The current commercial real estate market has faced ongoing distress across various asset classes for several years. In the Practical Real Estate Lawyer article, “Primer on Commercial Real Estate Loan Workouts and Right-Sizing,” Sheppard Mullin Real Estate, Energy, Land Use & Environmental partner Richard Fries explores both traditional solutions for managing a distressed commercial real estate loan and suggests an innovative approach to right-sizing distressed real estate debt and assets. This approach applies regardless of the type of real estate asset or its location or emotional factors involved. Real estate right-sizing, meticulously aligned with economic factors, market conditions, asset specifics, recourse,…
Continue Reading Primer on Commercial Real Estate Loan Workouts and Right-Sizing

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively, Services) proposed last week to rescind the regulatory definition of “harm” under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), sparking intense criticism from environmental advocacy groups. If finalized, the rescission would remove a longstanding protection for the habitat of wildlife species listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA, making regulatory compliance easier for many types of projects across the country. But it would also set up a potential collision between the current president’s deregulation efforts and one of several bills that California’s Legislature is considering as…
Continue Reading Federal Proposal to Rescind ESA’s ‘Harm’ Definition Raises the Stakes for California’s AB 1319

This report provides an overview of major federal environmental regulations and court decisions of 2024. Landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions with lasting consequences for environmental policy include Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, 603 U.S. 369 (2024),1 which ended judicial deference to administrative agencies, and Corner Post v. Federal Reserve, 603 U.S. 799 (2024), which opened the doors of federal courts to many more plaintiffs challenging regulations. These decisions have subsequently bolstered efforts to limit or rollback regulatory actions, both by industry and by members of the Trump administration. The Congressional Review Act (CRA), which allows Congress to rescind or invalidate…
Continue Reading Environmental YIR: 2024 Regulatory Legacies and Impacts

In a further effort to revitalize and reimagine its downtown core, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors has passed and the Mayor has signed legislation exempting certain residential conversion projects from development impact fees, including the City’s substantial inclusionary housing fee. The legislation exempts projects that replace non-residential uses with residential uses from development impact fees and affordable housing requirements and removes the deadline to apply to the City’s Commercial to Residential Adaptive Reuse Program.
Continue Reading San Francisco Further Incentivizes Residential Conversion Projects by Waiving Development Impact Fees

We reported in previous blog posts (here and here) on the European Commission’s Green Deal initiatives and their impact on companies doing business in Europe as well as the significant recent headwind against these instruments.
Continue Reading The EU’s Omnibus Package: A Step Back on Sustainability?

On 20 January 2025, France published a memorandum urging the EU to modify the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (Directive 2022/2464, “CSRD”), and to postpone the application of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (Directive 2024/1760, “CS3D”). France’s statements resonate with the series of Executive Orders aiming in the U.S. at various markets deregulations, although to a lesser degree.
Continue Reading Corporate Sustainability Obligations in the EU: France Urges the EU To Postpone the Application of Adopted EU Directives

As we enter 2025 amid the devastating Los Angeles fires[1] and with a new presidential administration, we continue our series of yearly reviews of the most significant governmental actions taken by the state of California relevant to climate change in the previous year.[2]…
Continue Reading 2024 In Review: California Climate Change Legislation, Policy and Regulation

Short-form warnings for products that may expose consumers to chemicals on California’s Prop 65 list must now include at least one chemical name to qualify for Prop 65’s “safe harbor” protections—with one caveat. Businesses may continue to use the previous version of the short-form warning on consumer products through the end of 2027.
Continue Reading Name That Chemical: California Adds New Requirement for Prop 65 Short-Form Warnings

A week after a large-scale fire at the Moss Landing Power Plant in Monterey County,[1] California Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay) introduced Assembly Bill (AB) 303. If passed, AB 303 – also referred to as the Battery Energy Safety & Accountability Act – will impact the development of large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in California. Intended to “improve safety standards and restore local oversight for [BESS] facilities in California,”[2] AB 303 will, among other things, limit approval authority to local governmental agencies, require local engagement in the permitting process, and establish mandatory buffer zones between BESS…
Continue Reading Understanding AB 303: Potential Impacts for California BESS Project Development

As businesses and legal professionals strive to keep pace with California’s ever-changing regulatory environment, Proposition 65 (“Prop 65”) remains a key focal point. Known for its stringent requirements on chemical exposure warnings, Prop 65 continues to evolve, driven by new legislation, court rulings, and regulatory updates.
Continue Reading Prop 65 Year-End Highlights: 2024’s Key Regulatory Changes, Legal Battles, and Enforcement Trends

In light of the ongoing devastation wrought by the numerous wildfires plaguing Los Angeles County, California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency[1] and taken immediate action in an attempt to allow Angelenos to rebuild efficiently and effectively. One such action was the issuance of Executive Order (EO) N-4-25 on January 12th to temporarily suspend two time-intensive environmental laws.[2] In response, the City of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued her own executive order (Emergency Executive Order No. 1 [LA EEO1]) just one day later to “clear the way for Los Angeles residents to rapidly rebuild the…
Continue Reading State and Local Executive Orders Suspend Time-Consuming Permitting and Review Requirements for Rebuilding Los Angeles

As devastating wildfires displace thousands in Los Angeles County, Governor Newsom has declared a state of emergency. In the wake of this crisis, California’s price-gouging laws impose strict limits on rental price increases to prevent exploitation of displaced individuals.
Continue Reading Protecting Against Residential Price Gouging During the Los Angeles Wildfires

Compliance with EPA’s Rule for Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a)(7) will demand the attention and resources of companies that have manufactured or imported PFAS, or articles containing PFAS, since 2011. …
Continue Reading EPA’s PFAS Dragnet: What Companies Need to Know About PFAS Reporting Under TSCA Section 8(a)(7)