McKenna, McCausland & Murphy, PA

12/24/2023

when courts get it . . .

11/09/2023

Getting on the same page as our judges. Judicial Luminaries conference.

01/05/2023

On January 1, 2023, the jurisdictional threshold for county courts increased from $30,000 to $50,000. Generally speaking, lawsuits exceeding $50,000 in alleged damages are filed in circuit courts, while those less than $50k get filed in county courts.

Also, as of January 1, 2023, the Florida SIXTH District Court of Appeal will be officially recognized under Florida law. Florida has not opened a new district court of appeal since 1979.

03/10/2022

https://www.morningbrew.com/retail/stories/2022/03/08/the-list-of-retailers-halting-operations-in-russia-grows-mcdonald-s-nike-and-more

When Russia invaded Ukraine late last month, brands and businesses scrambled to respond. But soon enough, retailers across the world started to announce they would halt operations—at least temporarily—in Russia.

From Apple to Nike to H&M, the list is growing. And consumers are urging more businesses to boycott the country: and have been trending on Twitter, adding to the pressure to suspend ties with Russia.

There are also those that have decided to take a different stance. Uniqlo’s parent company, Fast Retailing Co., for example, said it will keep the retailer’s 50 Russian stores up and running.

“Clothing is a necessity of life. The people of Russia have the same right to live as we do,” CEO Tadashi Yanai said in an email to Nikkei, adding that “everyone should oppose” war.

Here’s a running list of retailers, in chronological order, that have paused business in Russia. Retail Brew will continue to update this as more announcements are made, so be sure to check back.

March 1
Apple: The tech company paused product sales and stopped exporting products to Russia after the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov, published an open letter to CEO Tim Cook on February 25.

March 2
H&M: The Swedish apparel company paused all sales in Russia and Belarus, and temporarily closed its stores in Ukraine amid safety concerns.

Asos: The British online fashion retailer suspended sales in Russia.

Boohoo: The UK-based online fashion retailer paused operations in Russia.

March 3
Under Armour: The sportswear company stopped all shipments to Russian sales channels and distribution partners.

Richemont: The company closed its dozen retail locations in Russia, including Cartier stores, and paused commercial operations.

Nike: The sneaker giant temporarily suspended operations at its roughly 116 Russian stores while also committing to paying employee salaries after already pausing online sales.

Ikea: The world’s largest furniture brand closed its Russian stores and stopped sourcing in the country and in Belarus.

TJX Companies: The parent company of TJMaxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods said it plans to sell off its 25% stake in Russian retail chain Familia.

Mango: The Spanish fashion retailer temporarily shuttered its online business and 55 of its 120 shops in Russia. The remaining 65 of those are franchisee-operated and can remain open.

March 4
LVMH: The Christian Dior and Fendi owner announced it would close its 120+ Russian stores.

Hermès: The French luxury brand paused all business operations in Russia, including its three stores in Moscow.

Chanel: The luxury brand said it would no longer deliver to Russia while pausing its e-commerce operations and closing its boutiques in the country.

Kering: The Gucci owner said it will continue to “support its local teams” while temporarily closing its two stores in the country.

JD Sports: The British sportswear retailer stopped all business in Russia, including on its brand sites and wholesale channels.

March 5
Inditex: The owner of Zara paused business in Russia, closing its 500+ stores and online platform.

Puma: Employees of the sportswear retailer’s 100+ Russian locations will continue to be paid as the company temporarily shuts down operations.

March 6
Burberry: The luxury brand temporarily closed its three stores in Russia after announcing the week prior it had halted deliveries to them.

March 7
Estée Lauder: The cosmetics company temporarily suspended “all commercial activity” in Russia while continuing to compensate employees.

Adidas: The sportswear giant closed its Russian stores and halted e-commerce operations until further notice, but will continue to pay its employees there.

Levi Strauss & Co: The clothing company has halted sales and investments in Russia.

Procter & Gamble: The consumer-goods conglomerate has stopped all new capital investments in Russia and will operate on a “reduced scale,” focusing on basic hygiene and personal care products.

March 8
McDonald’s: The fast food chain is temporarily closing its 850 locations in Russia, but will keep paying its 62,000 employees in the country.

Starbucks: The coffee chain suspended all business activity in Russia, including the temporary closure of all ~130 licensed locations in the country.

PepsiCo: The food company suspended sales of its soft drinks and beverages in Russia, as well as capital investment and promotional activities, but said that it has a “humanitarian responsibility” to continue selling “daily essentials such as milk and baby formula.”

Coca-Cola: Amid growing pressure, the soda giant announced that it was “suspending its business in Russia.”

L’Oréal: The cosmetics giant shut its stores and suspended online sales as well as investments in Russia.

Unilever: The consumer goods giant said that it “would not invest any further” in Russia and has paused all imports and exports of its products into and out of the country, but will continue to sell the “essential food and hygiene products” that it makes there.

​​Kraft Heinz: The packaged-food company has stopped imports and exports of its products into and out of Russia and is pausing all investment in the country.

