The ever-evolving nature of environmental law often presents landlords with a minefield of problems in their ability to pass cleanup costs onto their tenants. Landlords can and should take special precautions when drafting environmental remediation provisions in their leases to best position themselves in this uncertain climate.
A retail tenant negotiating a new lease should always consider its alternatives for exiting from the lease relationship in the event that circumstances change in the future.
Recent national rulings of importance.
Complex and systemic, the current financial crisis is nearly certain to yield extensive legislation regulating everything from the financial markets to mortgage brokers to ratings agencies. Any such legislation may raise interpretive issues similar to those that have arisen in recent Federal Court decisions interpreting section 304 and section 1514A(a)(1) of the sweeping Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ("SOX").
Twenty years ago, a defense attorney might have sighed with relief to hear an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) say that a client was only a "witness," or would not be prosecuted, or would be immunized in return for truthful cooperation in the government's investigation. These days, not so fast.
While Rule 502 is limited to agreements among parties "in a Federal proceeding," what about a non-waiver agreement between a company and the government during an investigation, when the company is not a party to any proceeding? This question and more are discussed in this article.
As food recalls over the past year have flourished, the public, the media, the government, industry, farms, and organic gardeners have acknowledged the need for effective and enforceable measures of food safety in the United States.
The first part of this article summarized the law of inadvertent waiver of privilege and the evolution of courts' approaches to this problem. The conclusion offers a roadmap for the product liability practitioner to navigate the opportunities and challenges presented by Rule 502, and illustrates how to protect a client's privileged communications in a cost-conscious way.
Bankruptcy is a dark cloud on a company's business. However, business incentives and property taxes can be a silver lining by bringing precious value ' such as property tax abatements, sale/use tax exemptions and, in some instances, favorable financing and utility rate reductions ' to help the company on its road to economic recovery.
