreed to decades earlier, even though Crown Castle was bound by -- and lost on -- the underlying easement and trespass claims.
$40,001 jury verdict ($1 for breach of easement, $40,000 for trespass); the attorney's-fee amount actually in dispute is not stated in the opinion
Oct 29, 2026
Supreme Court of Florida
Premises Liability
Verified Update
Ruling Issued
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.
New York's Appellate Division, Third Department, ruled on October 29, 2026 that Seneca Insurance Company Inc. owes no coverage for a December 2018 fire at a hotel, restaurant and bowling-alley complex owned by Cobleskill Enterprise, LLP, reversing a trial court and holding that the owner breached its policy's protective safeguards endorsement, a warranty requiring operational smoke detectors throughout the property, as a matter of law. The court found the breach materially increased the risk of loss under New York Insurance Law § 3106 given testimony that multiple areas of the complex, including the pool, bowling alley, basement and dining room, had no functioning smoke detectors at all.
Coverage dispute over fire damage to a hotel, restaurant and bowling-alley complex; no dollar figure for the loss is stated in the opinion
Oct 29, 2026
Appellate Division, Third Department, New York
Eminent Domain
Verified Update
Ruling Issued
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.
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled on October 29, 2026 that a city's legislative body, not its mayor or other officials, holds exclusive authority to exercise eminent domain over property inside a statutorily designated redevelopment project area, reversing a trial court that had allowed the City of South Bend to pursue a condemnation action against property owned by Argos 316, LLC without a vote of the South Bend Common Council. Objectors Portage Township, which had purchased the property after the condemnation suit was filed, and 350 Columbia Street, LLC, which held easement rights over it, successfully argued the City's suit was unauthorized under Indiana Code section 36-7-14-20(a).
Not stated; dispute concerns authority to condemn, not a damages or compensation figure
Oct 29, 2026
Indiana Court of Appeals
Zoning & Land Use
Verified Update
Ruling Issued
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.
New York's Appellate Division, Third Department, affirmed on October 29, 2026 a Planning Board's conditional site plan approval for Accord, LLC's adaptive-reuse redevelopment of a historic granary and seed mill complex in the Hamlet of Accord, Town of Rochester, rejecting neighboring property owners' claims that the approved site plan improperly deviated from the Town Board's conceptual development plan and miscalculated the project's restaurant parking requirement. The court held the Planning Board had broad discretion to find the scaled-back project in substantial conformance with the original plan and to adopt the Town Board's parking determination.
Not a monetary dispute; challenge to a conditional site plan approval for an adaptive-reuse development
Oct 29, 2026
Appellate Division, Third Department, New York
Commercial Lease Disputes
Verified Update
Ruling Issued
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.
The Texas Thirteenth Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for Brixmor GA Apollo II TX LP against Veena Dental PA, a tenant at the Northshore Plaza shopping center in Portland, Texas, that had sued Brixmor in 2024 alleging the landlord misrepresented its leased space as 1,863 square feet when it was actually about 1,500 square feet, resulting in years of rent overcharges. The court held Veena's breach-of-contract, fraud and DTPA claims were all barred by limitations, since Veena's own 2013 construction plans reflected the true, smaller square footage and made the discrepancy discoverable well before Veena measured the space in 2023.
Unspecified rent-overcharge and fraud damages (space leased as ~1,863 sq ft; tenant alleged true size was ~1,500 sq ft)
Oct 29, 2026
Thirteenth Court of Appeals, Corpus Christi-Edinburg, Texas
Eminent Domain
Verified Update
Ruling Issued
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.
The Arkansas Court of Appeals affirmed a directed verdict in favor of the City of Fayetteville after BFT Rental, LLC failed to appear for the jury trial set to determine just compensation for a condemned easement, leaving BFT's recovery capped at the City's $112,180 pre-trial deposit. The court held BFT forfeited appellate review of its claim that the circuit court erred in allowing its attorney to withdraw while denying a continuance, because BFT raised that objection for the first time in a post-trial motion rather than contemporaneously.
$112,180 just-compensation deposit, affirmed as the ceiling on recovery
Oct 28, 2026
Arkansas Court of Appeals, Division III (No. CV-25-506); Washington County Circuit Court (No. 72CV-23-3442)
Construction Defect
Verified Update
Ruling Issued
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.
