•  
  •  
 

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

Abstract

[Excerpt] “Residents of Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood certainly cannot forget the recent financial crisis thanks to a gaping hole in their midst. That hole is to be the home of the Spire, the tallest building in the Northern Hemisphere, at 2,000 feet high with 1,194 residences ranging in price from $750,000 for a studio to $40 million for the penthouse. The developer, Shelbourne Development Group, Inc., began construction in 2007 using its own funds. It also obtained “starter” funds from Bank of America via a loan agreement that required Shelbourne to demonstrate proof of a construction loan by November 1, 2008. Although Shelbourne sold thirty percent of the building, it could not obtain construction financing due to the worsening global financial and credit crisis. Bank of America declared the loan in default and sued Shelbourne for the outstanding principal, interest, and fees. As part of its defense, Shelbourne argued that the court should excuse it (temporarily) from providing proof of a construction loan, due to the ‘unforeseeable and unprecedented economic downturn and recession, particularly in the real estate market.’”

Repository Citation

Jennifer Camero, Mission Impracticable: The Impossibility of Commercial Impracticability, 13 U.N.H. L. REV. 1 (2015), available at http://scholars.unh.edu/unh_lr/vol13/iss1/2

Share

COinS