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Construction
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April 10, 2024
Mich. Justices Block Wind Farm's Plan To Expand Near Airport
The Michigan Supreme Court has upheld a local board's decision to block a commercial wind farm expansion, agreeing with a trial judge that zoning officials had marshaled enough evidence that the windmills posed safety risks to aviators.
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April 10, 2024
NC Justices Doubt Homeowner's Attic Fall Suit Can Go To Jury
The North Carolina Supreme Court appeared likely Wednesday to rule against a homeowner who fell through an attic hole left by a builder, with the justices suggesting her actions may have played a part in her injury.
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April 10, 2024
FBI, GSA Face Criticism Over Response To HQ Site Probe
Republican lawmakers continued to criticize the FBI and General Services Administration on Wednesday over contentious plans for a new FBI headquarters, citing concerns over the planned site and size of the facility, and the agencies' responses to a related investigation.
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April 10, 2024
Pot Cos. Say California City Reneged On Fee Waiver Promise
Six cannabis companies are suing the city of Cudahy in California federal court, saying the city breached its contracts by refusing to waive fees accrued during national emergencies and city-caused delays, costing the companies more than $26 million in damages.
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April 10, 2024
DOL Says Groups' Challenge To Rule Update Must Fall
The U.S. Department of Labor pressed a Texas federal court to ax two construction groups' challenge to its rule updating the Davis-Bacon Act, arguing that they face no injury and that their suit relies heavily on speculation and fear-based claims.
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April 09, 2024
Contractor Says Feds Are Blocking Border Wall Settlement Payout
A construction contractor wants to intervene in litigation over the Biden administration's diversion of border wall funds, saying the federal government has invoked a recent injunction in the case to stymie the company's attempt to recoup lost construction costs.
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April 09, 2024
Carpenters Urge 9th Circ. To Restart Union Retirement Fight
A group of carpenters urged the Ninth Circuit to revive allegations that their union's retirement plan trustees played fast and loose with their savings, saying Tuesday that the trustees should face claims that their risky investment choices caused two retirement plans to plummet in value when the pandemic hit.
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April 09, 2024
Ex-LA Deputy Mayor Says Jury's Chats Warrant Mistrial
Former Los Angeles deputy mayor Raymond Chan is calling for a mistrial following his bribery conviction, telling a federal judge the jury foreperson and two other panel members discussed the case outside the jury room, reaching a premature verdict that likely swayed other jurors.
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April 09, 2024
Ex-Ecuadorian Official Denies Laundering Construction Bribes
Ecuador's former comptroller on Tuesday denied accepting and laundering $10 million in bribes in exchange for eliminating fines imposed against a Brazilian company for constructing a shoddy hydroelectric plant, telling a Florida federal court he was charged with crimes because the project's corrupt manager lied to avoid prison time.
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April 09, 2024
Man Accused Of Vet Contractor Scheme Found In Contempt
A defendant in a long-running False Claims Act suit was found in contempt but dodged penalties in D.C. federal court on Tuesday as a trial over an alleged scheme to falsely procure government construction contracts meant for disabled veterans is set to begin next month.
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April 09, 2024
Locke Lord Slams 'Faulty' Stance On Malpractice Row Venue
Texas-based Locke Lord LLP has objected to an oil company's expert affidavit filed amid a malpractice suit alleging the firm and its former attorney bungled a transaction involving a North Dakota oil refinery project, redoubling its argument that New Jersey state court is not a proper venue for the complaint.
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April 09, 2024
Tribal Co. Says Calif. DA Shouldn't Escape Greenhouse Fight
A Native American-owned corporation is asking a California federal court not to throw out its suit aiming to block the San Bernardino District Attorney's Office from destroying its greenhouses, saying federal abstention isn't proper because the state proceeding the DA references is against a different party.
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April 08, 2024
7th Circ. Won't Demolish Obama Center Approval
Federal agencies properly reviewed the environmental impacts of building the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago's Jackson Park, the Seventh Circuit ruled Monday, once again rejecting opponents' attempts to stop construction of the campus set to open in 2026.
