Environmental Due Diligence

SC Appeals Ct Affirms Judgment To Golf Course Developer But Reduces Damages Award

Corporate and Real Estate Transactions, Environmental Due Diligence /

A South Carolina appeals court affirmed a jury verdict that a seller of a 239-acre golf course in Blythewood, South Carolina had breached an environmental indemnity but reduced the damages award by the jury in Ginn-LA University Club Ltd. v. Amelia Capital III, LLC,2013 S.C. App. Unpub. LEXIS 95 (Ct. App. 2/13/13). In this case, […]

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Ct Says NJ Brownfield Agreement Not Enough to Establish Innocent Party Status

bankruptcy, Brownfields, CERCLA, Corporate and Real Estate Transactions, Environmental Due Diligence, NJ Spill Act /

The brownfield reforms that swept the country in the 1990s created new tools for developers of contaminated sites to help minimize their liability. Some of the reforms like the CERCLA Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser (BFPP) liability protection are self-implementing while others such as prospective purchaser agreements, covenants not to sue or letters stating that the developer

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NJ Ct. Vacates NJDEP Denial of Innocent Party Grant

Brownfields, Corporate and Real Estate Transactions, Environmental Due Diligence, NJ Spill Act, vapor intrusion /

During the early years of New Jersey’s remediation program, challenging decisions of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) bordered on Quixotic mission. Times have changed, though, and courts are no longer intimated by NJDEP and we have discussed a number of cases where courts have overruled the agency’s decisions. See dry cleaner case and

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Fifth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Bond Counsel in Bombing Range Case While Other Parties Settle

Corporate and Real Estate Transactions, Environmental Due Diligence /

We have previously discussed the complex litigation involving a planned development on a portion of a World War 2 bombing range in Louisiana . In the latest installment of this saga, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a legal malpractice claim filed against bond counsel in Coves of the Highland Community

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Parties Battle Over Scope of Seller’s Post-Closing VCP Obligations

Brownfields, Corporate and Real Estate Transactions, Environmental Due Diligence /

Carroll Co. v. Sherwin-Williams Co., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47349 (D.Md. 4/2/13) involved a dispute over the cleanup obligations of a seller. This case illustrates the drawback of having of a seller complete a cleanup after closing. In December 2005, Carroll Company (Carroll) entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement to purchase a chemical blending and

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NY Case Illustrates Dangers of Completing Environmental Questionnaires

Corporate and Real Estate Transactions, Disclosure of Environmental Liabilities, Environmental Due Diligence /

The decision in Revell v Guido, 956 N.Y.S.2d 343 (App. Div-3rd Dept. 2012) is another example of the limits of “as is” contracts when it comes to environmental issues. The doctrine of caveat emptor is still valid in commercial transactions but may not insulate sellers from liability when they make misstatements in environmental questionnaires or

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Methane Gas, an Apartment Complex and a Bankruptcy Filing

bankruptcy, Environmental Due Diligence, Methane Gas /

A federal bankruptcy court authorized the owner of the upscale Marble Cliffs Crossing Apartments complex in Columbus, Ohio to install a methane gas remediation plan over the objections of the purchaser of the mortgage note, holding that the plan was necessary to protect the safety of tenants and was critical for preserving the value of

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Ct Allows CERCLA Claim Agst Bank To Proceed In Methane Case

Brownfields, CERCLA, Environmental Due Diligence, Hazardous Waste, Lender Liability, Methane Gas /

Back in October 2011, we discussed a failed $35MM development project where a bank sought damages from three environmental consultants for failing to anticipate methane gas problems at the development site. The plaintiff, BancorpSouth Bank, was a successor by merger to The Signature Bank that had financed the project. The project consisted of 150-acre site that

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Parties Must Proceed To Trial on Meaning of “Satisfactory Phase 1” Contingency

CERCLA, Corporate and Real Estate Transactions, Environmental Due Diligence /

The twin rulings in Westwood Dev. Partners, LLC v. Draper, 2012 Del. Super. LEXIS 161, 2012 Del. Super. LEXIS 162  (Del. Super. Ct., Mar. 29, 2012) eluded our radar screen last year due to the end of the year crush of deals. While these rulings are admittedly a bit stale, we are sharing them since they provide

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