Morgan Gilhuly Spoke At CLE Webinar: Environmental Indemnity In Real Estate Transactions

March 24, 2015

Barg Coffin Partner R. Morgan Gilhuly participated in a panel discussion during a Strafford live CLE webinar, "Environmental Indemnity in Real Estate Transactions: Allocating Risks of Potential Cleanup Costs"

Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2015, from 10am-11:30am Pacific

OVERVIEW

This CLE webinar will provide guidance to counsel for buyers, sellers and lenders in real estate transactions on structuring environmental indemnity agreements to ensure coverage for environmental liabilities. The panel will examine key provisions and lessons from recent court treatment of such agreements.

DESCRIPTION

The risk allocation of environmental liabilities in real estate transactions is often essential to the terms of the business deal. Numerous decisions are involved when negotiating and structuring an environmental indemnity agreement. Even though indemnity provisions are some of the most common tools for allocation of risk, they also may present many unforeseen pitfalls.

The First Circuit Court of Appeals’ November 2013 decision in VFC Partners 26 v. Cadlerocks Centennial Drive is a recent example of a line of decisions demonstrating that the specific language in environmental indemnity agreements is critical in real estate transactions. Under these rulings, the specific language of the environmental indemnity provision—and not general concepts of indemnity—controls and determines whether particular costs or damages will be subject to indemnity.

Counsel to buyers, sellers and lenders in real estate and other commercial transactions must carefully consider negotiation strategy options and how to memorialize indemnity provisions to ensure coverage for potential environmental liabilities and cleanup costs (or in some cases to exclude coverage).

Listen as our authoritative panel discusses environmental indemnity agreements in transactions, including how the courts are treating these agreements, and will examine the key provisions that must be addressed. The panel will offer best practices for negotiating and structuring the agreement and how to address the potential for litigation post-closing as a result of challenges to indemnity claims.

WEBINAR OUTLINE

  I.  Environmental indemnity agreements and court treatment

 II.  Key provisions

III.  Negotiating and structuring the agreement

BENEFITS

The panel will review these and other key questions:

  • When is an environmental indemnity agreement necessary and when is it not useful?
  • What are the key provisions of the environmental indemnity agreement?
  • How do environmental indemnity provisions complement other provisions in real estate purchase and sale agreements?
  • What are the critical lessons from recent court decisions for structuring environmental indemnity agreements?
  • What are the best practices for allocating environmental risks in real property transactions?

FACULTY



R. Morgan Gilhuly


  • , Partner, Barg Coffin Lewis & Trapp, San Francisco
  • Cindy Karlson, Founder, Law Offices of Cindy J. Karlson, East Hampton, Conn.
  • Karen J. Nardi, Partner, Arnold & Porter, San Francisco

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER - CLICK HERE

Or call 1-800-926-7926 ext. 10.

Ask for Environmental Indemnity in Real Estate Transaction on 3/24/2015
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