William J. Anaya

Joel M. Hurwitz

Sharilee Smentek

Thadford A. Felton

Arnstein & Lehr attorneys are major contributors to the two-volume book entitled Commercial Real Estate published this month, by the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education (IICLE). Chicago Partner William Anaya is the general editor of the book and author of a chapter entitled “Environmental Considerations in Commercial Real Estate Transactions,” Chicago Partner Joel Hurwitz is the author of the chapter entitled “Commercial Real Estate Transactions – The Mortgage Lender’s Perspective,” and Chicago Partners Sharilee Smentek and Thad Felton are co-authors of the chapter entitled “Real Estate Broker Law and Litigation.”

Thadford A. Felton

Chicago Partner Thadford Felton spoke to the Daily Business Review about Akina’s Generosity Campaign, an effort to encourage lawyers to participate in philanthropy. The program is called The Generation Generosity and encourages attorneys to become more active in their community.

The article appeared in the February 4 issue. Click here to read the full article.

Thadford A. Felton

Chicago Partner Thad Felton will be speaking at the BDF Business Owners Boot Camp at the University Club of Chicago on October 7. The topic is “Health Checks for your Business.”

Non Competition Agreements Must Be Narrowly Tailored to be Enforceable

Can You Stop Your Top Sales Person From Competing Against You?

Make Sure That You Do Not Inadvertently Void Employment Agreements

Do You Have a Trade Secret?

Protecting Your Customer List

Protect Your Confidential Information and Maintain Your Competitive Advantage

When is the Employer Liable for Acts of the Employee?

When Does Competition Cross the Line

Best Practices in Documenting Employee Discipline

How Do I Keep My Employee From Competing Against Me?

Partners Thadford Felton and John Ropiequet recently obtained a $42.5 million settlement for the bankruptcy trusts of garment company Fruit of the Loom against its insurance company in litigation involving environmental insurance coverage.

The trusts attempted to collect environmental cleanup costs for seven sites in Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, and Tennessee from AIG under an environmental insurance policy. The policy covered response costs and natural resource damages under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability, or Super Fund, Act. AIG denied coverage to the trusts and the insurance company filed suit in federal court seeking to confirm that it was not obligated to pay the trusts for the cleanup costs.

This settlement concludes litigation in which the United States Department of Justice intervened in the case on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Interior, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The states of New Jersey, Tennessee, Illinois, and Michigan have also joined the settlement.

Under the settlement agreement, AIG will make an initial $30 million payment, plus interest, and ten annual payments of $1.25 million to the trusts. Most of the funds will be used to clean up contamination at hazardous waste sites in Tennessee, New Jersey, and Michigan.

• CHAPTER 2: “Endorsements and Affirmative Coverages for Title Insurance,” by Partner Raymond Werner, covering examples and analysis of endorsements and affirmative coverages applicable to the owner’s policies and loan policies, including discussion of the 2006 changes.
• CHAPTER 4: “Commercial Real Estate Financing from the Borrower’s Perspective,” by Partner R. Kymn Harp, touching upon why lenders require what they require, basic lending criteria, common documentary concerns for borrowers, the Illinois Financial Crime Act, and more.
• CHAPTER 5: “Protecting the Lender in Commercial Real Estate Transactions,” by Partner Joel Hurwitz, including the 2007 Supplement by Hurwitz and former Associate Tal Izraeli, which covers the loan commitment, due diligence, ownership, documentation, security agreement for personal property, and the guarantee.
• CHAPTER 8: “Real Estate Broker Law and Litigation,” by Partner Thadford Felton and Associate Sharilee Smentek, covering employment of a broker, a broker’s duties, real estate license liability, broker’s commission, and the Commercial Real Estate Broker Lien Act.
• CHAPTER 13: “Environmental Considerations in Commercial Real Estate Transactions,” by Partner William Anaya, also a member of the IICLE’s board of directors. In this chapter, Anaya covers sources of environmental law, environmental cleanup liability, environmental liabilities and bankruptcy, environmental disclosures under SEC laws, selecting an environmental consultant, and more.

Commercial Real Estate is the first handbook published by IICLE to deal exclusively with the complexities of buying and selling commercial real estate. Enhanced by the 2007 Supplement, this expanded edition includes new information on ALTA Owner’s and Loan policies, series LLCs, and the Illinois Eminent Domain Act.