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Uncooperative: Court Holds That Cooperative Agreement is Not a Contract

Client Alert | 1 min read | 12.14.17

In St. Bernard Parish Gov’t v. U.S. (No. 15-637C), the Court of Federal Claims granted the Government’s motion to dismiss, finding that the cooperative agreement on which the Parish brought suit did not contemplate money damages, and thus the Court did not have jurisdiction under the Tucker Act. The Court found that the agreement obligated the Government to provide financial and other assistance to the Parish to repair damage from Hurricane Katrina, but did not “‘acquir[e] (by purchase, lease, or barter) property or services for the direct benefit or use of the United States Government.’ 31 U.S.C. § 6505.” Thus, the Court construed the agreement as a cooperative agreement, under which “damages cannot be implied,” and the Parish did not point to any specific provision in the agreement contemplating money damages in the event of breach. The Court went on to find that, even assuming that the cooperative agreement contemplated money damages, it nonetheless provided no direct benefit to the Government, and therefore was unenforceable for lack of consideration. The Court concluded that, “[w]hile debris removal is a worthy project, it cannot be construed as providing consideration (i.e.: a direct benefit) to the government in this context.”

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 10.15.25

Developers Adapt Timelines and Strategies for Wind and Solar Projects Following Recent IRS Guidance and Expected IRS Enforcement Activity

On August 15, 2025, the Treasury Department and IRS released updated guidance concerning Beginning of Construction requirements to qualify for clean energy tax credits. This new guidance is critical for developers to consider as they rush to qualify for the tax credits before they expire entirely. The much-anticipated guidance followed the July 7, 2025 Executive Order 14315, Ending Market Distorting Subsidies for Unreliable, Foreign-Controlled Energy Sources (“July 7, 2025 Executive Order”), which signaled that the Trump Administration was planning to strictly enforce the termination of production and investment tax credits for solar and wind facilities that are set to expire under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB Act), covered in more detail here. The new guidance comes at a time when many in the industry are struggling to keep up with the myriad ways that the new administration is working to roll back wind and solar tax credits, leaving developers to piece through the recent guidance to determine how best to structure and invest in clean energy projects given the volatile position of the current administration vis-a-vis wind and solar energy....