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June 22, 2014

What Does A Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser Defense Do For A Property Buyer?

By Joseph Derhake, PE

THE BONA FIDE PROSPECTIVE PURCHASER (BFPP) DEFENSE HAS BEEN AROUND FOR MORE THAN A DECADE…

The Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser (BFPP) defense has been around for more than a decade, but evidenced by a number of recent court cases the limits of how it can and should be applied is contested. Very simply put, the BFPP defense protects purchasers who have knowledge of existing contamination against liability as an owner or operator if “appropriate care” is taken to deal with the contamination. As such, the BFPP could acquire a Brownfield site without incurring liability as long as an All Appropriate Inquiry is completed. EPA explains that they “encourage the cleanup and revitalization of contaminated properties” by implementing landowner liability protections such as the BFPP defense. Seems straight forward—so where does the debate about the applicability of this defense come from?

Continue reading the GlobeSt blog here.

About the Authors

Joseph Derhake, PE

Chief Executive Officer

Joe Derhake, PE, serves as CEO of Partner Engineering and Science, a global environmental, engineering, and energy consulting firm. A registered Professional Engineer for over 25 years, Mr. Derhake has touched thousands of commercial real estate projects, from development and transactional due diligence to site remediation, asset optimization, ESG initiatives and more. His clientele includes many of the world’s largest lenders, real estate investors, and corporations. Mr. Derhake is a registered civil engineer in multiple states. He holds a bachelors degree in civil engineering from Michigan State University and Masters in Business Administration from University of Southern California.

Get in Touch

Joseph Derhake, PE
(800) 419-4923
[email protected]

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