No one can escape the basic rules of contracting, even the federal government. If the contract is clear and unambiguous, then the four corners of the agreement set the rules for the project and the parties – and there’s not much room for interpretation. The government was recently reminded of this cold, hard truth after it refused to grant a contractor an equitable adjustment of the contract price for purchasing wetland mitigation credits. In Kiewit Infrastructure W. Co. v ...
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in BGT Holdings LLC v. United States, recently held that the government does not have the discretion to deny a contractor’s request for equitable adjustment (REA) under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.245-1 (Government Property) where the conditions specified in that clause are present and the contractor is able to show financial loss ...
In a December 2020 opinion, the United States Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (the “Board”) reviewed and reversed a Federal Highway Administration (“FHWA”) Contracting Officer’s (“CO”) decision to terminate for default Eagle Peak Rock & Paving, Inc.’s thirty-six million dollar contract (the “Contract”) for work on a project in Yellowstone National Park (the “Project”) ...
In our last issue of the newsletter, we told you of a decision of the United States Circuit Court for the Sixth Circuit, in which the Sixth Circuit considered the issue of whether a party waived its arbitration right through its pre-litigation conduct. In Borror Property Management, LLC v ...
At the end of 2020, Congress enacted the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, partially in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis. While funding the federal government and preventing a government shutdown, the CAA also included several amendments to the bankruptcy code providing much-needed rent relief for commercial tenants. The bankruptcy code generally requires a debtor in bankruptcy to timely pay its rental obligations during the bankruptcy case ...
Novel coronavirus is understandably causing a lot of panic and uncertainty around the globe. While legislators scramble to contain the virus’ spread, investors are also being forced to make weighty decisions with very little information as they attempt to navigate market uncertainty and supply chain disruption. This is particularly true in Thailand, which now has the highest number of confirmed cases outside of China ...
ENSafrica recently released Africa Regulatory Insight: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Regulatory Measures. This comprehensive report outlines the COVID-19 regulatory measures for each country across Sub-Sahara Africa, providing the sector, measure, effective date/status and key points and impact for each region. The information provided herein is intended to provide a general overview, and is not an exhaustive list of all legislatice developments across Sub-Sahara ...
Phasing is one of the key factors to consider and get right in planning for large scale, strategic development. A well-phased scheme divides the site into distinct parcels of land allowing reserved matters to be submitted and conditions discharged in relation to each parcel, individually, as it comes to be developed. It also allows planning obligations in section 106 Agreements to be apportioned between parcels and (in some cases) to be attached and limited to particular parcels ...
This article forms part of our ‘New How: Perspectives’ campaign: ‘The logistics industry is booming, but can our infrastructure keep up?’. Here Choisanne Man, a real estate partner in Shoosmiths’ London office, speaks with David Proctor, Managing Director, Group Investment at Segro, to discuss the state of the logistics sector including the challenges it poses for our towns and cities. 1 ...
The DIFC Court of First Instance has, for the first time in its history, issued a judgement allowing the examination of witnesses resident in the UAE pursuant to two requests for judicial assistance (Letters Rogatory) from the District Court of the State of Minnesota, USA (the US Court). The judgement, issued by Justice Robert French, clarifies the scope of Rules 30.65, 30.66 and 30.67 of the Rules of the DIFC Courts (the RDC) ...
In August 2020, Kudun & Partners was appointed to represent the largest group of creditors, consisting of 87 savings cooperatives, in the wake of the recent Thai Airways’ petition for rehabilitation. Taken together, these investment entities hold 65% of the airline’s total debenture debt, making them the largest group of creditors ...
UAE Federal Decree Law 19 of 2020 Regarding Trusts (the UAE Trusts Law) was issued in September of 2020. As there was no comparable law previously, the UAE Trusts Law opened the door to trusts in the UAE for the first time (not including DIFC and ADGM trusts, the UAE’s two financial free zones). This is a potentially significant development that holds great promise, although some key questions remain ...
The Charity Commission focuses on charities meeting “public expectation”, but they also need to remain true to their stated purpose, even when doing so may prove controversial. A report on our colonial past The National Trust has acted in accordance with its charitable objects. This shouldn’t be headline news, but it has been for the last six months ...
On 19 March 2021, the Hong Kong Government gazetted the Securities and Futures and Companies Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2021 (the Bill). The Bill provides for an uncertificated securities market (USM) regime which will allow investors to hold securities in their own names without paper documents ...
An increasing number of investment managers in Hong Kong are considering the adoption of the open-ended fund company (OFC) structure following announcements by the government of subsidy initiatives to cover 70% of expenses paid to local professional service providers for the establishment of OFCs and the re-domiciliation of funds as OFCs. As a key operator of an OFC, the investment manager should be well informed of its obligations and duties under the OFC regime ...
The European Union’s (EU’s) Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) imposes disclosure obligations on fund managers and other EU regulated firms regarding environment, social or governance (ESG) issues. The SFDR disclosure obligations came into effect on 10 March 2021. I was recently approached by Ignites Asia – a Financial Times service – for an interview on how the SFDR may impact Hong Kong fund managers. Below is an extract. 1 ...
A recent Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) disciplinary action is a reminder of the need for managers to ensure there are systems and procedures in place to meet the short position reporting obligations of the funds that they manage. The SFC reprimanded and fined an asset manager HK$3 ...
On March 18, 2021, the Financial Market Commission (“FMC”) opened a public consultation process regarding 2 regulations: Amendment to the files that configure the report of financial system debtors The proposed regulatory changes, applicable to banks, supervised cooperatives and bank support companies (sociedades de apoyo al giro), aim to reduce the frequency of the delivery of the files D10 (Information on debtors article 14 LGB (General Banking Act)) and D27 (Obligations
There has been a growing expectation that in order to fill the COVID sized hole in the Treasury's finances focus and ultimately action would be brought to bear on pension tax relief across defined benefit and defined contribution pension schemes. However, "Tax Day" has seen cuts to higher rate tax relief fail to materialise ...
Understanding the Employer's Entitlement to Liquidated Damages When there is Sectional Completion - ǼLEX Legal .avada-select-parent .select-arrow{background-color:#ffffff}.select-arrow{background-color:#ffffff} It is common for parties in commercial construction projects to include sectional completion provisions in their contracts where they have agreed to complete works in sections or phases ...
As competition for project siting increases, so do the challenges of development due diligence. This webinar will address significant issues and questions surrounding real estate contracts, title insurance, and environmental assessment and permitting common in solar PV project development. Bradley’s renewable energy attorneys will share advice and experience managing key development challenges and environmental compliance concerns presented by solar PV project development ...
(Antelope Valley Groundwater Cases, JCCP No. 4408 (3/16/21))[1] After twenty-two years, the protracted proceedings in the Antelope Valley groundwater adjudication resulted in a settlement and court-approved "physical solution." A physical solution equitably allocates available water under California's laws governing water rights. The physical solution in Antelope Valley limited pumping to balance the overdrafted aquifer with the available native safe yield ...
Over the past month, the SEC has signaled the primacy of ESG in its mission for 2021 and beyond. Seemingly daily, there have been updates regarding ESG initiatives, whether from the Division of Enforcement or the Division of Corporation Finance. This week, it was the Division of Investment Management’s turn ...
In February 2020, just prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (Subchapter V) took effect.[1] Subchapter V amends Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code to allow certain individuals and businesses with debts of less than $2,725,625 to file a streamlined Chapter 11 case with the goal to make small business bankruptcies faster and cheaper ...
