More Real Estate Coverage
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March 28, 2025
DC Circ. Tosses Green Groups' Challenge To La. Gas Pipelines
A D.C. Circuit panel on Friday rejected an environmental challenge to a Tellurian subsidiary's $1.5 billion plan to construct parallel, roughly 30-mile gas pipelines in Louisiana, ruling that federal energy regulators reasonably weighed greenhouse gas impacts and market demand in approving the project.
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March 28, 2025
5th Circ. OKs Largest US Crude Export Terminal's Expansion
A Fifth Circuit panel found the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dotted its i's and crossed its t's before it greenlighted an expansion of the largest crude oil export terminal by volume in North America, finding in a Friday opinion the agency adequately studied the project's effects.
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March 28, 2025
US Can Weigh In On Osage Reservation Boundary Dispute
An Oklahoma federal judge will allow the United States to weigh in on a dispute between the Osage Nation and the state's tax commission over the tribe's reservation boundaries after the federal government said a U.S. Supreme Court ruling at the crux of the litigation is of interest to the government.
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March 27, 2025
Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill For Georgia's First National Park
Four U.S. lawmakers from Georgia have reintroduced a federal act that would establish the Ocmulgee Mounds and surrounding areas as the state's first national park, saying the bipartisan bill's introduction follows years of lobbying by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
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March 27, 2025
Whistleblowers Seek Bigger Cut Of Tetra Tech Deal With Navy
Seven whistleblowers told a California federal judge on Thursday they deserve a cut of the total $97 million settlement the government inked over allegations a Tetra Tech unit billed the Navy for radiation remediation that was not done, and not a smaller share covering only the government's False Claims Act claims.
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March 27, 2025
Western Leaders Oppose Cuts To Public Land Protections
More than 300 local Western leaders have urged the Trump administration and Congress to reject the sale of public lands in the latest budget resolution package passed by the U.S. House, saying they must oppose attempts to reduce the size of national monuments.
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March 27, 2025
Pa. Coal Co. Gets OK For $23.5M Asset Sale In Ch. 11
A Pennsylvania bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved the sale of assets of bankrupt Corsa Coal Corp. for $23.5 million, overriding arguments against including litigation claims in the sale and for earmarking proceeds for environmental cleanup.
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March 26, 2025
Sotomayor Urges Caution On Nondelegation Doctrine Revamp
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor cautioned her colleagues during oral arguments Wednesday against using a challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's administration of a broadband subsidy program as a way to resurrect the long-dormant nondelegation doctrine. Several conservative justices, however, seemed willing to disregard that admonition.
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March 26, 2025
Court Can't Hear Everglades Water Dispute, 11th Circ. Says
Sugar companies challenging the stand-alone use of an Everglades reservoir component that will allegedly reduce water supplies can't raise the dispute in court because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hasn't made a final decision on its operation, according to an Eleventh Circuit opinion.
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March 25, 2025
NJ Judge Upholds Mansion Tax On Sale Of Doomed House
A New Jersey company that bought a property for $4.7 million after obtaining approval to demolish an uninhabitable farmhouse on the land and use the property for industrial purposes owes the state's so-called mansion tax on the purchase, the state Tax Court ruled Tuesday.
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March 25, 2025
Contractor Drops $1.1M Bond Dispute Against Liberty Mutual
A Delaware-based plumbing and HVAC company has withdrawn its federal suit claiming that a general contractor and Liberty Mutual improperly withheld $1.1 million in payments for work the company completed on a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers elementary school project.
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March 24, 2025
Ore. Tribe Backs Hydro Utility's Eminent Domain Bid At Falls
The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians has asked an Oregon federal judge to approve a utility company's attempt to condemn five acres of public land for the operation of a hydroelectric project, saying another tribe believes wrongly that condemnation would eliminate its fishing platform.