The Tennessee Court of Appeals affirmed on October 28, 2026 a trial court judgment of $8,359,863.83, including $3.9 million in punitive damages, against general contractor The Weitz Company, LLC in a fraud suit brought by its drywall subcontractor, Commercial Painting Company, Inc., over a Shelby County retirement-community project. The court rejected Weitz's argument that the parties' contractual waiver of consequential damages barred the jury's punitive award for intentional misrepresentation, in the fifth appeal of this litigation to reach the court.
$8.36M combined jury verdict, including $3.9M in punitive damages, affirmed
Oct 28, 2026
Court of Appeals of Tennessee
Commercial Lease Disputes
Verified Update
Ruling Issued
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.
The Appellate Division, First Department unanimously affirmed dismissal of Renaissance Midtown West LLC's amended complaint against former office tenant Lividini & Company, LLC, holding the landlord was required to give the tenant notice under the lease's conditional-limitation clause before reentering and reletting the space after the tenant vacated early. The court also affirmed dismissal of the landlord's guaranty claim, because the lease's attached guaranty form was never signed, and its veil-piercing claim against the tenant's principal, for lack of factual allegations of domination and abuse of the corporate form.
Unpaid rent for balance of lease term (amount not stated in opinion)
Oct 27, 2026
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, First Department
Construction Defect
Verified Update
Filed
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.
PMC Property Group, Inc. filed a new federal complaint against Apogee Enterprises, Inc. on October 27, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, asserting unjust enrichment and two declaratory-judgment claims seeking to establish that Apogee's subsidiaries, Wausau Window and Wall Systems and Viracon, are alter egos of their corporate parent. The filing follows a late-August 2026 ruling in PMC's separate Eastern District of Pennsylvania suit over spontaneously shattering windows at three Philadelphia apartment towers, in which the court dismissed Apogee from that case for lack of personal jurisdiction while allowing PMC's manufacturing-defect claims against Wausau and Viracon to proceed.
PMC says it paid roughly $50 million for the Wausau window systems at the three towers; the new complaint does not plead a specific damages figure
Oct 27, 2026
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota
Lending & Foreclosure
Verified Update
Filed
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.
A trustee representing bondholders on the senior mortgage loan secured by 540 W. Madison Street, a 1.15-million-square-foot, 81%-leased Chicago office tower, filed a $310 million foreclosure suit in Cook County Circuit Court against ownership entity 540 West Madison Owner LLC after the loan matured unpaid in September 2026. The building reportedly generates over $18 million in annual net cash flow against roughly $5.3 million in debt service, making this a maturity default rather than a cash-flow default.
$310 million foreclosure suit following a maturity default on the senior loan
Oct 27, 2026
Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Chancery Division
Commercial Lease Disputes
Verified Update
Ruling Issued
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.
The Illinois Appellate Court's Fourth District ruled on October 26, 2026 in Michelmann Steel Construction Co. v. Link Media Midwest, LLC that Link Media, an outdoor-advertising company, converted billboard structures it removed from a Quincy, Illinois lot it leased from landlord Michelmann Steel Construction Company, reversing the trial court on that point. But because Michelmann never offered evidence of the structures' fair market value, as opposed to their replacement cost, the court held Michelmann is entitled only to nominal damages, and otherwise affirmed the Adams County circuit court's rulings, including a judgment in Michelmann's favor on unpaid rent under the decades-old lease.
Nominal damages for conversion (lease rent was $400/year with 10% annual increases under the operative 1987 lease); fair market value of the removed billboard structures not proven
Oct 26, 2026
Appellate Court of Illinois, Fourth District
Eminent Domain
Verified Update
Ruling Issued
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.
Washington's Court of Appeals, Division One, reversed a trial court's dismissal of GRE Downtowner LLC's inverse condemnation claims against the City of Seattle, holding the company adequately pleaded that a series of tenant-protection ordinances adopted since 2018 collectively amount to a compensable regulatory taking of its affordable-housing property, Addison on Fourth. The case returns to King County Superior Court for further proceedings on the merits.
