Jessica Johnson, Author at SGR Law

Sep 26, 2024

Harsh Sanctions Against Class Action Plaintiff Serves as Reminder to Timely Produce and Supplement Expert Disclosures

A recent case out of the Eastern District of New York highlights the (1) criticality of exactness and timeliness of expert disclosure under the Federal Rules; and (2) that practitioners should not rely on the supplementation process available at Rule 26 to set forth opinions that “could have been asserted” at an earlier date. Mirkin v. XOOM Energy, LLC, 2024 WL 4143376 (EDNY Sept. 2024) involves two expert reports of a class action plaintiff Mirkin. Plaintiff’s first expert report was “adopted” by the District Court to support class certification, and to deny defendant’s motion for summary judgment. Thereafter, and at… Read more

Sep 19, 2024

Unpacking the Corporate Transparency Act: What Cooperatives and Condominiums Need to Know

SGR’s Cooperative and Condominium Practice Group has received many questions concerning compliance with the federal Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) by cooperatives and condominiums. This bulletin is intended to provide guidance and clarification. The CTA was enacted by Congress in 2021 to assist in prosecuting money laundering and other illicit activities by establishing a national registry, maintained by the United States Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), that includes information regarding individuals who control certain entities identified as “reporting companies”. Below are key components you should be familiar with: 1. The CTA in its current form applies to all New York cooperatives, with… Read more

Apr 8, 2024

So You Want to Sell Your Cell Site Lease?

If you are a property owner that has a cell site located on it, you most likely been besieged by consistent letters and phone calls from large companies offering to purchase your cell site lease. What does it mean to sell your cell site lease? How might you decide if you want to actually sell the lease? And, if you decide you want to sell your lease, how do you make sure you sell it in a manner that does not have residual negative impact on the operation of the rest of your property? This article will answer some of… Read more

Oct 11, 2023

Traps to Avoid When Negotiating a Commercial Sublease

Sometimes leasing space from another tenant (subleasing) may appear to be a more advantageous business decision in terms of price, location and size compared with leasing the space directly from the property owner. However, a commercial sublease actually triggers a variety of legal issues simply not present in a direct lease. This therefore leads to the misperception that negotiating and drafting a sublease is easier and quicker than negotiating and drafting a new lease. In reality, it is actually the opposite – subleases will most often be more difficult and time consuming (and possibly involve much higher legal fees) to draft. Therefore, a party considering a… Read more

Sep 28, 2023

Third Circuit Reverses EPA “Reactivation” Policy for PSD

A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has held that the Clean Air Act (“CAA”) bars the EPA from requiring facilities that are restarting after being shuttered to undergo to strict, Prevention of Significant Deterioration (“PSD”) permitting. In the Opinion, Port Hamilton Refining & Transportation LLP v. EPA, the three-judge panel vacated the EPA’s 2022 decision requiring a refinery to obtain a PSD permit when the shuttered facility reopened. According to the panel, the CAA “unambiguously limits the PSD Program’s application to newly constructed or modified facilities. The refinery is not new and has… Read more

Sep 20, 2023

EPA Eliminates “Emergency” Defenses to CAA Violations

On July 21, the EPA finalized a rule barring “affirmative defense” emission waivers for “emergency” scenarios under Clean Air Act (“CAA”) Title V Permits. The proposed rule would remove an enforcement defense that allowed facilities to avoid liability for permit violations occurring during qualified emergency circumstances such as unavoidable emission control device malfunctions, or emergency start-up or shutdowns. Under the previous waiver provisions, industry permit holders were shielded from civil liability during a malfunction or other emergency that resulted in excess releases of air pollution. The proposed rule will require states to amend their State Implementation Plans (“SIPs”) to eliminate… Read more

Aug 23, 2023

OSHA Issues Heat Hazard Alert and Steps Up Enforcement

OSHA has issued a heat hazard alert to remind employers of their obligation to protect workers against heat illness or injury in outdoor and indoor workplaces. The Department also announced that it will intensify its enforcement where workers are exposed to heat hazards with increased inspections in high risk industries like construction and agriculture. OSHA has not yet finalized a heat specific workplace standard, but is issuing the alert to remind employers that they have a duty to protect workers by reducing and eliminating hazards that expose workers to heat illness or injury under the General Duty Clause. Even without… Read more