Yum! Brands: After pausing investment and development in Russia, the fast-food corporation plans to suspend operations at 70 company-owned KFC locations and is “finalizing an agreement to suspend all 50 Pizza Hut outlets in partnership with its master franchisee.”

March 9
Heineken: The Dutch beer maker announced that it has paused sales, advertising, and production in Russia.

Mothercare: The British baby product retailer suspended all business in Russia, including shipments to the country.

Nestlé: The packaged-food giant suspended all capital investments in Russia.

03/05/2022

The world's leading luxury brands suspend business in Russia

The world's leading luxury brands said on Friday that they planned to temporarily close stores and pause business operations in Russia.

02/23/2022

The International Council of Shopping Centers announced Monday its initials ICSC will now stand for Innovating Commerce Serving Communities.

“The terminology ‘shopping centers’ or ‘retail real estate’ are still clearly an important part of our membership,” ICSC President and CEO Tom McGee said in an interview. “But they’re somewhat descriptive to the historical nature of who our membership was, from a demographic standpoint ... the property type that it was. As opposed to the impact that the industry has upon communities.”

Today, McGee said, ICSC’s membership base is expanding to include other businesses such as technology start-ups and real estate service providers. “This is not just a rebranding,” he said. “To me, it’s reflective of what’s happening in the industry as a whole, and within our membership. And we’re evolving with the industry.”

ICSC also hopes that a major facelift will make the trade association more appealing to a younger workforce. “We must modernize the brand to attract new and younger generations to the industry and be more welcoming to emerging businesses and other sectors within [commercial real estate],” ICSC said in a package sent to some members ahead of the announcement Monday.

The rebranding comes as much of the retail real estate industry is trying to find a new footing coming out of the health crisis. One of the biggest threats to many retail shopping centers and malls has been the ascent of e-commerce.

Not all properties have been harmed over the past year. Centers anchored by grocery stores and big-box retailers like Target, for example, have thrived as shoppers seek out those businesses for essentials. Others, however — and primarily enclosed shopping malls jammed with apparel boutiques — have lost tenants and watched shopper traffic fall off a cliff. Roughly 25% of America’s 1,000 or so malls have been predicted to close by 2025 as more consumers shift their spending online.

Visitors are beginning to return. An index of 100 indoor malls tracked by retail analytics firm Placer.ai found shopper traffic was down just 8.1% last month from June 2019, pre-pandemic.

Landlords face other hurdles in the fundamentals of their business. In parts of the country, rents for retail assets have plummeted, and the amount of available space has skyrocketed, with supply far outweighing demand. Across Manhattan, retail rents have fallen for 15 consecutive quarters and are touching historic lows.

The vacancy rate for all retail real estate space in the U.S. climbed to 10.6% in the first quarter of 2021, according to research compiled by the real estate firm Newmark and Moody’s Analytics REIS. That marked a high not seen since 2013. More than 3.6 million square feet of retail space was returned to the market in 2020 and 800,000 square feet was returned in the first quarter of this year, Newmark and REIS said.

Vacancies for U.S. malls hit 11.4% in the first quarter, the highest percentage in a decade, according to REIS. As the retail real estate industry has struggled, ICSC has watched its membership base shrink, according to a report in The Real Deal. It laid off dozens of staffers last year, as in-person events were called off and revenue dried up, the real estate news website said.

ICSC has roughly 50,000 members in North America, according to a spokesperson. The trade organization’s annual conference in Las Vegas, RECon, didn’t happen in 2020 due to the pandemic. The event normally draws tens of thousands of attendees from around the world. ICSC is now expected to rally its members together in Sin City this December, with a full slate of in-person events on the docket for 2022.

“We expect it to be a blowout,” McGee said. “People are wanting to get together, and that’s historically been what ICSC is well known for.”

12/10/2021

maybe start granting summary judgments instead?

The Supreme Court is about to weigh a Judicial Management Council proposal that would bring sweeping changes to Florida’s civil trial system, the chair of a JMC workgroup told the Board of Governors. Addressing the board at a December 3 meeting, Second District Court of Appeal Chief Judge Robert M...

12/09/2021

https://www.reuters.com/business/us-retail-sales-beat-expectations-october-2021-11-16/

U.S. retail sales surged in October as Americans eagerly started their holiday shopping early to avoid empty shelves amid shortages of some goods because of the ongoing pandemic, giving the economy a lift at the start of the fourth quarter.

11/19/2021

site updated. hearings tomorrow. trial Monday.
www.litigationadvocates.com

06/15/2021

Washington Prime Group, a major mall owner of more than 100 locations across the United States, filed for bankruptcy, citing pandemic-related shutdowns.

Washington Prime Group, a major mall owner of more than 100 locations across the United States, filed for bankruptcy, citing pandemic-related shutdowns.

05/08/2021

ridiculousness in Gotham City. mandatory lease renewals

A new bill seeks to reform the lease renewal process for retailers by giving businesses the opportunity to extend their leases — regardless of what their landlord says.

03/17/2021

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/making-sense-of-february-retail-sales-flop-morning-brief-100137900.html

Top news and what to watch in the markets on Wednesday, March 17, 2021.