Alleged cumulative operating losses of nearly $6 million through 2023 on a $39 million affordable-housing investment
Oct 26, 2026
Washington Court of Appeals, Division One
Lending & Foreclosure
Verified Update
Filed
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.
Old Second National Bank filed a foreclosure suit in Cook County Circuit Court against Great Street LLC over a River North building at 400 N. State Street, alleging roughly $9 million owed as of October 21, 2026. The bank is separately pursuing $2.9 million from the investor behind the entity personally under a loan guaranty, and has named MAB Capital Management and WFB Gift as additional defendants.
$9 million foreclosure suit, including a separate $2.9 million personal guaranty claim
Oct 26, 2026
Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Chancery Division
Environmental
Verified Update
Ruling Issued
A California appeals court reversed a $12,245,108.42 groundwater contamination judgment against the current and former owners of a Los Angeles industrial property over a 1,4-dioxane plume.
California's Second Appellate District reversed a $12,245,108.42 judgment on October 22, 2026 against the current and former owners of an industrial property at 1919 Vineburn Avenue in Los Angeles, holding that a downgradient neighbor's reliance on an environmental consultant's contamination report did not establish liability as a matter of law. The trial court had granted summary adjudication to plaintiffs Joseph F. Farivar Investment Group and tenant Bordan Shoe Company on negligence, continuing nuisance, continuing trespass, and declaratory relief claims over a 1,4-dioxane plume that migrated from the former Nardon Manufacturing Company facility onto their property.
$12.2 million judgment reversed on appeal
Oct 22, 2026
California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division One
Commercial Lease Disputes
Verified Update
Ruling Issued
On reconsideration, an Ohio appeals court held Crocker Park waived its right of first refusal over a parcel in its Westlake mixed-use development by delay, while affirming its win on the city's counterclaims.
The Ohio Court of Appeals for the Eighth Appellate District vacated its own July 30, 2026 decision on reconsideration and held, in an opinion released October 22, 2026, that the trial court erred in declaring Crocker Park, L.L.C. had not waived its right of first refusal over a parcel within the Crocker Park mixed-use development. The court affirmed other rulings in Crocker Park's favor -- including summary judgment defeating the City of Westlake's slander-of-title and abuse-of-process counterclaims -- but reversed and remanded the right-of-first-refusal issue after finding Crocker Park failed to exercise the right within a reasonable time.
Right of first refusal over a parcel within the Crocker Park development (no dollar figure stated in the opinion)
Oct 22, 2026
Ohio Court of Appeals, Eighth Appellate District
Commercial Lease Disputes
Verified Update
Ruling Issued
The Colorado Court of Appeals reversed an $8.2 million rent judgment against X Corp. (formerly Twitter) over its Boulder office lease, holding the tenant-improvement rent credit applied automatically.
On October 22, 2026, a unanimous Colorado Court of Appeals panel reversed the Boulder County judgment that had held Twitter, now X Corp., liable to landlord Lot 2 SBO, LLC for about $8.2 million in unpaid rent and expenses on a 64,557-square-foot office building in Boulder. The panel held that the lease's tenant-improvement rent credit took effect automatically once the build-out reached the lease threshold and the tenant gave written notice, whether or not the landlord had yet received lien-clearing draw documents. It did not enter judgment for X. It sent the case back to the trial court with directions.
$8.2 million judgment reversed (reported elsewhere as $8.3 million, or about $10 million with attorney fees)
Oct 22, 2026
Colorado Court of Appeals, Division IV (appeal from Boulder County District Court)
Commercial Lease Disputes
Verified Update
Ruling Issued
New York's First Department affirmed a $307,326.18 judgment for Colliers against landlord City Hall Commons for a broker commission on a 2019 lease renewal.
On October 22, 2026, the Appellate Division, First Department unanimously affirmed a $307,326.18 money judgment for broker Colliers International NY LLC against landlord City Hall Commons LLC. The commission was for a September 2019 lease renewal with a nonparty tenant. The court held that the renewal agreement's statement that Colliers was the exclusive broker and that the landlord would pay its fee, together with emails showing Colliers' role in the negotiations, entitled the broker to its commission as a matter of law. The landlord's later refusal to sign a separate brokerage agreement did not change that.
