On 19 January, the EC published a strategy setting out wide-ranging ideas for the development of its financial market infrastructure. The strategy includes plans for driving the green transition in line with the European Green Deal through turning the EU financial markets into a “global green finance hub.”
Pillsbury partner and Global Co-Head of the Energy & Infrastructure Projects team Mona Dajani discusses energy transition with Jigar Shah, President and Co-Founder of Generate. Join us on February 4, 2021 where Jigar and Mona chat about entrepreneurship, sustainable sectors including hydrogen, food waste and EVs and the role of government in the energy transition. To attend this fireside chat, register here. 
Legislation signed into law on December 27, 2020, fixed the rate for the 30% present value low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC), which had dropped to a historic low of 3.07 in 2020, at 4% (the 4% Floor). Congress hopes that the 4% Floor will increase the supply of affordable rental housing in 2021 and beyond by reducing the need for other types of financing and subsidies for qualified LIHTC projects.
Real Estate partner Andrew Weiner and Tax partner Craig Becker discuss the intersection of transfer tax with enforcement in distressed real estate in New York and California in the latest Swimming Lessons Series presentation.
Here are some significant environmental and regulatory rulings and administrative actions from December 2020.
A recent Chuck E. Cheese decision denies the debtor’s/tenant’s request to defer paying rent after th
e 60-day “rent holiday.” The Bankruptcy Court applied the “plain language” rule to hold that section 365(d)(3)’s rent holiday cannot be extended. In “Bankruptcy Court Rules Bankruptcy Code Does Not Permit Extended Rent Holiday for Retail Debtors” colleagues, Patrick J. Potter, Patrick E. Fitzmaurice, and Kwame O. Akuffo discuss that after that initial 60-day period expires, the debtor is required to pay post-petition rent. The court did not order the debtor to make a rent payment on the 61st day and deferred ruling on landlord remedies for tenants failing to pay post-petition rent, regardless of when the rent accrued.
As we say goodbye to 2020, we wanted to share our top five most-read articles of 2020 from Gravel2Gavel. The most-read blog posts covered real estate and construction industry trends ranging from proptech trends like blockchain tokenization to COVID-specific rent carveouts and management disclosures to trends and market updates. Our posts provided deep industry insight and summarized hot topics that addressed the legal implications and disruptions that affected the market. Our 2020 roundup:
THE FEDERAL APPELLATE COURTS
The U.S. Court of Appeals
On November 23, 2020, the court, in a 2-to-1 vote, rejected the plaintiff’s request for an emergency injunction pending appeal in the case of Manzanita Band of Kumeyaay Nation, et al. v. Wolf. The majority held the requirement for such relief did not meet the requirements set forth in Winter v. NRDC, 555 US 7 (2008). Here, the plaintiffs allege that that the government’s construction of a border wall violates several environmental laws that were illegally waived by the Secretary of the Interior. Judge Millett dissented in part because the plaintiffs demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits. She pointed to the argument that the authority of the Secretary—or Acting Secretary—to take these actions has been successfully challenged in several federal district courts. An expedited pleading schedule was established by the court.
