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Construction
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October 04, 2024
EB-5 Partner Accuses NC Atty Of Aiding Investor Coup
A company created to protect an investment project supporting green card applications for Chinese nationals accused a North Carolina attorney in state court of helping shareholders try to place the company into receivership and take control of a $30 million fund.
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October 04, 2024
Posting Copyrighted Building Codes Is Fair Use, Pa. Judge Says
The American Society for Testing and Materials has lost a bid to enjoin a website from posting ASTM's copyrighted technical standards for building projects, after a Pennsylvania federal judge concluded that what the website does is fair use.
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October 03, 2024
12 Lawyers Who Are The Future Of The Supreme Court Bar
One attorney hasn't lost a single U.S. Supreme Court case she's argued, or even a single justice's vote. One attorney is perhaps "the preeminent SCOTUS advocate." And one may soon become U.S. solicitor general, despite acknowledging there are "judges out there who don't like me." All three are among a dozen lawyers in the vanguard of the Supreme Court bar's next generation, poised to follow in the footsteps of the bar's current icons.
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October 03, 2024
Fla. Court Reverses Condos' Win In $1M Contractor Dispute
A Florida appeals court Wednesday reversed a win for three condominium associations in a dispute over $1.4 million worth of mitigation work done on the property after Hurricane Irma, ruling that the contractor did not need to be licensed to do most of the work.
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October 03, 2024
High Court Told Bid-Rigging Conviction Was Rightly Tossed
A former Contech executive is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject the government's effort to revive his bid-rigging conviction, saying enforcers are asking for a rule that would make common agreements between manufacturers and distributors vulnerable to legal challenge.
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October 03, 2024
NJ Contractors Accused Of $10M Fraud In Lead Removal Work
A New Jersey construction company billed the city of Newark $10.2 million for replacing 1,500 lead water service lines but never did the work, instead concocting false evidence to show new copper pipes had been installed, federal authorities said Thursday in announcing the arrests of the chief executive and a foreperson.
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October 03, 2024
Mine Can't Toss CSX's Suit Over Derailment After Hurricane
A North Carolina federal judge won't throw out claims from CSX Transportation Inc. against a North Carolina sand and gravel mine over a 2018 derailment, finding there's sufficient evidence for a jury to conclude the mine was negligent in its water management, leading to erosion following Hurricane Florence that washed out a section of track.
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October 02, 2024
DOL Judge Remands Rejected Request For Foreign Welders
A U.S. Department of Labor judge instructed a certifying officer to reconsider the rejection of a ConocoPhillips subcontractor's request to hire 75 welders for 18 months for a controversial oil-drilling project, saying a request of that magnitude could work because the applicant had not previously used seasonal workers.
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October 02, 2024
Ahmuty Demers Booted Off NJ Fatal Crash Case Over Conflict
A New Jersey state appeals court affirmed Wednesday that Ahmuty Demers & McManus is not allowed to represent both a paving company and one of its employees at the same time in a case in which the employee allegedly caused a fatal car crash.
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October 02, 2024
Bid-Rig Charges Irrelevant To $26M Base Award, GAO Says
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has shot down a contractor's protest over a rival company being awarded a $26 million Army hospital maintenance contract, finding that the awardee's conviction for bid-rigging in Korea had no bearing on its track record of successful operations.
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October 01, 2024
From AI To Enviro: The Top Biz Bills Calif. Gov. Inked Into Law
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed hundreds of bills into law ahead of an Oct. 1 deadline, meaning major changes are on the horizon for employers, tech companies, healthcare providers and others doing business in the Golden State.
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October 01, 2024
Oxygenation Doesn't Show Water Quality, Texas Justices Hear
Texas Supreme Court justices prodded the Save Our Springs Alliance's argument that a permit to release treated wastewater would degrade water quality, questioning whether the advocacy organization's argument that a drop in levels of dissolved oxygen shows water degradation during oral arguments Tuesday.
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October 01, 2024
Bribe-Laundering Gets Ecuador Ex-Official 10 Years In Prison
A Florida federal judge on Tuesday sentenced Ecuador's former comptroller to 10 years in prison after a jury earlier this year convicted him on multiple counts related to laundering millions of dollars in bribe money he received in exchange for eliminating fines connected to a defective hydroelectric dam and other projects.
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October 01, 2024
Calif. Judge Won't Let Insurers Slip Mold Coverage Suit
A California federal judge mostly refused to allow a group of insurers to escape a suit filed by the owner and operator of a 231-unit California apartment complex seeking coverage for mold under a $69 million builders risk policy.
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October 01, 2024
Feds Didn't Consider Gold Mine's Full Impact, Judge Says
The federal government didn't realistically study the potential spill risks associated with a large open-pit gold mine when it approved the project, an Alaskan federal judge has said, arguing the Army Corps of Engineers erred in concluding that a catastrophic event is a "worst case" scenario in its environmental analysis.
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October 01, 2024
Monsanto Can't Avoid Vt. Schools' Nuisance Claims Over PCBs
A Vermont federal judge has refused to dismiss nuisance and trespass claims by public school districts asserting their buildings were contaminated with a toxic chemical made by Monsanto Co., finding they plausibly alleged Monsanto knew the products would make their way onto the properties yet chose not to warn the districts.