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March 24, 2025
Investor Says It Was Conned Out Of $42M In Real Estate Deals
A Las Vegas investment company alleged that four businessmen fleeced it out of more than $42 million by convincing the company to invest in a Washington real estate project that collapsed when the developer was convicted of rape and also luring the firm into another bad deal under false promises.
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March 21, 2025
Md. Nonprofit's Property Used As Home Isn't Exempt
A Maryland property owned by a nonprofit isn't exempt from property tax, because it's used as the founder's home and not mainly for charitable purposes, the state tax court affirmed.
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March 20, 2025
Property Owner Demands Appraisal Of $10.5M Hail Claim
A Tennessee property owner asked a federal court Thursday to order a Travelers unit to participate in an appraisal of its hail damage claim, alleging the insurer denied coverage even though an "independent evaluation" of the owner's damages estimated that the hail damage exceeded $10.5 million.
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March 20, 2025
Conn. AG Sues Builder, Companies For State Park Clear-Cut
A real estate builder and two of his companies have illegally clear-cut multiple acres of Connecticut state park land, installed fixtures including a basketball court and a guesthouse without permission and blocked public access to the area, according to an enforcement action brought by the state attorney general's office.
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March 20, 2025
La. Court Reinstates Cancer Center's Property Tax Appeal
The Louisiana Tax Commission must hear a refund claim brought by a cancer center that said it mistakenly paid assessed property taxes despite being exempt, a state appeals court ruled, finding the center had a right to appeal the assessment.
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March 20, 2025
ND Directs Lawmakers To Consider Tribal Land Tax Study
North Dakota directed state lawmakers to consider studying issues related to the taxation of land owned by enrolled tribal members who reside on Native American reservations under a bill signed by the governor.
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March 19, 2025
Interior Department Transfers 680 Acres To North Dakota Tribe
The Spirit Lake Nation and the U.S. Department of the Interior are hailing the recently completed transfer of 680 acres back to the North Dakota tribe — land taken by the federal government in a mid-19th-century territory treaty — as a change that will benefit the tribe and that the tribe has pursued for decades.
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March 19, 2025
10th Circ. Says 'Corner-Crossing' Hunters Didn't Trespass
A Tenth Circuit panel has ruled that Wyoming hunters who used an A-frame ladder to cross over private property to access public lands didn't trespass, finding an 1885 American frontier law protects the public's right to "corner-cross" and access public lands that are otherwise enclosed by private property.
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March 18, 2025
Tribe Members Complicate Tesoro Pipeline Row, 8th Circ. Told
Tesoro High Plains Pipeline Co. has urged the Eighth Circuit to deny landowning tribe members' bid to intervene in the company's lawsuit challenging the federal government's right-of-way trespassing claims against it, saying that the United States adequately represents their interests and that they would only complicate the case.
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March 18, 2025
Real Estate Duo Closes Boutique To Join Howard & Howard
A pair of attorneys operating a Chicago-based real estate-focused boutique recently closed the firm's doors and have joined Howard & Howard's office in the Windy City.
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March 14, 2025
Mich. Panel Revives Hangar's Property Tax Challenge
The Michigan Court of Appeals revived a company's argument that it is exempt from a city's tax on a hangar it leased from a regional airport authority, saying the state Tax Tribunal should have required the municipality to prove that a tax statute applied to the company.
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March 13, 2025
Watchdog Says Federal Landlord Used Prohibited Chinese Drone
The U.S. General Service Administration's Office of Inspector General on Thursday pressed the Public Buildings Service to tell one of its contractors to stop using a drone manufactured by a Chinese company that the U.S. Department of Defense has identified as a potential national security threat.
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March 13, 2025
Ore. Tribes Challenge Utility's Eminent Domain Bid
An Oregon Indigenous community is fighting a bid by Portland General Electric Co. to condemn five acres of public land for the maintenance and operation of its hydroelectric project, arguing that the move is a pretext to eliminate its ceremonial fishing platform at the state's largest waterfalls.
