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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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“Continuing Offense” Trumps Statute of Limitations Defense in RCRA Criminal Enforcement

In United States v. Tonawanda Coke Corp., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in an unpublished opinion released on January 11, 2016, rejected Tonawanda’s appeal of the lower court’s judgment adjudicating it guilty of criminal offenses under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and Resource Conservation and Recovery…

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FinCEN’s First GTOs of 2016 Directed at U.S. Title Insurance Companies and “All Cash” Purchases

In FinCEN Targets “All Cash” Real Estate Deals in Manhattan and Miami, my colleagues Carolina Fornos, Maria Galeno, Mark Hellerer, Caroline Harcourt, and I discuss the federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN) first Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs) of 2016 issued on January 13. The GTOs are directed exclusively at U.S.…

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Late Innings – Environmental Case Law Update (November – December 2015)

In the home stretch for 2015, Courts across the nation issued environmental decisions of note: U.S. Supreme Court Oral argument in the case of FERC v. Electric Power Supply Association was held in October of 2015, and a decision may be announced shortly. The controversy involves complex provisions in the Federal…

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PA Supreme Court: PEHB Does Not Have Exclusive Jurisdiction for Penalty Review

On December 29, 2105, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a ruling that may be of considerable interest to oil and gas operators in Pennsylvania. In EQT Production Company v. Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Court considered the “whether a company threatened by an administrative agency with…