$307,326.18 commission judgment
Oct 22, 2026
New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department
Lending & Foreclosure
Verified Update
Filed
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.
Fannie Mae filed suit on October 22, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia against SYS Augusta LLC, the single-asset owner of Falcon Crest Apartments in Augusta, alleging the borrower missed monthly payments of roughly $103,138.75 for August through October 2026 after an already-late July payment. Fannie Mae accelerated the full $21.45 million loan balance on September 1, 2026, and the complaint also says the defaults coincided with a separate condemnation proceeding against the property.
$21.45 million
Oct 22, 2026
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia
Commercial Lease Disputes
Verified Update
Ruling Issued
New York's Second Department reversed a $1,004,426.20 sublease rent judgment for VK Dental Group, finding the sublessee's claim that VK breached on utilities and gas service raised a triable issue.
New York's Appellate Division, Second Department reversed a $1,004,426.20 judgment on October 21, 2026 that sublessor VK Dental Group, Inc. had won against sublessee Tender Touch Physical Therapy, PLLC for unpaid rent under a commercial sublease. The panel held that the sublessee raised a triable issue of fact by submitting an affidavit alleging VK Dental itself breached the sublease, by failing to pay its share of utilities and by having the premises' gas service disconnected, and denied VK Dental's motion for summary judgment outright.
$1,004,426.20 judgment reversed
Oct 21, 2026
Appellate Division, Second Department, New York
Landlord–Tenant
Verified Update
Ruling Issued
A Michigan appeals court affirmed a $411,131.50 arbitration award for landlord Padilla Investments after tenants abandoned a Detroit retail space cited for code violations they took on under an as-is lease.
The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed a $411,131.50 arbitration award in favor of landlord Padilla Investments, LLC against tenants Trucks Rx, Inc. and Jana Trucking Line, Inc., who had abandoned a Detroit retail space after the city cited it for code violations, including the lack of a required sprinkler system. The arbitrator found the tenants, who took the property "as is" under a three-year commercial lease, were contractually responsible for bringing the premises into compliance, not the landlord, and the appellate panel held that finding was not legally erroneous or in excess of the arbitrator's authority.
$411,131.50 arbitration award affirmed
Oct 21, 2026
Michigan Court of Appeals
Zoning & Land Use
Verified Update
Ruling Issued
Ohio's Supreme Court denied Bristolville 25 Developer's bid to force Lordstown to review its site plan for a roughly $3.6 billion data-center campus, holding a temporary moratorium defeated the claim.
The Ohio Supreme Court denied a writ of mandamus sought by data-center developer Bristolville 25 Developer, L.L.C. against the Village of Lordstown, holding the village had no clear legal duty to review Bristolville's site plan under its pre-ban zoning ordinance once the village adopted a temporary moratorium on new data-center permits. Bristolville had submitted its site plan for a roughly $3.6 billion data-center campus in October 2025, only to have the village pass an emergency ban on data centers days later; after Bristolville sued, the village repealed the outright ban but replaced it with a renewable moratorium -- extended once already, through the end of 2026 -- that ultimately defeated the mandamus claim.
$3.6 billion proposed data-center campus (per local reporting); no damages at issue in this mandamus action
Oct 20, 2026
Supreme Court of Ohio
Commercial Lease Disputes
Verified Update
Ruling Issued
New York's First Department upheld New York City's pandemic-era guaranty law against a Contracts Clause challenge, reviving a gallery guarantor's defense to a landlord's commercial rent guaranty claims.
New York's Appellate Division, First Department held on October 20, 2026 that New York City's pandemic-era 'guaranty law' (Administrative Code § 22-1005), which barred enforcement of personal guaranties on certain commercial leases for a 16-month COVID-19 period, does not violate the Contracts Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The ruling reverses a Supreme Court, New York County decision that had declared the law unconstitutional and reinstated landlord 513 West 26th Realty LLC's claims against gallery guarantor George Billis, reviving the guaranty-law defense for the guarantor instead.
Personal guaranty of unpaid commercial rent (no figure stated in the opinion excerpt)
Oct 20, 2026
Appellate Division, First Department, New York
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