With the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to be felt by the American public, the Trump Administration has taken steps to try to allay a coming eviction crisis by enacting a moratorium on evictions through the end of 2020. With the first eviction moratorium instituted by the CARES…
As the end of summer approaches, the courts have provided a potpourri of relevant environmental decisions. FEDERAL COURTS OF APPEAL Town of Weymouth, et al. v. Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) On August 31, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued an opinion revising the…
The past few months saw, and continue to see, significant disruptions to the real estate market and the real estate finance market in particular. According to Trepp LLC, June saw the delinquency rate for commercial mortgage-backed security (CMBS) loans hit 10.32 percent, which is just shy of the peak delinquency…
The last few weeks have yielded a number of interesting developments in the Federal courts. FEDERAL COURTS OF APPEAL In re Flint Water Cases Several local and State of Michigan officials, including the former governor, requested dismissal from the civil litigation seeking damages for the massive failure of Flint,…
A recent court decision in New York found that current market conditions in the real estate market justify delaying noticing mezzanine real estate foreclosures until October 15, 2020. In “Distressed Real Estate During COVID-19: Court Finds UCC Foreclosure “Commercially Unreasonable” Because of Coronavirus-Related Market Turmoil“, colleagues Caroline A. Harcourt, Patrick E.…
Some very interesting and fairly complex environmental law rulings have been released in the past few days. U.S. Supreme Court—Trump, et al. v. Sierra Club, et al. On July 31, 2020, in a 5-to-4 decision, the Supreme Court denied a motion to lift the stay entered by the Court a…
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the U.S. economy, restaurateurs and bar owners are feeling the brunt of business closures and adaptations necessary to combat the disease. Where cozy and intimate dining was once de rigueur for the restaurant industry, these businesses must now shift to outdoor dining with…
District of Columbia enacts legislation to provide up to $100 million in grants to eligible businesses for up to 15% of revenue lost due to COVID-19 during the quarter ending June 2020. Landlords can receive grants to partially support their help to eligible tenant businesses. In “District of Columbia Enacts…
As one would expect, the 110-page document released by the Biden campaign of policy recommendations reached by its joint task forces with supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders includes a number of energy and environmental policy statements. The paper begins with the statement that “climate change is a global emergency,” and…
Virginia adopted an emergency temporary standard, the first in the nation, that requires business owners to comply with minimum workplace safety standards to prevent and mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The regulations are expected to take effect the week of July 27 and will stay in effect for six months,…