Brett Dockwell Quoted in Law360 on Commercial Real Estate Cases to Watch in 2024

Partner Brett Dockwell, chair of Morrison Cohen’s Valuation Disputes Group, was widely quoted in Law360 regarding two high-profile cases that commercial real estate attorneys should keep an eye on heading into 2024.

One case is WeWork's Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which Brett said is a “pretty spectacular business failure” that is having a major impact on landlords. He stated, “Putting aside what WeWork's business was, even if WeWork manufactured widgets, if they were to have gone bankrupt and put this much office space back on the market, the landlords today would be pressed to [find new tenants for] all of that [space] just because of the changes in the way companies [have been operating] in recent years.”

Brett was also quoted on the intra-family legal battle over the billion-dollar real estate empire of deceased New York City real estate investor Sol Goldman. Brett noted that the Goldman case is “instructive in the perils of family-run businesses,” which are usually informally operated and eventually need to change to operating like a standard business. “It appears that the governance structure didn't keep up with the evolution of the business over the generations.” These types of disputes “rarely end well,” he added.

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