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In Brexit: The UK’s Great Reform Bill, Pillsbury attorney Tim Wright discusses Prime Minister May’s “notice to quit” under Article 50 and start  of what he aptly describes as the equivalent of a “difficult and protracted divorce proceedings.” The White Paper published sets out Prime Minister May’s plans for a great repeal bill, which at one strike will remove the United Kingdom from the purview of the European Court of Justice and restore the supremacy of domestic law. Currently, the European Communities Act 1972 enshrines the supremacy of European Union law in national law. That will come to an end on Brexit day, which will be 29 March 2019 unless an extension is agreed to by the EU27 and the European Parliament.

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On March 23, the Colorado Court of Appeals issued a ruling reversing the trial court and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission which had denied the petitioners’ request that the Commission, when promulgating rules affecting oil and gas production operations and activities in Colorado, be required to consider public health and environmental conditions to be determinative. The case is Martinez, et al., v. Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The American Petroleum Institute and the Colorado Petroleum Association were intervenors, and a large number of environmental groups supported the petitioners. Continue Reading ›

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In Potentially Costly Nuclear Rulemaking Proposed, NRC targets include oil & gas industry, cancer treatment providers, sterilization facilities and radiographers, Pillsbury attorney Jay Silberg discusses the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff’s recent recommendation that the NRC undertake a rulemaking requiring licensees to provide financial assurance (or set aside funds) to cover the cost of the disposition of certain Category 1 & 2 sources.

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In  Trump Jettisons Obama Climate Policies, President Trump signed a sweeping Executive Order initiating the rollback of the Clean Power Plan and requiring a broad regulatory review of energy and environmental regulation under a new “burden” standard, we discuss President Trump’s sweeping Executive Order initiating the rollback of the Clean Power Plan and requiring a broad regulatory review of energy and environmental regulation under a new “burden” standard.

Additional Source:  Executive Order Promoting Energy Independent and Economic Growth (March 28, 2017)

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UPDATE: U.S. Supreme Court asked to review feds’ prairie dog regulation

 

On March 29, in the case of People For the Ethical Treatment of Property Owners v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, et al., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued a unanimous decision that the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and its implementing regulations can, consistent with the Commerce Clause in the U.S. Constitution, regulate the “take” of the Utah prairie dog, a threatened and purely intrastate species, even when it is located in nonfederal land.

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On March 24, the Texas Third District Court of Appeals (sitting in Austin) issued an important decision regarding the application of the state’s statute of limitations in a class action lawsuit. The case is Asplundh Tree Expert Co. v. Abshire, at al. The Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court’s order denying Asplundh Tree Expert Co.’s (Asplundh) motion for summary judgment, confirming that the Texas two-year statute of limitations set forth in Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003 was tolled by the filing of a class action, as contemplated in the 1974 U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in American Pipe and Construction Co. v. State of Utah.

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This is the first post in an ongoing series of posts on real estate and construction lending. Check back soon for more posts in our series.

In New York, contractors must be careful to file the correct type of lien to ensure they will be paid for their labor and/or materials. State law provides for two distinct liens: (1) a mechanic’s lien for labor or materials provided for private real property, and (2) a public improvement lien for labor or materials provided for public improvements. Knowing which lien applies is important at the beginning of the filing process, as there are significant differences in the coverage and requirements for each.

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In Payment Practices and Performance Reporting, New UK rules aimed at tackling late payment of suppliers and vendors will require large businesses to report on their payment practices and performance, Pillsbury partner Tim Wright discusses draft regulations published by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) on February 2 requiring certain companies to publish information about their payment practices and policies, and their performance by reference to those practices and policies, and BEIS’ guidance on the regulations. The new regulations are expected to become effective on April 6, 2017.

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On March 22, in the case of Delaware Riverkeeper Network, et al., v. FERC, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the plaintiffs’ complaint that the statutory requirement that the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission (FERC) recover its annual operating costs directly from the entities it regulates results in perceived or actual bias against plaintiffs who contest applications for needed certificates from FERC. Because of this bias, the plaintiff asked the District Court either to declare FERC’s reimbursement mechanism to be unconstitutional or declare its power of eminent domain or authority to preempt state and local laws to be unconstitutional. Holding that the plaintiffs have failed to state a claim because allegations of actual bias cannot create structural bias where the court determines there is none, and the law does not on its face create an unconstitutional funding mechanism, the District Court granted FERC’s motion to dismiss.

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The California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) recently announced that it has launched a series of interactive forms to help simplify the contractor license application process as well as the process that licensees are to use to change or update to their existing licenses. The upgrade includes “easy-fill” forms available on the CSLB’s Forms and Applications webpage. CSLB confirmed that the new forms will alert applicants and licensees if certain errors are made when entering information, e.g., conflicting responses to questions have been entered into the form, blank fields, etc., and prompt that other forms may need to be submitted. The new easy fill forms include the application for original contractor license, application for an additional license classification, application to replace the qualifying individual, certification of work experience, and application for home improvement salesperson registration. Once the forms are completed, they must be printed, signed, and sent to CSLB; CSLB currently does not accept electronic submissions.

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