More Real Estate Coverage
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February 21, 2024
Biogas Investment Tax Credit Still Needs Tweaks, IRS Told
While the IRS clarified that the clean energy investment tax credit would cover eligible upgrading equipment integral to biogas properties, the industry could get a boost if final rules allow separate ownership of the equipment, stakeholders told the agency Wednesday.
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February 21, 2024
Green Groups Press FERC To Rescind Tenn. Pipeline Approval
Environmentalists on Tuesday urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to undo its approval of a Tennessee pipeline project that will serve a Tennessee Valley Authority gas-fired power plant that is replacing a coal-fired plant, saying the agency botched its consideration of the project's climate change impacts.
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February 20, 2024
Fond Du Lac Tribe Seeks Sanctions In Mining Land Suit
The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians has asked a Minnesota federal judge to sanction PolyMet Mining Inc. in the tribe's suit over a land swap for a copper and nickel mine, arguing that the company and its lawyers are obstructing the discovery process.
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February 20, 2024
5th Circ. Seeks Texas Justices' Input On LNG Permit Fight
The Fifth Circuit has yanked its prior ruling that scrapped an emissions permit issued by Texas environmental regulators for a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal, saying it wants the state's Supreme Court to weigh in on how to define the best available pollution control technology under Texas law.
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February 20, 2024
Landlord Bias Can Be Eviction Defense, Colo. Justices Say
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that tenants facing eviction can raise allegations of a landlord's discrimination or retaliation as a defense, directing a trial court to take another look at the case of a woman who accused her landlord of trying to boot her because she refused to have sex with him.
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February 20, 2024
New Yorker Writer Pans Subpoena Over Adams' Ties To Pastor
A writer for The New Yorker said that being forced to testify about an indicted Brooklyn pastor's ties to Mayor Eric Adams would step on journalistic privilege, arguing that Manhattan federal prosecutors could instead rely on other sources.
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February 20, 2024
IRS Issues Fix For Tax Treatment Of Gas Upgrading Equipment
The Internal Revenue Service issued a correction clarifying the tax treatment of certain gas upgrading equipment under proposed rules related to the energy credit.
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February 20, 2024
Justices Won't Review Partnership's $26M Easement Row
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Tuesday to hear a partnership's bid to keep a $26.5 million deduction for a land conservation easement, letting stand a decision that the case was barred by a law that prohibits suits that restrain the collection of taxes.
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February 16, 2024
Florida Loses Wetland Permitting Authority In D.C. Court Case
A D.C. judge has stripped Florida of its federally delegated authority to permit wetlands development, ruling that U.S. environmental regulators failed to analyze the impact of their decision on endangered and threatened species and handing a victory to conservation groups challenging the program.
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February 16, 2024
Gov't Wants More Alaskan Native Reps On Subsistence Board
The U.S. government has plans to strengthen Alaskan Native tribal representation on its Federal Subsistence Board, saying the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have proposed a new rule to add board members with personal experience of subsistence living in rural Alaska.
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February 16, 2024
Feds Tell 1st Circ. Mass. Wind Farm Approval Was Sound
The federal government has said a Massachusetts federal judge properly dumped a challenge lodged by commercial fishing groups seeking to upend federal approvals of the Vineyard Wind project, telling the First Circuit that the record shows federal agencies thoroughly studied the project's potential impacts.
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February 15, 2024
Software Company Seeks $10M Policy Limit For Bad Deal
A software company told a California federal court that its insurer breached its contract by failing to cover $10 million in damages suffered because of misrepresentations made by a property and casualty insurance software company it bought.
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February 15, 2024
New York Says Thruway Doesn't Cut Through Cayuga Land
New York state officials are asking a federal district court to dismiss litigation by the Cayuga Nation that seeks a cut of the tolls collected on the New York State Thruway, arguing that the tribe can't prove it had possession of the land over which the highway was being built.
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February 14, 2024
Navajo Say Hopi Tribe Bid To Join Land Trust Suit Is Untimely
The Navajo Nation has said the Hopi Tribe's attempt to intervene in its lawsuit against the U.S. government over a land trust and casino road easement dispute is untimely, coming after nearly four years of litigation.
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February 14, 2024
Mass. Court Doubts Northeastern Vowed To Keep Land Public
Massachusetts Appeals Court justices appeared Wednesday to question a claim by the town of Nahant and a group of residents that Northeastern University had implicitly dedicated oceanfront land it acquired in the 1960s as a wildlife preserve and park by allowing public access for decades.
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February 13, 2024
Calif. Clean Energy Storage Secures $350M From Blackstone
Arevon Energy Inc. said Tuesday that it closed on financing for a California renewable energy storage facility, including $350 million from a Blackstone unit in the form of preferred equity, with guidance from three law firms.
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February 13, 2024
DC Circ. Again Nixes Challenge To FERC Pipeline Powers
The D.C. Circuit has reinstated its prior judgment affirming a lower court's dismissal of Virginia landowners' constitutional challenge to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, nearly a year after the U.S. Supreme Court remanded the case.
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February 12, 2024
Utah Defends Standing In Monument Cases Before 10th Circ.
The state of Utah has doubled down in urging the Tenth Circuit to reverse a Utah federal judge's decision dismissing the state's challenge of the Biden administration's redesignation of large swaths of land as part of two national monuments, saying its case should have readily survived the motions to dismiss that led to its downfall.
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February 12, 2024
Tree Removal Mixup Merits Coverage, Homebuilder Tells Court
A homebuilder's insurer must defend it in litigation over the accidental removal of 66 trees in an adjacent lot, the homebuilder told a Texas federal court, arguing the tree removal was accidental and thus an occurrence under its commercial general liability policy.
