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Construction
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April 04, 2024
ND Judge Tosses DAPL Protester's Claims Against Police
A North Dakota federal judge said he is dismissing claims a woman filed against police after suffering "horrific injuries" when she was hit by a flashbang during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests in 2016.
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April 04, 2024
Caterpillar 'Talking Out Both Sides,' Judge Says
A Delaware federal judge chastised Caterpillar Inc. ahead of trial in a series of orders mostly siding with claims from a defunct construction equipment supplier accusing the company of pressuring an online auctioneer to break an important contract with the would-be competitor.
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April 04, 2024
Steel Talks Absent From Start Of US-EU Trade Ministerial
Conversations on the first day of the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council on Thursday focused on sustainability for both the planet and the transatlantic partnership, but noticeably skirted the pair's foundered effort to reshape the global steel market.
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April 04, 2024
Trade Court Pans Feds' Excuses, Orders Redo Of Steel Duty
The U.S. Court of International Trade was unconvinced Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Commerce had corrected an old mistake when it raised a Korean company's steel countervailing duties, calling the purported mistake an excuse to break from old practices.
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April 04, 2024
Mass. Airline Settles With Feds Over Noncompliant Flights
A small Massachusetts commercial jet operator has agreed to settle a civil complaint by the U.S. government alleging it operated more than 1,000 flights without the required Federal Aviation Administration certifications, according to a filing.
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April 04, 2024
Surfside, Fla., Condo Collapse Victims To Get Additional $4.8M
A Florida judge signed off Thursday on an additional $4.8 million distribution to the victims of the deadly collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium after the receiver overseeing the defunct condominium association told the court the association had fewer financial obligations and tax liabilities than expected.
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April 04, 2024
Project Owners Eager To Sell Energy Tax Credits, Report Says
Project owners are pursuing new financing strategies that would support the early sale of their clean energy tax credits as more projects in their initial development stage this year seek to capitalize on the incentives as early as possible, a report released Thursday said.
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April 03, 2024
Roadless Rule Doesn't Suit The Tongass, Alaska, Allies Argue
The state of Alaska, electric utilities, and a coalition of towns, mining and business groups, as well as a former Last Frontier governor, are all urging a federal judge to overturn the Biden administration's decision to reinstate roadless area protections for millions of acres of the Tongass National Forest.
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April 03, 2024
5th Circ. Remands Roof Tile Row To Texas District Court
State Farm and a couple must further litigate whether there's coverage for hailstorm-related roof repairs under a policy provision covering costs to keep their home up to code, the Fifth Circuit ruled, finding a genuine factual dispute over whether replacement roof tiles interlock with original ones.
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April 03, 2024
Insurer Wants $38M For Covering Unfinished Road Jobs
An insurance company has asked a federal court to force companies connected to an insolvent contractor to hand over more than $38 million to compensate for costs it covered for unfinished jobs.
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April 03, 2024
Retailer BJ's Joins Fight Against Conn. Power Lines Project
BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. has joined a sprawling legal fight challenging a Connecticut state agency's approval of an electric transmission line replacement project along the Metro-North railroad corridor in Fairfield and Bridgeport, adding its own lawsuit to a stack of litigation by local governments, churches and others.
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April 03, 2024
Nail Cos. Hammer Commerce's 'Death Penalty' Duties
Importers and Taiwanese nail producers railed against U.S. Department of Commerce penalties in back-to-back Federal Circuit hearings Wednesday, arguing that the agency repeatedly slammed companies with duties amounting to a death sentence despite minimal or no wrongdoing.
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April 03, 2024
Fed. Circ. Struggles With Ambiguity In $14M Army Corps Row
Federal Circuit judges struggled Wednesday to understand ambiguous terms in a company's contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for post-hurricane power restoration, indicating that neither party had clearly explained if the contractor has a valid $14 million claim for additional work needed.
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April 03, 2024
Groups Fight DOL's Bid To Toss Suit Challenging Wage Rule
A pair of construction industry trade groups urged a Texas federal court to preserve their challenge to a U.S. Department of Labor rule that revises prevailing wage calculations for federally funded projects, arguing that the rule injures both them and the firms they represent.
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April 03, 2024
Epoxy Cos. Say Unfair Trade Threatens Crucial Domestic Industry
Epoxy resin producers have called on U.S. officials to investigate rivals in Asia for unfair trade practices, arguing Wednesday that an influx of allegedly undervalued imports is threatening the domestic supply of an item with automotive, electronic and defense applications.
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April 03, 2024
Broker Says Developer Won't Pay Finder's Fee On $24M Loan
A South Carolina real estate developer has failed to fork over a finder's fee to his broker on more than $24 million in financing for a mixed-use project on the coast of North Carolina, according to a newly filed federal complaint.
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April 03, 2024
3rd Circ. Judge Wonders If Philly Union Rule Dispute Is Moot
A Third Circuit judge on Wednesday wondered whether a former Philadelphia mayor's order requiring contractors to pay dues to "city-approved" unions was now moot, given the new administration's assurances that it won't be implemented, as contractors urged the court to find that the scrapped rule should be banned by law.
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April 03, 2024
14 AGs Urge DOL To Seek More Payroll Info From Contractors
Contractors performing construction, alteration or repair work on government buildings should have to give the U.S. Department of Labor more detailed information about the deductions they take from workers' wages, a coalition of Democratic state attorneys general told the agency in a letter publicized Wednesday.
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April 03, 2024
Gov't Says Alaska Gold Mine Approvals Should Stand
The U.S. government is defending its approvals for a large open-pit gold mine along the Kuskokwim River in southwest Alaska, telling a federal judge a half dozen tribes challenging them fail to show that agencies did not take the required "hard look" at project impacts.