Expert Analysis
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Worse Can Be Better For Nonjudicial CERCLA Allocation
With the U.S. Supreme Court's recent Guam v. U.S. decision potentially reviving some previously time-barred claims under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, parties seeking nonjudicial Superfund settlements should consider that a quicker, less in-depth allocation process may produce a better result, says William Ford at Lathrop GPM.
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High Court Ruling Won't Stop States From Thwarting Pipelines
While the U.S. Supreme Court recently held that PennEast had the power under the Natural Gas Act to take right-of-way interests in land owned by New Jersey for construction of its pipeline, the decision eliminates only one means by which states can block such development, say Yvonne Hennessey and Mark McNamara at Barclay Damon.
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Voluntary CFIUS Filings May Limit Uncertain Outcomes
Attorneys at DLA Piper outline key considerations U.S. businesses should consider when deciding whether to voluntarily notify the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States of transactions, in order to avoid unexpected governmental review and intervention.
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How Speedway Deal Might Have Avoided Antitrust Gridlock
A close examination of 7-Eleven's Speedway acquisition shows that adding certain language to the deal's closing conditions might have kept it out of prolonged Federal Trade Commission antitrust jeopardy, say attorneys at Cadwalader.
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Tips For Energy Developers Seeking To Lease Tribal Lands
The Biden administration's commitment to renewable energy creates opportunities to lease tribal lands under the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Home Ownership Act, but renewable energy developers should carefully consider sovereign immunity questions and other unique issues associated with tribes, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
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Biden Infrastructure Plan Will Be Challenging To Implement
President Joe Biden's $2 trillion American Jobs Plan proposes incentives for environmental remediation of legacy sites, and creation of more resilient and greener energy infrastructure — but fully implementing it would take many years, and require close coordination between the White House, Congress and federal agencies, says Robert Middleton at Schiff Hardin.
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Water Rule Reinstatement Shows Specific Objections Are Key
The Tenth Circuit's recent lifting of an injunction against the federal Navigable Waters Protection Rule in Colorado offers lessons for litigants seeking relief against an agency rule — including the importance of avoiding general allusions of harm that lack specificity or imminence, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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Oil And Gas Contract Drafting Lessons From Texas Ruling
The recent Texas Supreme Court opinion in BlueStone Natural Resources II v. Randle makes it clear that when drafting oil and gas leases, parties should explicitly state contract terms — and avoid creating contradictory terms through amendments or addenda, say Kenneth Held and Brent Hanson at Skadden.
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The UK Needs Safe Harbors For Libor's Wind-Down
A synthetic Libor could come to the aid of tough legacy contracts when Libor ceases to exist later this year, but the U.K. should legislate safe harbors to mitigate transaction risk during the transition, say former Federal Reserve Bank of New York general counsel Thomas Baxter and former London Commercial Court Judge Sir William Blair.
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CBP's Jones Act Ruling Provides Certainty For Offshore Wind
U.S. Customs and Border Protection's recent ruling confirming that the Jones Act applies to wind energy projects on the outer continental shelf provides useful clarity for offshore wind energy developers, operators and other stakeholders planning future operations, say attorneys at Holman Fenwick.
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Surveying Global Tax Updates For Sovereign Wealth Investors
As the market transitions to a post-pandemic phase, sovereign wealth fund and other foreign institutional investors must evaluate how recent U.S., EU and U.K. tax changes may affect their private fund investments, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Offshore Wind Push Is Good News For NYC Building Owners
With a surge of federal and state support for offshore wind power in New York state, the projects now in development should greatly benefit New York City building owners seeking to comply with the city's Climate Mobilization Act, says Raymond Pomeroy at Stroock.
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Biden's Climate Agenda Means Oil, Gas Cos. Must Innovate
President Joe Biden's climate agenda, including changes to leasing of public lands, tax deductions and other policies, may impose significant hurdles on the oil and gas sector, but companies that take an innovative, multifaceted approach can rise to this challenge, say attorneys at Akin Gump.