Issue 13 / Fall 2005

• From Hazardous to High Dollar In recent years, both federal and state governments have become increasingly concerned about a condition sometimes called “environmental blight.” The condition arises when otherwise valuable real estate is abandoned because of potential contamination resulting from past industrial use. Often, these “brownfields”—so named for the characteristic lifeless appearance of abandoned industrial sites—sit idle and unused for years because of fear that environmental clean-up would be cost prohibitive or could lead to unlimited liability for the property owner. The resulting brownfield is thus the unintended consequence of the various environmental clean-up laws, which inadvertently encourage development of pristine, uncontaminated land while allowing the brownfield properties to remain contaminated and unproductive.
• You Win $ome, You Lose $ome If you own or operate a business in Georgia, you may have cause to thank the state General Assembly and shake your fist at it all at the same time. In its 2005 session, the General Assembly passed several bills, which Governor Sonny Perdue subsequently signed into law, that significantly reshape the landscape of Georgia business taxation. Some of the changes will be of benefit to your company, while others will be viewed as detrimental.
• WORKPLACE VIOLENCE: RECOGNIZING RISK FACTORS AND FORMULATING PREVENTION STRATEGIES In August of 1986, a part-time letter carrier walked into an Oklahoma post office and killed 14 of his co-workers before turning the gun on himself. The Oklahoma postal tragedy brought national attention to the unfortunate, but growing, phenomenon of workplace violence. Stories of workplace mass murders by unstable employees became commonplace for the local and national news media and the headlines were sensational.
• POWER OVER YOUR FATE Most of us will not soon forget this spring’s nightly news stories of Terri Schiavo and the very public battle to determine her fate. Hearing about her case made many of us pause to consider, “Could the same thing happen to one of my loved ones or me?”
• CHANGING THE CODE After more than eight years of effort by various interest groups and lobbyists, President Bush signed into law the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (the “Act”) on April 20, 2005. While much has been written and discussed about the effect of the Act on consumer bankruptcies, the Act also will have a significant impact on business bankruptcy cases.