Luca Mirabile

A Massachusetts town has sued several industrial paper manufacturers in federal court, seeking to force the companies to pay for removal of forever chemicals that have contaminated the local water supply. In a complaint filed Tuesday in federal court, the town of Pepperell said the aquifer from which it draws its drinking water has been polluted by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances that the town traces to the historic operations of paper mills and industrial sites once owned by Georgia-Pacific LLC, Weyerhaeuser Co., and others. "Defendants, as the responsible parties, and not the town of Pepperell, its taxpayers, or its customers, should bear all past, present, and future costs of addressing the above presence and removal of PFAS from its drinking water supply," the town said. Pepperell sued the companies under a provision of the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, which holds polluters liable for the release of hazardous substances into the environment. In 2024, under the Biden administration, the Environmental Protection Agency designated two types of PFAS, perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, as hazardous substances under Section 102(a) of CERCLA. The town said paper manufacturing that took place for decades at sites on the banks of the North Nashua River produced PFAS-contaminated waste that was either dumped into the river or leached into the river by way of groundwater. The river was once cited as one of the most polluted in the country, according to Pepperell's complaint. That contamination has reached the aquifer where Pepperell's municipal wells are, the town said, and PFAS has been detected in that water at concentrations greater than the state and federal maximum contaminant levels. To make its water safe, Pepperell said it must now build a special water treatment system to remove PFAS from its water supply, "since traditional water treatment technologies do not remove these contaminants." "The town of Pepperell will be forced to implement extraordinary and costly measures to combat the contamination and to keep water potable for decades to come," the town said. The complaint names as defendants Georgia-Pacific as the surviving entity of James River, the company that operated the Pepperell Paper Mill in East Pepperell; Weyerhaeuser as the former operator of the Weyerhaeuser Paper Mill in Fitchburg; Neenah Paper Inc., which acquired FiberMark Inc., another former operator of the Weyerhaeuser mill; Ahlstrom-Munksjo Paper Inc., as the surviving entity and owner of the former Fitchburg Paper Mill; and Hollingsworth & Vose Co., which owns a specialty paper manufacturing facility in West Groton. Additionally, the complaint names Honeywell Inc. as the current owner of Conductorlab, where PFAS-based anti-fuming agents were used when the site was producing circuit boards and semiconductors between 1958 and 1985. "Thousands of Pepperell residents have been drinking PFAS-contaminated water for decades because Honeywell and other companies released dangerous chemicals from their facilities into the waterways feeding the community's drinking supply," said Paul J. Napoli of Napoli Shkolnik PLLC, who is representing the town. "These are real families who will face real health consequences from these toxins. We are working on behalf of the town of Pepperell to hold parties accountable, push for remediation, and advocate for changes to ensure this doesn't happen again." The facilities Pepperell blames for the PFAS contamination are located upstream from Pepperell on the North Nashua River or near the town on a shared aquifer. The complaint alleges that PFAS was released from these five manufacturing sites "via several pathways," including wastewater discharges directly into waterways and groundwater, spills, sanitary sewers, solid waste and sludge, air emissions, and surface runoff. Pepperell is seeking a CERCLA liability declaration and compensation for the damage to its public water supply and the cost of treating its water. The town is represented by Harold P. Naughton Jr., James L. Simpson, Paul J. Napoli, and Marisa C. Font-Robert of Napoli Shkolnik PLLC. Counsel information for the defendants was not available. The case is Town of Pepperell, Massachusetts v. Georgia-Pacific, LLC et al., case number 1:26-cv-10965, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Feb 25

3 min

9fin, Creditflux and Octus recognize Milbank’s top structured credit practice~~Closing out the year at the top of multiple CLO league table rankings, Milbank LLP’s Structured Credit team was notably the top law firm representing CLO managers. Milbank has been recognized as the #1 CLO Manager counsel globally on Creditflux’s 2025 year-end law firm rankings, a combination of its US and European teams’ representation of the top CLO managers across the world. Milbank has remained at the top of the publication’s global CLO Manager counsel rankings for the last nine years. On 9fin’s year-end 2025 law firm rankings, Milbank was also notably #1 CLO Manager counsel globally, #1 BSL CLO Manager counsel in the United States and #1 CLO Manager counsel in Europe. The global team closed 379 CLO deals valued at $164 billion, representing managers and arrangers. The team held the leading positions advising managers on 250 US BSL CLO deals totaling $111.4 billion – almost a quarter of the US market share, and 101 European deals totaling $41 billion – approximately a third of the European market share, in what 9fin reports as a year “with records broken in US BSL new issues, middle-market CLOs and European CLOs.” Globally, the team was also ranked #1 on Octus’ (formerly Reorg) year-end 2025 legal advisory rankings, with 372 deals valued at $166.7 billion. The US structured credit team was #1 US BSL CLO Manager Counsel, with 258 deals valued at $114.5 billion and the London team was #1 with 99 deals valued at $40.2 billion. Milbank’s Structured Credit team, led by partner and Global Practice Group Leader Sean M. Solis, along with Martin Brennan, Brian Troxler and Brett Stone in New York and Claire Bridcut, Alex Martin and Robert Wyse Jackson in London, along with a team special counsel and associates across its global offices, represents market-leading collateral managers, arrangers, issuers, risk retention lenders, anchor investors and other financial players on a multitude of structured finance and fund finance transactions involving asset classes such as broadly syndicated loans, private credit assets, middle market loans, real estate loans, infrastructure loans, sovereign loans, private fund investments and consumer loans. “We are incredibly proud to be recognized once again as the leading CLO Manager counsel globally across the most prestigious CLO league tables and we are extraordinarily grateful to have earned the opportunity to work on such a large number of consequential transactions,” said Mr. Solis. “This achievement reflects our dedication to client service, the breadth, depth and industriousness of our treasured clients and the sophistication of the transactions that our global team had the privilege of executing on such clients’ behalf. Our global team firmly understands that choice not chance determines success and that excellence involves doing a lot more than what is required and we want to thank our clients for the trust they place in our team to continue to deliver that extra effort and intelligently execute for them every day.” Milbank’s structured credit team, which is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers Global and recognized as a top firm across Legal 500, IFLR1000 and other directories, was also shortlisted for “Securitization and Structured Finance Team of the Year” in 2025 and was named “Securitization and Structured Finance Team of the Year” in 2025 at the IFLR Americas Awards.

