Client Update

Now nearing six months from the date that several US agencies recommended for the cessation of new U.S. Dollar LIBOR contracts (December 31, 2021), a clear winner has emerged as the replacement rate for floating rate commercial loans:  CME Term SOFR.  While certain tenors of LIBOR will be published through June 30, 2023, to allow…

Growth of Short-Term Rental Industry. Since 1995, the short-term rental industry has grown enormously with the launching of short-term rental companies such as Vrbo in 1995, Airbnb in 2008, and HomeToGo in 2014. Specifically, a 2022 National Business Institute article stated that by 2019, the U.S. short-term rental industry had grown to a $115 Billion…

Johnson & Johnson is using the bankruptcy code and a relatively obscure Texas statute in an attempt to limit its overall exposure to mass tort litigation over asbestos in the talc used in its baby powder products. This strategy, dubbed the “Texas Two-Step” by its critics, involved Johnson & Johnson first converting to a Texas…

Every state has a consumer protection law that prohibits deceptive business practices, with many prohibiting unfair or unconscionable practices as well. These statutes, commonly known as Unfair and Deceptive Act and Practice (“UDAP”) statutes, are intended to provide specific protections and remedies for consumers in the marketplace. UDAP laws have very broad language and cover…

The importance of establishing a Last Will and Testament (“Will”) or other testamentary substitute(s) (such as a revocable trust) for all competent adults to dispose of their assets at death cannot be overstated. Without a formal plan for distributing assets to a client’s beneficiaries provided in a Will or trust, the intestacy laws of the…

Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (“Phase I”) are a commonly utilized assessment tool for environmental due diligence in most commercial real estate transactions in the United States.  These site assessments and environmental reports provide purchasers and lenders with a summary of environmental concerns for the subject property and abutting properties, specifically as to the existence…

On March 21, 2022, the IRS issued a fact sheet on the tax treatment of money received through crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is a method of raising money through the Internet by soliciting contributions from many people. In many cases, people establish crowdfunding campaigns to raise money for personal or social causes for themselves or others. In…

New consumer-style disclosure laws for certain commercial finance providers are springing up throughout the United States. States such as Connecticut, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Maryland, Utah, and Virginia have introduced commercial finance disclosure bills which are in the various stages of legislation. Most notably, California and New York, have signed these bills into law,…