Commercial Real Estate and CMBS Litigation

Cornerstone Research has deep and extensive experience in structured finance products, including CMBS, residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). We have experience assessing the market dynamics, information sources, and derivative pricing methods relevant to valuing CMBS. Cornerstone Research has assisted clients in evaluating a wide variety of issues involving CMBS trustees, issuers, servicers, and ratings agencies. Specifically, we have analyzed:

• The value of CMBS
• Whether the servicing of a CMBS loan complied with the servicing standard
• The state of the CMBS lending market in the post-pandemic environment
• Investments in CMBS by CDOs

Cornerstone Research has experience calculating damages in a variety of commercial real estate contract disputes. We have supported a range of real estate experts including industry experts, financing experts, and damages experts. Our relevant engagements include:

• A dispute between a bank and a hotel developer over a failed financing arrangement
• A dispute between the owner and manager of several office buildings
• A dispute between a multibillion-dollar commercial project owner and its contractors

In commercial real estate litigation and regulatory matters, Cornerstone Research has supported real estate experts to evaluate real estate lending issues. Our assignments have included:

• Evaluating the commercial real estate lending practices of a bank being sued by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
• Evaluating a bank’s commercial real estate lending practices, including risk management and financial reporting
• Evaluating the market for real estate market financing and lending, including different borrowing options and terms

We leverage significant experience in M&A and antitrust and apply it to commercial real estate issues. Our assignments have included:

• Valuation of a merger between two real estate investment trusts (REITs)
• Evaluating the tax impact to investors of a vacation ownership business spinoff
• Evaluating competition in real estate broker and property management services
• Antitrust review of a proposed acquisition by commercial real estate servicer firms

We leverage significant experience in accounting and securities litigation and apply it to commercial real estate issues. In particular, we have deep experience evaluating loss causation and accounting fraud in a variety of contexts. Within commercial real estate, our assignments have included:

• Evaluating alleged misrepresentations in real estate investment offering documents
• Evaluating allegations that a bank and its officers misrepresented the state of the bank’s commercial real estate loan portfolio

Cornerstone Research has been retained in litigation to support real estate experts opining on issues of commercial real estate valuation, including:

• Valuation of a mall project
• Valuation of a master-planned community development
• Valuation of a ground lease