A typical provision states: "Except as set forth in schedule x.x and except for violations which would not have a Material Adverse Effect, seller is not and has not been in violation of any Environmental Requirements. 1. Buyer or lender may want to add a...
Real Estate Transactions & Environmental Law
Inducement / Best Knowledge
Typically the preamble for the representations and warranties will state that they are made to induce the buyer to purchase or the lender to make the loan contemplated. 1. Although buyer prefers seller's representations and warranties to be absolute, seller will want...
Material Adverse Effect and Adverse Environment Condition
Material Adverse Effect: In a sale of any ongoing business, one way to address the difficulty of being absolute in the representations and warranties when in fact the parties are not concerned about the de minimis presence of hazardous materials or damages, is to...
Term Definition: Environmental Damages
Environmental Damages: This definition is a convenient place to collect all the possible liabilities and damages arising from the presence of hazardous materials on the property in violation of, or requiring remediation under, any Environmental Requirements. It can...
Term Definition: Environmental Requirements
Environmental Requirements: Traditionally the term used is "Environmental Law," but "Requirements" is more accurate as the definition goes beyond statutes and regulations.a. These definitions typically list all of the major federal and state environmental statutes...
Term Definition: Hazardous Material
A major problem with definitions of environmental terms in commercial and real estate transaction documents is that they become overly inclusive, confusing, and unworkable. A definition of "hazardous materials" which includes virtually every substance known to man in...
How to Draft Appropriate Contract Provisions
A. Representations: a statement of fact to induce another party to enter into a contract.B. Warranty: a promise that the statement is true; intended to relieve the promise (Buyer) from having to determine if the facts are true. A. Representations: a statement of fact...
Three Overarching Tasks And Principles
So, what are the implications of the background principles of law discussed in earlier blogs, and what principles overall should govern how your environmental lawyer makes herself really useful to you in the process?Three Overarching Tasks and Principles or...
What about “as is” clauses? Can’t we still use them?
We devote a whole blog to this because it's one of those areas where standard practice in the field, pre-environmental law, has been totally overtaken by cases where "as is" clauses intersect with environmental problems after a deal is done.Some relatively...
Environmental Due Diligence in the Real Estate and Business Deal – Background Legal Principles
By way of background, if you're a real estate lawyer, you'll want to understand that environmental law principles as applied in the context mostly derive from established real estate principles, though with a few twists - others can skim through this discussion or...