Hurricane Harvey greatly impacted Houston and other areas of theGulf Coast, with Hurricane Irma following close behind in theCaribbean, Florida and the Southeast. The widespread impact of thewind and flooding from these severe weather events will undoubtedlyinclude conditions caused by chemical and petroleum releases. Aswith other effects of these storms, the lasting consequences ofsuch hazardous material releases are yet to be fully apprehended.Those thoughts are according to Peter Duchesneau, an environmentallitigation partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP and MichaelC. Polentz, co-chair of the real estate and land use practiceGroup.
According to the team, “given the potential for the hurricanesto have caused or exacerbated property contamination, twoseldom-invoked, biblical-sounding cleanup liability limitations maycome into play: the act of God and the Good Samaritan defenses.”And although both liability limitations seem custom-made for theseevents, the team says that “given the widespread flooding befittingNoah's Ark, experience has shown that neither will likely havebroad application in the wake of these colossal storms.”
The views in the full commentary below are Duchesneau andPolentz' own.
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
*May exclude premium content
Already have an account?
Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