Feb 20

2 min

Milbank LLP advised Citycon, a leading Nordic owner and developer of mixed‑use real estate, as borrower on a €270 million term loan facility provided by alternative lenders. The facility is secured against a portfolio of retail properties located in Norway and includes an accordion feature permitting up to €250 million of additional financing to finance assets in Sweden and Finland. The team acted as lead counsel, advising on all aspects of the transaction, including negotiation and finalization of the finance documents, coordination with local counsel on Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish matters, and overall management of the transaction through to successful completion. The Milbank deal team was led by Corporate Finance and Securities partner David Dixter and Real Estate partners Miles Flynn and Rehan Hanif, and associates Jack Ingamells and Katie Wilkins.

Mar 2

1 min

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday adopted final rules requiring directors and officers of foreign private issuers to begin disclosing their holdings and transactions of the issuer's securities on March 18, as mandated under a new law aimed at cracking down on foreign insider trading. The Holding Foreign Insiders Accountable Act, signed into law as part of an appropriations bill in December, amended the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require leaders of foreign private issuers to disclose their securities holdings, as well as to notify the public of any trading on those holdings. Congress gave the SEC until March 18 to issue final regulations to carry out the amendments. The final rules amend Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act to require officers and directors of foreign private issuers to make their disclosures electronically and in English, according to the adopting release. According to the SEC, the new reporting requirements will benefit investors by providing "greater transparency about the trading and beneficial ownership positions of [foreign private issuer] directors and officers." The agency estimates that there are over 1,100 foreign private issuers with a registered class of securities with the Commission, and that between 3,700 and 21,000 of their officers and directors could become reporting persons under the new rules. "This enhanced transparency can aid investors in obtaining a more accurate picture of incentives of directors and officers of FPIs and a potentially more accurate valuation of the issuer's shares, enabling better informed investment decisions and contributing to more efficient allocation of investor capital," the release states. "The new mandatory Section 16(a) disclosures will significantly increase the transparency regarding the trading and beneficial ownership of an FPI's equity securities by its directors and officers (in the case of FPIs from home country jurisdictions without a similar reporting requirement), which may not be attained under a voluntary regime," the release further states. In a statement, SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda shared similar thoughts, saying the HFIA Act and new rules can promote transparency in the U.S. markets. "The HFIA Act levels the playing field for foreign private issuers that choose to voluntarily register their securities in the United States in order to take advantage of the liquidity and efficiencies of U.S. markets. They will now be subject to requirements that have been long applicable to domestic issuers," he said. Notably, though, the final rules exempt officers and directors of foreign private issuers who own more than 10% of any class of equity securities, also known as "10 percent holders." Last month, former SEC Commissioner Robert Jackson, now a law professor at New York University, signed a rulemaking petition that, among other things, expressed surprise that the new rules may exempt 10% holders, saying evidence shows "that ten percent holders engage in especially opportunistic trading at FPIs." According to SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, when enacting the HFIA Act, Congress also "recognized the possibility that some foreign laws may already impose substantially similar requirements on executives," so it gave the Commission the authority to "exempt persons, securities, or transactions from the HFIA Act's requirements." Atkins said Friday that Commission staff is "actively evaluating whether it will recommend that the Commission exercise this exemptive authority." The Commission is also currently in the process of rethinking the definition of foreign private issuers. It put out a call for feedback last year on whether the definition should be tightened, potentially making access to U.S. markets harder for companies based in China and beyond.

Feb 27

3 min

Milbank LLP represented the financing sources in connection with Almaviva S.p.A.’s acquisition of Iteris Inc. (NASDAQ-listed). Milbank advised the initial purchasers in connection with the offering by Almaviva S.p.A.’s of €725 million 5.00% senior secured notes due 2030 and a new revolving credit facility. The proceeds of the offering of the senior secured notes will be used to finance the acquisition of Iteris Inc., redeem all outstanding amounts under Almaviva S.p.A.’ existing 4.875% senior secured notes due 2026, and pay transaction costs and expenses (including redemption premiums and accrued interest) in connection with the offering. Headquartered in Rome, Almaviva is a leading provider of mission-critical IT services in Italy and a leading provider of digital relationship management services in Brazil. Its business consists of three operating divisions organized around three principal areas of activity: IT Services, DRM and Almawave, its innovation and new technologies business. The acquisition of Iteris represents a significant expansion of Almaviva in the US market. The Milbank team was led by European Leveraged Finance/Capital Markets partners Ana Grbec and Alexandra Grant, associates Melanie Probst, Giulia Petragnani Gelosi, Federica Venegoni, Matteo Bonacina, Raiyan Chowdhury and law clerk Luca Mirabile. The team also included New York-based Global Leveraged Finance partner Spencer Pepper and associates Abril Kang, Edward McCartney and Daniel Woods and London Tax associate Freddy Pilkington.

Nov 5

1 min