Insights

In this article by Aaron Kase, Brad Schacht is interviewed about a scam involving squatters, and how occupiers are using the legal system to try to stay in homes they don’t own.

What do I need to know before I rent space to a medical marijuana business? There are a number of issues that any property owner/manager should consider before leasing to a medical marijuana business. Most importantly, marijuana remains illegal for all purposes at the federal level. Thus far, federal authorities have generally refrained from enforcing federal drug laws with respect to state-licensed medical marijuana businesses in Colorado. However, under federal law, it is clear that landlords leasing to medical marijuana businesses could face federal criminal prosecution and/or forfeiture of their property.

In light of the recent “return” of some CMBS (Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities) loan originators to the capital markets, and the outstanding volume of pre-2008 CMBS loans, now is an ideal time for a brief overview of CMBS defeasance. Defeasance and loan prepayment yield a similar result for the borrower – release of the deed of trust – but they provide a much different result for the lender – satisfaction of the promissory note when the loan is prepaid, versus assumption and continuation of the note when the loan is defeased.

Mianne Besser is working as a paralegal at Otten Johnson Robinson Neff & Ragonetti PC (OJRNR) in Denver, Colorado. Mianne received her Bachelor’s of Arts in Management and Business Administration from the University of Phoenix in Colorado. Additionally, she received her Paralegal certificate from Denver Paralegal Institute.

It is common practice for owners of commercial real estate to create a separate entity to own each real estate project. That practice has led to changes in the bankruptcy law that affect those entities. Those changes and recent case law highlight the need for both owners and lenders to understand how single asset real estate is treated under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

What is a Public-Private Partnership, and how might it help my project? Public-Private Partnerships or “PPPs” are arrangements whereby public and private dollars are combined to complete a project that neither the public nor the private sector could accomplish on its own. Large development projects ranging from sports stadiums to shopping centers to transportation facilities require large amounts of up-front cash for basic infrastructure; cash the public and private sectors may be unwilling to or unable to commit alone.

As development of wind farms has grown in Colorado, questions have arisen concerning the legal nature of the wind flowing above the ground. The proper characterization of wind rights has become increasingly relevant as property owners look for additional sources of revenue from their holdings.

An old classmate of Tom Ragonetti’s from law school teases him that his firm, Otten Johnson Robinson Neff + Ragonetti PC, is

Denver, Colorado – Otten Johnson Robinson Neff + Ragonetti PC (Otten Johnson) is pleased to announce the addition of Emily A. Hippen as an associate in the real estate group. Emily focuses her practice on commercial real estate finance, with an emphasis on the representation of lenders and servicers in both loan origination and loan modification transactions. She also represents borrowers in matters relating to their commercial real estate finance needs.