In Government Contractors Brace For Continuing Changes in Cybersecurity Regulations, my Pillsbury colleague Travis Mullaney and I caution that the federal government is making cybersecurity a top priority and government contractors should expect a number of new regulation’s, policies and standards aimed at protecting against increasingly sophisticated cyber-warfare. As the government invigorates…
Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
SCOTUS Takes the Wheel: Is Church Participation in State Tire Recycling Program Constitutional?
The ability of churches and other religious institutions to engage in ordinary business activities can be unexpectedly and adversely affected by provisions in some state constitutions which can be interpreted to exclude them from having access to public funds and public resources based on nineteenth century constitutional amendments. On January…
SCOTUS Reversals of DC Court’s Statutory Constructions Comes in Threes
On January 25, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court, in FERC v. Electric Power Supply Association, et al., a 6 to 2 ruling, reversed the May 2014 decision of the D.C. Court of Appeals, which had held that a final rule of FERC governing the “demand response” in which operators of…
Tobacco Companies Claims Ruled Not Up to Snuff
A company’s ability to contest in federal court what it views as unfair oversight by a federal government regulatory committee is still subject to obstacles posed by the “standing doctrine” by which access to the courts is limited to cases and controversies actually needing resolution. A recent example of this…
A Ninth Circuit Reminder: Water Rights Do Not Trump Need for Grazing Permit
Thanks in part to the current standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge—and the 2014 armed confrontation in Nevada that preceded it, the contentious issue of grazing rights on federal lands is more front of mind nationally than it’s been in decades. With the federal government owning and controlling millions…
Important Changes to U.S. Federal Income Tax Treatment of U.S. Real Estate Investments by Non-U.S. Persons
In PATH Act Changes to FIRPTA, Pillsbury attorneys Brian Wainwright and Bob Logan discuss important changes to the U.S. federal income tax treatment of U.S. real estate investments by non-U.S. persons under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980. Additional Source: Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015…
Oregon Magistrate Judge: Environmental Claims Exclusion Includes Indian Tribes’ Claims
In an insurance case attracting the attention of many insurance companies, Century Indemnity Company v. Marine Group, LLP, et al., a U.S. Magistrate Judge with the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon (Portland Division), in its opinion and order on Marine Group’s motion for clarification and reconsideration, held that…
CWA Citizen Suits Not the Right Fit for Certain Agency Permitting Procedures
Citizens Suits have played an important role in the enforcement of both the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Clean Air Act (CAA), and all permittees of wastewater discharge permits and air quality permits should be aware of the significance of these Congressionally-approved remedies. While they have broad application to many…
Third Circuit: Diligent Prosecution of CAA Claims Bars Citizen Suits
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Group Against Smog and Pollution v. Shenango, Incorporated, affirmed the dismissal of a Clean Air Act (CAA) Citizen Suit where state regulators were engaging in an ongoing action against Shenango when GASP’s complaint was filed, and where the federal court had retained…
411 on Fire Coverage for Hotel and Apartment High-Rises
In Insurance Coverage Issues for Hotel and Apartment High-Rises Damaged by Fire, Pillsbury attorneys Joseph Jean and Alexander Hardiman discuss how to maximize insurance recovery when a fire damages or destroys mixed-used hotel, retail, and apartment high-rises, as happened on New Year’s Eve at the Address Downtown Hotel in Dubai and…