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February 09, 2024
State Farm Defends Pricing Setting Insured Says Shorted Her
State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. renewed its bid to toss a Mississippi homeowner's proposed class action over allegations it intentionally underpaid fire damage claims, arguing it was correct to use a "new construction" setting in its pricing software that led to lower recoverable labor costs.
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February 09, 2024
Property Plays: MCR, Black Spruce, Willow Bridge
MCR has landed $333 million in refinancing for a multistate hotel portfolio, Black Spruce Management has scored $146 million in financing for a Manhattan multifamily property, and Willow Bridge Property has landed $175 million in financing for three multifamily properties.
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February 09, 2024
DOI Accused Of Delaying Coal Mine Enviromental Review
Signal Peak Energy has slapped the U.S. Department of the Interior with a complaint in D.C. federal court accusing the agency of unlawfully delaying an environmental impact statement needed for the approval of its expansion of the Bull Mountains coal mine in Montana.
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February 09, 2024
Iowa House Bill Would Cancel Growth Assessment Limitation
Iowa would eliminate a limitation used in the calculation of assessments for agricultural and residential properties under a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives.
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February 09, 2024
Owens Corning To Buy Door-Maker Masonite In $3.9B Deal
Ohio-based construction materials manufacturer Owens Corning said Friday it has inked a $3.9 billion agreement to buy Tampa, Florida-based door-maker Masonite International Corp., just weeks after the latter company's earlier effort to buy PGT Innovations Inc. fell through.
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February 08, 2024
Jackson Walker Adds Real Estate Pro In Austin From Winstead
Jackson Walker LLP has strengthened its land use practice group in Austin, Texas, with the addition of a senior counsel who came aboard from Winstead PC.
Expert Analysis
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Leveraging Municipal Bonds For Green Energy Finance
The U.S.'s transition to renewable energy will require collaboration between public and private capital sources — and that means that lawyers used to working in corporate finance must understand how the municipal bond market functions differently, due to its grounding in the U.S. Constitution, says Ann Fillingham at Dykema.
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Strategic Succession Planning At Law Firms Is Crucial
Senior partners' reluctance to retire, the rise of the nonequity partner tier and generational differences in expectations are all contributing to an increasing number of departures from BigLaw, making it imperative for firms to encourage retirement among senior ranks and provide clearer leadership pathways to junior attorneys, says Laura Leopard at Leopard Solutions.
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Maximizing Law Firm Profitability In Uncertain Times
As threats of an economic downturn loom, firms can boost profits by embracing the power of bottom-line management and creating an ecosystem where strategic financial oversight and robust timekeeping practices meet evolved client relations, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.
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5th Circ. Ruling Reminds Attys That CBP Can Search Devices
The Fifth Circuit’s recent Malik v. Department of Homeland Security decision adds to the chorus of federal courts holding that border agents don’t need a warrant to search travelers’ electronic devices, so attorneys should consider certain special precautions to secure privileged information when reentering the U.S., says Jennifer Freel at Jackson Walker.
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ESG Around The World: European Union
As the EU makes ESG regulation a priority, companies — both those based in the EU and others just doing business there — need to keep abreast of myriad new legislation that has either already taken effect or will in the near future, as noncompliance could result in fines, damages and director liability, say attorneys at Steptoe & Johnson.
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As AI Pricing Tools Evolve, So Does Antitrust Risk
As the use of pricing algorithms has given rise to regulatory scrutiny and civil actions, such as RealPage Rental Software Antitrust Litigation in the Middle District of Tennessee and Gibson v. MGM in the District of Nevada, independent pricing decisions and other best practices can help limit antitrust risk, say attorneys at Axinn.
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What Large Language Models Mean For Document Review
Courts often subject parties using technology assisted review to greater scrutiny than parties conducting linear, manual document review, so parties using large language models for document review should expect even more attention, along with a corresponding need for quality control and validation, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Participating In Living History Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My role as a baron in a living history group, and my work as volunteer corporate counsel for a book series fan association, has provided me several opportunities to practice in unexpected areas of law — opening doors to experiences that have nurtured invaluable personal and professional skills, says Matthew Parker at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
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Private Equity Owners Can Remedy Law Firms' Agency Issues
Nonlawyer, private-equity ownership of law firms can benefit shareholders and others vulnerable to governance issues such as disparate interests, and can in turn help resolve agency problems, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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How To Protect Atty-Client Privilege While Using Generative AI
When using generative artificial intelligence tools, attorneys should consider several safeguards to avoid breaches or complications in attorney-client privilege, say Antonious Sadek and Christopher Campbell at DLA Piper.
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ESG Around The World: Australia
Clive Cachia and Cathy Ma at K&L Gates detail ESG-reporting policies in Australia and explain how the country is starting to introduce mandatory requirements as ESG performance is increasingly seen as a key investment and corporate differentiator in the fight for global capital.
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Industry Takeaways From OMB's Final Buy America Guidance
The Office of Management and Budget's recently released guidance on "Buy America" requirements for federal infrastructure projects provides clarity in certain areas but fails to address troublesome inconsistencies with state laws and international trade agreements, so manufacturers and suppliers will need to tread carefully as agencies implement the changes, say Amy Hoang and Sarah Barney at Seyfarth Shaw.
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Texas Produced Water Ruling Helps Clarify Oil, Gas Leases
A Texas state appeals court's recent opinion in Cactus Water Services v. COG Operating, holding that the mineral lessee under an oil and gas lease owns the water extracted during oil and gas production, is a first step toward clarity on an issue that has divided the midstream industry, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.