Join Pillsbury’s Noa Clark as she moderates Bisnow’s “The Future of Office in San Francisco: How Will the Office Market Recover?” webinar on March 25.
Federal Judge Strikes Down CDC’s COVID-19 Eviction Moratorium
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A federal judge in Texas has declared the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) eviction moratorium unconstitutional, holding that Article I’s power to regulate interstate commerce and enact laws necessary and proper for such regulation does not include the power to suspend residential evictions on a nationwide basis. While the court stopped short of issuing immediate injunctive relief, instead relying on the CDC to “respect the declaratory judgment” and withdraw the Order, the court stated that such relief would be available if the government does not comply with the decision. With this ruling, the most significant prohibition on residential evictions for nonpayment of rent is likely to be lifted, and many residential evictions halted or delayed under the Order may begin in earnest. While additional tenant protections remain in certain locales, this federal ruling increases the likely rate and pace of residential eviction activity across the country.
A Court-Side Seat: A Poultry Defense, a Houston Highway and a CERCLA Consent Decree that Won’t Budge
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February saw the usual array of significant environmental decisions and federal regulatory notices.
THE FEDERAL COURTS
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Luminant Generation v. EPA
The court will be grappling with a difficult venue case governed by the Clean Air Act (42 USC Section 7607(b)). In 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decided the case of Luminant Generation v. EPA (714 F. 3d 841), in which the court upheld the affirmative defenses that were made part of the Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP) and which applied to certain unpermitted emissions from regulated sources during periods of startup, shutdown or malfunction. These defenses were challenged in the Fifth Circuit and were rejected. On the national stage, EPA has been involved in litigation over these affirmative defenses and recently excluded from a “SIP Call” the Texas program, which was carved out. This EPA decision is being challenged in the DC Circuit (see Case number 20-1115),with the State of Texas arguing as an intervenor that any issues involving Texas belong in the Fifth Circuit, and not in the DC Circuit because the Act allows regional issues to be decided in the regional federal courts.
COVID and Commercial Lease Bankruptcies
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Real Estate partner Christian Buerger and Insolvency & Restructuring partner Hugh McDonald discuss COVID’s impact on commercial leases and an overview of the bankruptcy process the latest Swimming Lessons Series presentation.
Smart Technology in Commercial Real Estate
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“Hey Siri…” “Alexa…” “Okay Google…” These are just some of the buzzwords and phrases that have entered day-to-day vocabulary as a result of the explosion of smart technology. Internet of Things (IoT) devices are in our cars, in our workplaces and on our bodies. But nowhere is smart technology more prevalent than in our homes. The array of services that are available coupled with the growing number of companies and service providers eager to innovate, should only grow this technology’s market share in the coming years.
The Real Estate Market – Warehouses, Ports and Addition by Subdivision
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In episode #26 of Industry Insights podcast, Steve Hamilton joins host Joel Simon to discuss certain segments of the real estate market and related financing that remained robust in the midst of the pandemic.
Insolvency Issues, Real Estate and COVID-19
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Over the past year, our attorneys have explored numerous insolvency topics affecting real estate. Together, the alerts in this series tackle many facets (and potential applications) of the Bankruptcy Code as potential balm and bane for owners, landlords and lenders trying to navigate a landscape made exponentially more treacherous by COVID-19 in Insolvency Issues, Real Estate and COVID-19.
What New Corporate Disclosures Mean For Real Estate
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The control and beneficial ownership of real estate in the U.S. has been relatively easy to conceal. Christian A. Buerger, David L. Miller, and Andrew J. Weiner discuss how this disclosure regime is about the change dramatically in “What New Corporate Disclosures Mean For Real Estate.”
ABA/IPT’s 2021 Advanced Property Tax Seminar
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Pillsbury partner Breann Robowski will present during ABA/IPT’s 2021 Advanced Property Tax Seminar on March 18. Breann will present on the topic, “Valuing the Fee Simple Interest for Tax Purposes in Situations Not Involving ‘Dark Stores.’” For more information and to register, please click here.
Carbon Emissions and the NYC Climate Mobilization Act
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The Climate Mobilization Act constitutes a profound shift in the regulation of commercial real estate in New York City—and all stakeholders including building owners, investors, sellers and purchasers, tenants, and lenders will need to consider how to quantify and allocate the costs of compliance (or non-compliance). In “Sustainable Buildings and Development: Carbon Emissions and the Recent Climate Mobilization Act of New York City“, colleagues Caroline A. Harcourt and Sheila McCafferty Harvey, discuss the potential impact of the newly enacted Climate Mobilization Act (CMA or the Act) for developers and building owners, tenants and lenders operating or underwriting loans in New York City.