4 takeaways from tax court nix of easement perpetuity rule

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Eversheds Sutherland Partner Mary Monahan is quoted in this Law360 article about the U.S. Tax Court's scrapping of an IRS rule on the perpetuity requirements for conservation easements in Valley Park v. Commissioner.

The article mentions that the Valley Park opinion is important because it gives individuals, businesses and organizations another road map to procedurally challenge rules and regulations, especially older ones such as the 1986 perpetuity provision that was at issue in the case.

The rule at issue in Valley Park had been on the books for decades before it was challenged. If courts are open to subjecting other long-standing regulations to APA scrutiny, the number of rules that could be at risk of being struck down would be voluminous. Unless the government undertakes a huge effort to start reissuing old rules, "we're going to continue to see things like this where old regulations were not properly explained," Mary said.