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April 08, 2024
Oak Flat Mining Decision Treads On Human Rights, UN Told
The San Carlos Apache Tribe is urging a United Nations committee to ask the United States to withhold any permissions that would allow Resolution Copper Co. to proceed with any activity on a plot of land known as Oak Flat, arguing that a Ninth Circuit ruling allowing the land transfer merits urgent intervention to prevent further human rights violations on the sacred site.
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April 08, 2024
GRSM50 Adds 3rd Construction Pro From Sandberg Phoenix
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP, now known as GRSM50, continued recent growth in its construction practice group Monday with the hire of two new partners joining the nationwide firm in its St. Louis and Tampa, Florida, offices from Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard PC.
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April 08, 2024
Travelers Nabs Early Win In AIG Unit's Injury Coverage Row
Travelers has no duty to defend or indemnify a construction company and a New York University hospital in an underlying construction injury suit, a New York federal judge ruled, finding that the underlying complaint doesn't suggest that the Travelers-covered subcontractor was primarily responsible for the underlying injuries.
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April 05, 2024
Contractor Says Apartment Developer's Missteps Cost $8.5M
A general contractor has filed an $8.5 million lawsuit in North Carolina's Business Court accusing a developer of misleading it about an apartment complex project's safeguards and failing to cover the resulting cost overruns and delays.
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April 05, 2024
Real Estate Authority: Proxy Fights, EV Effect, CBRE Forecast
Law360 Real Estate Authority covers the most important real estate deals, litigation, policies and trends. Catch up on this week's key developments by state — as well as on the proxy fights in store for 2024, the impact of electric vehicles on development and predictions from CBRE Group Inc.'s global chief economist.
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April 05, 2024
Baltimore Bridge: Biden's Visit, Recovery, Supply Chain
Nearly two weeks after the Francis Scott Key Bridge's collapse, government and legal maneuvers are taking shape as the Biden administration pledged to fully reopen the Port of Baltimore before June, while the owner and operator of the ship that caused the collapse sought to limit its financial liability.
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April 05, 2024
Marriott Wants $5M Repair Work Bill Stayed Pending Appeal
Marriott International asked a Colorado federal judge Friday to hold off on enforcing a $5 million judgment it was ordered to pay a construction company over mudslide repair work in Brazil while the hotel appeals the order, noting it has secured a surety bond with Liberty Mutual.
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April 05, 2024
Trade Court Backs Commerce's Dates For Turkish Rebar Sales
The U.S. Court of International Trade rebuffed Turkish rebar producers seeking to unwind tariffs on their products based on the U.S. Department of Commerce's designated date of sale for their U.S. imports, holding that evidence backed the agency.
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April 05, 2024
Mich. Panel Rejects 'Fees For Fees' In Contractor's FOIA Bid
A split Michigan state appeals court has refused to top attorney fees a construction contractor won against a county-level road agency that the contractor accused of failing to disclose certain hiring information, with the court finding the fees to be limited because the contractor dragged out litigation.
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April 05, 2024
Fed. Circ. Upholds Australian Steel Import Pricing
A Federal Circuit panel has backed the U.S. Department of Commerce and a trade court's assessment of the prices an Australian steel company charged its U.S. customer, holding that the companies provided enough of a paper trail to explain their relationship.
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April 05, 2024
Homeowners' Energy Efficient Rebates Not Income, IRS Says
The U.S. Department of Energy rebates awarded to taxpayers who bought an energy efficient home or retrofitted their current residence to reduce energy consumption won't need to be reported in the property owner's gross income, the IRS announced Friday.
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April 05, 2024
Insurer, Construction Co. Agree To End $10M Ceiling Fall Suit
Grange Insurance Co. and a Georgia construction company it sued to avoid paying a $10 million judgment in an underlying injury case over a worker's fall through a ceiling came together with that late worker's wife and agreed to dismiss their indemnity dispute following a settlement.
Expert Analysis
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EB-5 Investment Period Clarification Raises More Questions
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' recent clarifying guidance for EB-5 investors, specifying that the statutory investment period begins two years from the date of investment, raises as many questions as it answers given related agency requirements and investors' potential contractual obligations, says Daniel Lundy at Klasko Immigration Law Partners.
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A Look At Competition Enforcers' 2026 World Cup Game Plan
Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, competition authorities of the host nations, the U.S., Mexico and Canada, have recently launched a joint initiative to police collusive schemes, setting an example for other countries' cross-border collaboration — so companies pursuing tournament opportunities should take note, say Carsten Reichel and Will Conway at Norton Rose.
