Hurricane Ida brought strong winds, flooding, and mass destruction along the Louisiana coast. Although the Gulf South is no stranger to hard-hitting storms, each disaster brings a new set of obstacles for property owners and homeowners.

With the recovery process underway, many residents are still struggling to find the resources needed to rebuild or protect

Following the devastating landfall of Hurricane Ida, one lingering question is whether the effects of this Gulf storm will be sufficient to excuse a delay or failure to perform. Many parties in oil and gas, oilfield service, and energy infrastructure that have been affected by the storm utilize Texas law in their service contracts, and in most cases, these parties will find some level of coverage under the terms of the force majeure provisions in their contracts.

Indeed, a number of oil and gas industry giants have already declared force majeure in their business dealings over the past couple of weeks — Royal Dutch Shell, the largest oil producer in the Gulf of Mexico; offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation; and OxyChem, of Occidental Petroleum, to name a few. Whether the storm will be sufficient to excuse any delay or failure to perform will depend largely on the circumstances of the delay or failure to perform and the exact language of their force majeure clauses.Continue Reading Force Majeure Under Texas Law in the Aftermath of Hurricane Ida

The IRS announced victims of Hurricane Ida now have until Jan. 3, 2022, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. This relief extends to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as qualifying for individual or public assistance. This includes the entire state of Louisiana, and taxpayers in certain Ida-impacted localities designated by FEMA in neighboring states, including southern Mississippi, will also receive the same filing and payment relief.

The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred starting on Aug. 26, 2021, for Louisiana taxpayers, and Aug. 28, 2021, for certain Mississippi taxpayers. As a result of the relief, affected individuals and businesses will have until Jan. 3, 2022, to file various tax returns and pay various taxes that were originally due during this period. This means individuals and businesses, who had a valid extension to file their 2020 federal income tax returns, will now have until Jan. 3, 2022, to file their 2020 federal income tax returns. The IRS noted, however, that because tax payments related to these 2020 returns were due earlier in 2021, those payments are not eligible for this relief.Continue Reading Tax Relief Available to Victims of Hurricane Ida

The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) postponed filing and tax payment deadlines for individuals, businesses, trusts, and estates in a series of notices published over the past few weeks.

The notices directly affect the deadlines for filing and paying income tax, estate tax, gift tax, and generation-skipping transfer tax.

IRS Notice 2020-18 provided relief for individual federal income tax return filing and payments due on April 15, 2020. Individual taxpayers must file and pay federal income taxes by July 15, 2020, to avoid accruing interest or penalties on unpaid federal income taxes for the 2019 tax year.
Continue Reading Treasury and IRS Extend Tax Deadlines for Individuals, Businesses, Trusts, and Estates

On Thursday, April 23, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and United States Department of Treasury released a new question 31 and related answer as a supplement to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), which they previously published and have periodically updated since the program began. The recent addition, which is quoted below, appears to us to demonstrate the effects that public pressure is having on the SBA following the inability of a number of small businesses to participate in the first round of PPP funding:
Continue Reading Updated FAQ Issued Regarding the Paycheck Protection Program and Qualification for Loans

Residents of Houston, Texas held their breath once again on September 17, 2019, as Tropical Storm Imelda made landfall. The storm inundated the city with 43 inches of rain, making it the fourth-wettest tropical cyclone in the history of Texas and the fifth-wettest in the history of the continental United States.

The Texas