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CFC Rejects Taxes Clause as Basis for Recovering Environmental Remediation Costs

Client Alert | 1 min read | 01.25.13

On January 13, the Court of Federal Claims in Shell Oil Co. v. U.S. held (1) the government was not liable for CERCLA environmental cleanup costs under the "Taxes" clause in certain World War II-era contracts; and (2) even if the "Taxes" clause had provided for indemnification, any indemnification rights were not preserved after contract termination. The "Taxes" clause and the absence of a reservation of rights to pursue indemnification in Shell is in contrast with the explicit "hold harmless" clauses in the facilities contracts cases in which the contractor reserved its rights to pursue indemnification (Ford and DuPont) and indemnification clauses authorized under Public Law 85-804, which contain explicit post-contract termination provisions.


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Client Alert | 4 min read | 02.05.26

EU–Brazil Mutual Adequacy: A Milestone for Global Data Flows and Latin America’s Digital Positioning

On January 27, the EU and Brazil announced their positive determination on the mutual adequacy of Brazil’s and the EU’s data privacy frameworks — confirming the growing importance of transatlantic data transfers and the EU-Mercosur relationship. This adequacy decision, while not formally tied to the EU-Mercosur trade negotiations, is a historic development that can facilitate cross-border data transfers and fuel shared economic growth driven by data-centered service sectors....