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October 01, 2024
Treasury Plans Final Direct Pay Partnership Regs By Year-End
The U.S. Treasury Department is eyeing the end of the year to finalize regulations for development projects to elect out of their partnership tax status to qualify for a direct cash payment of their clean energy tax credits, an official said Tuesday.
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October 01, 2024
Feds Float Duties On Chinese Foam-Making Chemical
The U.S. Department of Commerce proposed countervailing duties against the Chinese makers of a chemical used to make polyurethane foam, after determining that the producers likely received government assistance that conferred an unfair advantage in the U.S.
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September 30, 2024
Chubb Units Avoid Nearly All Claims In Water Damage Suit
A Connecticut federal court on Monday tossed nearly all coverage claims a commercial real estate company and its owner lodged against Chubb companies over plumbing issues at their headquarters, finding two of the defendant Chubb companies weren't parties to the policy at issue.
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September 30, 2024
Big Banks Get Brazilian Pollution Suit Booted From NY
A New York federal judge on Monday dismissed an effort by a Brazilian city and residents to hold several big banks liable for allegedly financing environmentally ruinous mining operations in their region, ruling the matter would be more appropriately heard in Brazil.
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September 30, 2024
Webuild Escapes Suit Over $140M Award In Delaware
Italian construction giant Webuild has skirted a Chilean construction company's bid to enforce a $140 million arbitral award arising from a soured hospital construction project in the Chilean capital of Santiago, after a Delaware federal judge nixed the case on jurisdictional grounds.
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September 30, 2024
NC Builder's Insurer Must Cover Death Suit, Estate Says
The estate of a woman who died while working on a roof replacement project said it's entitled to coverage under a construction company's policy, telling a North Carolina state appeals court Monday a lower court wrongly held that the woman was an employee barred from coverage.
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September 30, 2024
$143M Seattle Tunnel Insurance Suit Settles Midtrial
A Seattle construction contractor that claimed it was wrongly denied more than $143 million in coverage for damage to a massive tunneling machine has settled its case against insurers, the parties told a Washington state judge Monday on the second day of a jury trial.
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September 30, 2024
DOL Says Fabricator Can't Get H-2B Workers For One Project
A fabrication company found no support from a U.S. Department of Labor judge for its request to hire 150 foreign welders and fitters, with the judge taking issue with the company's explanation that the workers were needed for one project.
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September 27, 2024
1st Circ. Drops Bribery, Reinstates Extortion In Casino Case
The First Circuit on Friday reversed both convictions and acquittals in a high-profile bribery and extortion case involving a Rhode Island architect and a Massachusetts tribal official who had been found guilty of a quid pro quo exchange of pricey gifts related to a valuable design contract on the tribe's $1 billion casino development.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step
From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Series
Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer
When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.
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Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity
The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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2 Lessons From Calif. Overtime Wages Ruling
A California federal court's recent decision finding that Home Depot did not purposely dodge overtime laws sheds light on what constitutes a good faith dispute, and the extent to which employers have discretion to define employees' workdays, says Michael Luchsinger at Segal McCambridge.
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New State Climate Liability Laws: What Companies Must Know
New legislation in Vermont and New York creating liability and compliance obligations for businesses deemed responsible for climate change — as well as similar bills proposed in California, Massachusetts and Maryland — have far-reaching implications for companies, so it is vital to remain vigilant as these initiatives progress, say Gregory Berlin and Jeffrey Dintzer at Alston & Bird.
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Despite Calif. Delays, Climate Disclosure Rules Are Coming
Progress continues on state, federal and international climate disclosure regimes, making compliance a key concern for companies — but the timeline for implementation of California's disclosure laws remains unclear due to funding and timing disputes, says David Smith at Manatt Phelps.
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Opinion
Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.
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Series
Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.
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Differences In Enforcing Oral Settlements In NJ And Pa.
New Jersey mediations should incorporate new best practices for settlement agreements after a recent state appellate court ruling eliminated the enforceability of oral-only settlements, setting New Jersey at odds with Pennsylvania’s established willingness to enforce unwritten agreements that were clearly intended to be binding, say Thomas Wilkinson and Thomas DePaola at Cozen O'Connor.
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
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A Checklist For Lenders Preparing For CRE Loan Defaults
Considering the recent interest rate environment, lenders should brush up on the proper steps that they should take when preparing to respond to a borrower's default on a commercial real estate loan, and borrowers should understand what lenders will be reviewing, says attorney Norma Williams.
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7th Circ Joins Trend Of No CGL Coverage For Structural Flaws
The Seventh Circuit, which recently held potential structural instability did not count as property damage under a construction company's commercial general liability policy, joins a growing consensus that faulty work does not implicate coverage without tangible and present damage to the project, say Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty, and Elan Kandel and James Talbert at Bailey Cavalieri.
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Criminal Enforcement Considerations For Gov't Contractors
Government contractors increasingly exposed to criminal liability risks should establish programs that enable detection and remediation of employee misconduct, consider voluntary disclosure, and be aware of the potentially disastrous consequences of failing to make a mandatory disclosure where the government concludes it was required, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.