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Extreme Weather And Renewable Project Insurance Coverage
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
The regularity and severity of extreme weather events driven by climate change are putting renewable energy projects increasingly at risk — so project owners, contractors and investors should understand the issues that can arise in these situations when seeking recovery under a builder's risk insurance policy, say Paul Ferland and Joshua Tumen at Cozen O'Connor.
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Series
ESG Around The World: Japan
Japan is witnessing rapid developments in environmental, social and corporate governance policies by making efforts to adopt a soft law approach, which has been effective in encouraging companies to embrace ESG practices and address the diversity of boards of directors, say Akira Karasawa and Landry Guesdon at Iwata Godo.
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How And Why Your Firm Should Implement Fixed-Fee Billing
Amid rising burnout in the legal industry and client efforts to curtail spending, pivoting to a fixed-fee billing model may improve client-attorney relationships and offer lawyers financial, logistical and stress relief — while still maintaining profit margins, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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Unpacking OMB's Proposed Uniform Guidance Rewrite
Affected organizations, including state and local governments, should carefully review the Office of Management and Budget's proposed overhaul of uniform rules for administering over $1 trillion in federal funding distributed each year, and take the opportunity to submit comments before the December deadline, says Dismas Locaria at Venable.
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Opinion
Judicial Independence Needs Defense Amid Political Threats
Amid recent and historic challenges to the judiciary from political forces, safeguarding judicial independence and maintaining the integrity of the legal system is increasingly urgent, says Robert Peck at the Center for Constitutional Litigation.
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How Law Firms Can Use Account-Based Marketing Strategies
Amid several evolving legal industry trends, account-based marketing can help law firms uncover additional revenue-generating opportunities with existing clients, with key considerations ranging from data analytics to relationship building, say Jennifer Ramsey at stage LLC and consultant Gina Sponzilli.
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Leveraging Municipal Bonds For Green Energy Finance
The U.S.'s transition to renewable energy will require collaboration between public and private capital sources — and that means that lawyers used to working in corporate finance must understand how the municipal bond market functions differently, due to its grounding in the U.S. Constitution, says Ann Fillingham at Dykema.
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Mitigating Costs And Delays In The Energy Transition
Achieving net-zero will require constructing a massive amount of new wind, solar and energy storage infrastructure — and while cost overruns and delays are to be expected, contractors and owners can proactively address these problems in their project documents, say Christopher Ryan and Jesse Sherrett at Shearman.
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NY Co-Ops Must Avoid Pitfalls When Navigating Insurance
In light of skyrocketing premiums, tricky exclusions and dwindling options, New York cooperative corporations must carefully review potential contractors' insurance policies in order to secure full protection, as even seemingly minor contractor jobs can carry significant risk due to New York labor laws, says Eliot Zuckerman at Smith Gambrell.
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Strategic Succession Planning At Law Firms Is Crucial
Senior partners' reluctance to retire, the rise of the nonequity partner tier and generational differences in expectations are all contributing to an increasing number of departures from BigLaw, making it imperative for firms to encourage retirement among senior ranks and provide clearer leadership pathways to junior attorneys, says Laura Leopard at Leopard Solutions.
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Maximizing Law Firm Profitability In Uncertain Times
As threats of an economic downturn loom, firms can boost profits by embracing the power of bottom-line management and creating an ecosystem where strategic financial oversight and robust timekeeping practices meet evolved client relations, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.
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Mass. Ruling Shows Value Of Additional Insured Specifics
A Massachusetts court’s recent D.F. Pray v. Wesco Insurance decision demonstrates that blanket additional insured endorsements can create issues with personal jurisdiction, so those named as additional insureds should require their lower-tier contractors to use specific endorsements, say Thomas Dunn and Sheya Rivard at Pierce Atwood.
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5th Circ. Ruling Reminds Attys That CBP Can Search Devices
The Fifth Circuit’s recent Malik v. Department of Homeland Security decision adds to the chorus of federal courts holding that border agents don’t need a warrant to search travelers’ electronic devices, so attorneys should consider certain special precautions to secure privileged information when reentering the U.S., says Jennifer Freel at Jackson Walker.