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CDC-logo-300x221Months after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a nationwide eviction moratorium using its emergency pandemic powers under the Public Health Service Act, the efficacy of this unprecedented measure remains unclear. While the Order ostensibly protects tenants facing homelessness or housing insecurity due to the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic through the end of 2020, legal challenges have been initiated in Ohio and Georgia, with additional lawsuits appearing likely. Further, even barring legal challenges, courts have not handled these cases in a uniform manner. With lawmakers unable to reach any stimulus or COVID-19 relief agreement before the election, the CDC Order appears likely to remain the only federal eviction moratorium through its expiration on December 31, 2020.

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GettyImages-1150744671-300x225Hydrogen is gaining global recognition for its potential as a key player in the energy transition. Investors and businesses are exploring opportunities across multiple sectors, including energy, manufacturing, transport and finance. According to a report by Bloomberg, the current pipeline for global hydrogen projects is worth an estimated $90 billion. The EU is not going to be left behind, with a focal point of its Green Deal being on hydrogen.

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This roundup of recent environmental and regulatory law rulings and rulemakings includes an EPA deadline extended, a NEPA exclusion and PSM application upheld, and an unsuccessful appeal to the federal officer removal doctrine.

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California voters say “No” to split roll, and San Francisco voters say “Yes” to higher gross receipts taxes and real estate transfer taxes. ChartIn “California’s Proposition 15 Is Failing While San Francisco Accepts a Bevy of Local Tax Measures“, colleagues Craig A. Becker, Breann E. Robowski, William L. Bennett discuss that California and San Francisco voters were asked to decide several tax‑related referenda with major implications across all business industries. Although it is too early to state with certainty, voters appear to have rejected Proposition 15, a measure that would introduce a so-called “split roll” property tax system. On the same day, voters in San Francisco overwhelmingly approved a battery of tax-related measures: Proposition F, which overhauls San Francisco’s business taxes; Proposition I, which doubles the real estate transfer tax on transactions exceeding $10 million; Proposition L, which institutes an aggressive new “Overpaid Executive Gross Receipts Tax;” and Proposition J, which repeals and replaces an annual parcel tax.

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In episode #22 of Industry Insights podcast, Bob Grados joins host Joel Simon to discuss the current real estate market, the types of lenders active in the market and popular transaction types that are thriving in today’s environment.

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Joel Simon: There’s been so much published and discussed about real estate in the current market environment, but today I’d like to talk about lenders and, more specifically, different types of lenders. One of the more interesting aspects of your practice, Bob, is that you work on real estate finance transactions that often feature different types of lenders with different stakes in the same asset or group of assets. Can you give us an idea of the number and variety of lenders you come across? Continue Reading ›

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https://www.gravel2gavel.com/files/2020/10/1200px-US-OfficeOfManagementAndBudget-Seal.svg_-300x300.pngOn March 2, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency revised its “On-Site Civil Inspection Procedures” in accordance with Executive Order 13892 . (The rules are located at 40 CFR Part 31.) These rules set forth the components of an appropriate inspection procedure. Briefly, the rules require that, after the inspector’s credential are made available, the object of the inspection will be discussed (and most inspections will be held during regular working hours), consent to enter must be obtained, there should be an opening and a closing conference with facility representatives, safety protocols must be observed, confidential business information must be protected, and there will be an opportunity for split sampling. Once the report is completed, it will be shared with the facility.

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An intercreditor agreement (ICA) involving a construction loan raises a host of complicated and unique issues that are not addressed in the typical ICA. As more fully described in the prior alert on Intercreditor Agreements (ICAs), and by way of a short introduction to mezzanine loans generally, the mezzanine lender in a single mezzanine loan structure makes a mezzanine loan to the mortgage borrower’s owner(s) (the “mezzanine borrower”) and the mezzanine loan is secured by the mezzanine borrower’s equity interest in the mortgage borrower (a single purpose entity that is not the property owner entity).  In “Distressed Real Estate During COVID-19: Mezzanine Loans Behind Construction Loans—Special Considerations and Intercreditor Agreement Provisions”, colleagues Caroline A. Harcourt and Paul Shapses discuss that construction loans with companion mezzanine loans raise a host of concerns that are unique to more standard ICAs between a mortgage lender and a mezzanine lender.

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Pillsbury partner and Global Co-Head of the Energy & Infrastructure Projects team, Mona Dajani, talks #ChangeInPower with Paul Browning, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Power Americas.

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Join us on November 12, 2020, for a 45-minute conversation, where Mona and Paul discuss the power sector’s role in the energy transition, the growing prominence of hydrogen and energy storage, collaborating with customers and stakeholders and setting a path toward a decarbonization of the power grid.

To attend this exclusive fireside chat, register here.

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Our latest summary of some recent developments in the courts and the federal agencies includes a unique case involving salt marshes adjacent to San Francisco Bay.

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Mortgage lenders and mezzanine lenders considering amendments to loan documents, forbearance, loan transfers, the exercise of remedies or deeds in lieu of foreclosure, and other loan-related fact patterns will need to revisit and comply with the provisions of their respective ICAs.  In “Distressed Real Estate During COVID-19: The Role of Intercreditor Agreements between Mortgage Lenders and Mezzanine Lenders“, colleague Caroline A. Harcourt  discusses how the current distressed real estate environment will put many of these arrangements to the test.