Scientists have long proposed that solar electricity generation in space could be an integral component of the world’s carbon-free future. In the 1970s, a U.S. Navy experiment showed that it might be possible to capture solar power and wirelessly transmit it from outer space using microwave beams. Progress stalled after…
Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
Subrogation 101 (and Why Should I Care?)
What is subrogation? Why am I being asked to waive it? Should I care? To answer that last question, let’s take a quick run at the first two. What Is Subrogation? “Subrogation” refers to the act of one person or party standing in the place of another person or party.…
Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (06/06/23) – Housing Woes, EV Plants and the Debate over Public Financing
In our latest roundup, we look at the increasing difficulty of purchasing a home, potential international fallout from a new trade deal a renewed commitment by one American automaker to electric vehicles, and more! It’s becoming increasingly more difficult for house hunters to find homes, specifically in certain major cities.…
New Case Law Update: Mountain Valleys, Chevron Deference and a Long-Awaited Resolution on the Sacketts’ Small Lot
This is a brief roundup of recent federal court environmental and regulatory law decisions from the federal courts over the past few months, including the much anticipated ruling in Sackett, et ux., v, Environmental Protection Agency. THE U.S. SUPREME COURT Sackett, et ux., v, Environmental Protection Agency Last year, the…
Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (05/23/23) – Distressed Prices, Carbon Removal and Climate Change
In this week’s roundup, we consider distressed property bonds and loans, cities that are sinking under their own skyscrapers, efforts to lower carbon emissions, the unexpected potential of dirty diapers as a building material, and so much more. Globally, more than $190 billion of property bonds and loans are trading…
Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (05/17/23) – A Flop in Flipping, Plastic Microbes and Psychological Hard Hats
In our latest roundup, we look at a downturn in home-flipping and a continuing overabundance of commercial office space, plus psychological support for construction workers and surging demand for industrial space materials. The golden days of home flipping may be coming to an end, as U.S. real estate investors take…
Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (05/10/23) – Wobbling Real Estate, Booming (and Busting) Construction, and Eye-Watering Insurance Premiums
In our latest roundup, the commercial real estate sector continues to wobble, construction booms and busts, flood insurance premiums reach eye-watering levels, and more. In its latest Financial Stability report, the Federal Reserve acknowledges that the shaky commercial real estate sector could potentially harm the U.S. financial system. (Courtenay Brown,…
Anticipating and Navigating the Rescue Capital Wave
With 2023 well underway, it is clear that inflation, interest rates, decreased valuations and geopolitical unrest, together with the uncertain future of major asset classes (particularly office and retail), will lead to a wave of distressed real estate transactions. This may result in a familiar pattern of workouts, bankruptcies and…
Incidental Beneficiaries, Assumed Contracts and a Lack of Cure
In “No Cutting the (Priority) Line!: Incidental Beneficiaries to Assumed Contracts and Leases Cannot Assert Cure Claims Against Debtors,” colleagues Dania Slim and Alana A. Lyman examine a recent Second Circuit decision that suggests incidental beneficiaries without legal rights under assumed contracts or leases may not assert cure claims.
Social Cost of Carbon Gets the Greenlight
In “Fifth Circuit Permits the Use of the Social Cost of Carbon, for Now,” Anne Idsal Austin and David M. McCullough examine the court’s decision to allow the Biden administration to further develop the Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) but to leave open the possibility of future judicial scrutiny of its…