On March 28, 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the final National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Vessel General Permit (VGP). The 2013 VGP, issued under the Clean Water Act (CWA), replaces the 2008 VGP and regulates discharges incidental to the normal operation of commercial vessels greater than or equal to 79 feet in length.1 The 2013 VGP will be effective on December 19, 2013, when the current 2008 VGP expires ...
The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”), pursuant to its rulemaking authority under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”)1, has interpreted guarantees of swap agreements to fall under the definition of a swap,2 which means that any swap guarantor must be an “eligible contract participant” (“ECP”) at the time a swap is entered into (which may occur after the date on which the guarantee and related credit facility documents are entered
As I have discussed in the past, North Carolina’s General Assembly recently introduced the concept of Mechanic’s Lien Agent (MLA) into our state’s lien laws to address so-called “hidden liens” that have long been a thorn in the side of title insurers ...
According to December 2012 data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for Gulf War Era veterans, hovering around eight percent, remains higher than the national rate. Over the last decade, more than 2.3 million Americans were deployed to military duty in Iraq, Afghanistan or both. Of that total, more than 1 million have since left the military ...
Canadian ratification of the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment and of the Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment: This Bulletin is intended as a brief overview of the above-mentioned Convention and its Protocol and is not an in depth analysis of each of their provisions ...
Just over one year ago, new ATM regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became enforceable. Since virtually the stroke of midnight on March 15, 2012, banks, credit unions and other ATM operators have been served with lawsuits alleging noncompliance with certain of those new ADA regulations, particularly those requiring auxiliary aids and services for ATM users who are blind or have low vision ...
Just as it seemed that the South African Government’s appetitefor introducing the carbon tax was waning we were informed by the Minister of Finance that the long awaited carbon tax policy paper will be released by the end of March 2013. The carbon tax policy paper is expected to be an update of the carbon tax discussion paper that was published for comment in December 2010 ...
A complex system of laws, rules and regulations apply to real estate and real estate transactions in the Philippines. Key prohibitions on the ownership and disposition of lands are found in our organic law (i.e. the 1987 Philippine Constitution) while incentives and other regulatory mechanisms for the sale, purchase, lease and ownership of different types of real estate are scattered in various statutes and regulations ...
Many banks formed holding companies in the late 1980s and 1990s. They had various reasons for doing this. Some formed a holding company to hold subsidiaries providing nonbank activities. Some used the holding company to reduce state taxes in states where banks are taxed differently. Some were acquisitive, and holding companies gave them more options in acquiring banks. Some thought the holding company would help improve the marketability of the stock ...
For the first time ever, North Carolina’s Business Court and Court of Appeals both upheld fiduciary duty claims against banks in late 2012. Debtors frequently employ such claims in an attempt to shift liability for failed projects to their lenders or to pressure lenders to settle problem loans in the wake of the financial downturn. Despite their ubiquity, breach of fiduciary duty claims had proven elusive for borrowers before October 2012 ...
It appears that the industry is starting to “enjoy” a modest increase in activity as to participations, assignments and syndications. This “enjoyment” is not without more than a fair share of trepidation and reluctance, but the allure of increased revenue is difficult to withstand. Regardless of this trepidation, participations, assignments, syndications and intercreditor agreements can be done safely and profitably ...
An interview with Weronika Pelc, the partner in charge of the Energy Law Practice at Wardynski & Partners, and Michal Barlowski, the partner in charge of the Bankruptcy and Restructuring practices at Wardynski & Partners, about shale gas projects in Poland. You recently visited Houston at the invitation of the law firm of Haynes and Boone for a seminar on shale gas mining in Poland ...
On February 5, 2013, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania granted Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. LLC’s (“TGPC”) motion for an emergency preliminary injunction preventing Pennsylvania’s Environmental Hearing Board (“EHB”) from reviewing permits issued by Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) to TGPC associated with its Northeast Upgrade Project (“Project”) ...
On February 13, 2013, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (the “Agency”) issued a new guidance (the “Guidance”) to clarify the interpretation that must be given to the Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry in Canada (the “Code”) with regard to three issues within the Canadian payment card industry (credit or debit cards) that, according to the Agency, are not in line with some of the key principles set out in the Code ...
The quality of corporate governance practices increasingly represents a key factor to maintaining the trust of depositors, policyholders and most stakeholders who are active on capital markets. Considering the unique features of financial institutions and the risks arising from their responsibilities, some aspects of corporate governance are particularly important for these institutions, including banks, insurers, trust companies, loan companies and cooperative credit associations ...
Pursuant to new rules and interpretations issued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) and the Securities Exchange Commission under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act1(together with related rules, regulations and interpretations, the “Dodd-Frank Act”), a “swap” has been interpreted to include any guarantee of a swap ...
One of the provisions of the West Virginia Horizontal Well Control Act passed in December 2011 increased the permit fees for horizontal wells from $400 to $10,000. At the time this legislation was under consideration, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Randy Huffman told the legislature that the increased permit fee would allow him to nearly double the Inspection and Enforcement staff within the Office of Oil and Gas, which at that time numbered 17 ...
Savings and Credit Entities (SCEs) are regulated financial institutions of private capital authorised to develop lending activities. The operation of SCEs is governed by the Law of Cooperative Banks and Savings and Credit Entities, which came into force on July 1 2001, amended in January 1 2009 to its current regime ...
It is still possible to regain property expropriated by the state after the Second World War, and in some cases compensation is awarded instead. Real estate in Poland was expropriated by the state on a massive scale. This was done by operation of law or through administrative orders, which in most cases were issued in violation of the law in force at that time ...
The new Waste Act of 14 December 2012 went into force on 23 January 2013. It introduces major changes in the waste management system in Poland. The prior Waste Act of 27 April 2001 will continue to apply in certain areas, however. The new Waste Act was enacted primarily in order to implement the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) into Polish law. The deadline for transposing the directive was 12 December 2010 ...
On January 16, 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted the final 2013 Vessel General Permit (VGP) to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The 2013 VGP, which will be issued under the Clean Water Act (CWA), will replace the 2008 VGP and will regulate discharges incidental to the normal operation of commercial vessels greater than or equal to 79 feet in length. See 76 Fed. Reg. 76,716 (Dec. 8, 2011) ...
On January 23, 2013, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC)1 issued a notice for comment on its proposed guidance, Social Media: Consumer Compliance Risk Management Guidance2 (the “Guidance”) ...
After several years of legislative effort in Mexico, particularly in the area of tax, a structure has been established that now makes it attractive for companies to issue, and investors to acquire, securities based on a beneficial interest in an Infrastructure and Real Estate Trust (known by its Spanish acronym “FIBRA”) ...
Here are select December 2012 rulings of the Supreme Court of the Philippines on civil law: Civil Code Damages; When Applicable. It is essential that for damages to be awarded, a claimant must satisfactorily prove during the trial that they have a factual basis, and that the defendant’s acts have a causal connection to them ...
