Commercial

Expert Analysis

• Brownfield Renewables Guidance Leaves Site Eligibility Murky

  

  Recent IRS guidance sheds some light on the Inflation Reduction Act's incentives for renewable energy development on contaminated sites — but the eligibility of certain sites for brownfield status remains uncertain, say Megan Caldwell and Jon Micah Goeller at Husch Blackwell.

• Pending Legislation Holds Promise For SF Buildings

  

  Recently introduced state and local legislation could make it easier for office-to-residential conversion projects in San Francisco to secure approval and funding sources, although financial incentives similar to those implemented by other states may be necessary to ensure the feasibility of such projects, say Caroline Chase and Nick DuBroff at Allen Matkins.

• SVB Collapse Underscores Policy And Regulatory Pitfalls

  

  The recent failures of three American banks reveal hidden vulnerabilities, raise concerns about moral hazard, and highlight the need for tighter regulation and closer monitoring of unrealized investment-portfolio losses in the U.S. banking system, says attorney Patrick Meson.

• NY Bankruptcy Court Pivots On Commercial Rent Damage Cap

  

  A New York bankruptcy court departed from its prior precedent in the recent Cortlandt Liquidating case, effectively lowering the commercial rent damages cap, and making the court a little less friendly for landlords but potentially an attractive venue for debtors planning to reject significant commercial leases, say attorneys at MoFo.

• Bankruptcy Sales Uncertain After Justices' Section 363 Ruling

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's holding in MOAC v. Transform that Section 363(m) of the Bankruptcy Code is not a jurisdictional provision means parties to 363 sales are now at the mercy of courts that may have differing perspectives on the issue, creating uncertainty for trustees, third parties and purchasers, say Thomas Loeb and Carrie Brosius at Vorys.

• Commercial Real Estate Lending Checkup Amid Market Unrest

  

  Given the sustained volatility of current lending markets, now may be a good time for financing institutions to dust off their commercial real estate agreements and update them if necessary, say Emil Petrossian and Alexander Miller at Glaser Weil.

• La. Suit Could Set New Enviro Justice Litigation Paradigm

  

  Inclusive Louisiana v. St. James Parish, a lawsuit filed recently in Louisiana federal court that makes wide-ranging and novel constitutional and statutory claims of environmental racism based on centuries of local history, could become a new template for environmental justice litigation against governments and businesses, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

• Policyholder Lessons From Sandy No-Coverage Decision

  

  A New York federal court recently decided that in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Madelaine Chocolate knew Great Northern Insurance’s all-risk policy offered no coverage for storm surge — an important reminder that policyholders should review policy language for ambiguities or anti-concurrent causation clauses, say Dennis Artese and Joshua Zelen at Anderson Kill.

• 5th Circ. Offers Expert Opinion Guidance For Insurance Cases

  

  A recent Fifth Circuit decision in Majestic Oil v. Lloyd's of London provides insight into how Texas' concurrent causation doctrine could affect insurance cases where the cause of damage is at issue, and raises considerations for litigants faced with new or revised expert reports after the deadline has passed, say Brian Scarbrough and Cianan Lesley at Jenner & Block.

• FTC Proposal Greatly Widens Auto-Renewal Regulation

  

  The Federal Trade Commission's proposed rule on automatic renewal subscriptions would impose significant new obligations on sellers of negative option plans and expand the agency's enforcement powers, likely requiring companies to examine and change their practices, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

• Now Is The Time For Independent Industry Self-Regulation

  

  The high level of trust in business, coupled with the current political and legal landscape, provides an opportunity for companies to play a meaningful role in finding solutions to public policy issues through the exploration of independent industry self-regulation models, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

• 20 Years On, Campbell Holds Lessons On Reining In Ratios

  

  Twenty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in State Farm v. Campbell provided critical guidance on the constitutionally permissible ratio of punitive to compensatory damages — and both Campbell and subsequent federal circuit court decisions informed by it offer important pointers for defendants, say attorneys at Dechert.

• How Bank Turmoil Is Affecting Real Estate Purchases, Sales

  

  The new uncertainty in the availability of financing from bank lenders that were previously considered "money good," spurred by the bank crisis, has inserted a wrinkle in the commercial real estate market that alters some of the dynamics between a buyer and seller, says Simran Bindra at Thompson Coburn.