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April 03, 2024
Skanska Inks $1.4B Contract To Replace Seattle Bridge
Skanska and Washington's Department of Transportation closed a $1.4 billion bridge replacement contract that aims to update Seattle's Portage Bay Bridge so that it's up to "current seismic resiliency standards," the construction and development company announced.
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April 03, 2024
Window-Shading Co. View Inc. Hits Ch. 11 With $359M Debt
View Inc., a maker of office windows that automatically shade in response to sunlight, has filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware bankruptcy court with $359.4 million in debt and an agreement to hand the company to lenders.
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April 02, 2024
Biden Urged To Allow Undocumented Immigrants To Work
Business leaders called Tuesday on President Joe Biden to use executive authority to extend work authorization to undocumented essential workers, an act they said was crucial after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore last week killed six immigrant workers.
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April 02, 2024
Ally Of NYC Mayor Skirts Prison In Straw Donor Case
A friend and former colleague of New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday was spared any time in prison following his admission to conspiring to use straw donors to juice the public funding of the mayor's 2021 campaign.
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April 02, 2024
Rental Co. Sues Family Of Child Who Drowned On Property
A North Carolina beach vacation rental company, facing a negligence lawsuit brought by a father whose son died in one of its pools, has in turn filed suit against the deceased child's extended family members, claiming that any blame for the death should be on their shoulders.
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April 02, 2024
$40M Union Pension Dispute To Head Back To Arbitrator
A Michigan federal judge stood firm on his decision to send a roughly $40 million dispute between a demolition company and a union pension fund back to an arbitrator, rejecting the company's bid for him to reconsider his opinion.
Expert Analysis
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ABA's Money-Laundering Resolution Is A Balancing Act
While the American Bar Association’s recently passed resolution recognizes a lawyer's duty to discontinue representation that could facilitate money laundering and other fraudulent activity, it preserves, at least for now, the delicate balance of judicial, state-based regulation of the legal profession and the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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Bid Protest Spotlight: Unfair Advantage, Buy American Waiver
In this month's bid protest roundup, James Tucker at MoFo offers takeaways on one decision that considers unfair proposal development advantages in the context of an employee's access to nonpublic information in a prior federal government position, and another decision that reconsiders a contract award based on an inadequately supported waiver of Buy American Act restrictions.
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Prevailing Wage Rules Complicate Inflation Act Tax Incentives
Nicole Elliott and Timothy Taylor at Holland & Knight discuss the intersection between tax and labor newly created by the Inflation Reduction Act, and focus on aspects of recent U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Department of the Treasury rules that may catch tax-incentive seekers off guard.
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Regulators Must Get Creative To Keep Groundwater Flowing
Even as populations have boomed in Sun Belt states like Arizona, California and Texas, groundwater levels have diminished due to drought and overuse — so regulators must explore options including pumping limits, groundwater replenishment and wastewater reuse to ensure future supplies for residential and commercial needs, says Jeffrey Davis at Integral Consulting.
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Issues To Watch As Biochar Carbon Project Demand Heats Up
Entities considering financing, constructing or operating biochar projects should evaluate the increasing demand for biochar as a soil amendment, the potential to generate revenue from carbon credits and produce other byproducts, and a variety of legal hurdles in this rapidly emerging market, say Mackenzie Schoonmaker and Astrika Adams at Beveridge & Diamond.
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Law Firm Professional Development Steps To Thrive In AI Era
As generative artificial intelligence tools rapidly evolve, professional development leaders are instrumental in preparing law firms for the paradigm shifts ahead, and should consider three strategies to help empower legal talent with the skills required to succeed in an increasingly complex technological landscape, say Steve Gluckman and Anusia Gillespie at SkillBurst Interactive.
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Industry Takeaways From OMB's Final Buy America Guidance
The Office of Management and Budget's recently released guidance on "Buy America" requirements for federal infrastructure projects provides clarity in certain areas but fails to address troublesome inconsistencies with state laws and international trade agreements, so manufacturers and suppliers will need to tread carefully as agencies implement the changes, say Amy Hoang and Sarah Barney at Seyfarth Shaw.
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Payroll Tax Evasion Notice Suggests FinCEN's New Focus
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s recent notice advising U.S. financial institutions to report payroll tax evasion and workers' compensation schemes in the construction industry suggests a growing interest in tax enforcement and IRS collaboration, as well as increased scrutiny in the construction sector, say Andrew Weiner and Jay Nanavati at Kostelanetz.
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New NLRB Union Rules Require Proactive Employer Response
Because recent radical changes to National Labor Relations Board unionization rules, decided in the case of Cemex Construction Materials, may speed up elections or result in more mandatory bargaining orders, employers should make several significant, practical edits to their playbooks for navigating union organizing and certification, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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New 'Waters' Rule May Speed Projects, Spawn More Litigation
The Biden administration's new rule defining "waters of the United States" in accordance with a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision will remove federal protection for some wetlands — which could both enable more development and lead to more legal challenges for projects, says Marcia Greenblatt at Integral Consulting.
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The Basics Of Being A Knowledge Management Attorney
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Michael Lehet at Ogletree Deakins discusses the role of knowledge management attorneys at law firms, the common tasks they perform and practical tips for lawyers who may be considering becoming one.
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Rising Interest Rates Bring Risk For Construction Contractors
With rising interest rates causing many construction projects to be slowed or halted, it's important for general contractors to implement safeguard measures against the risk of significant financial losses caused by owner-driven schedule modifications, says Kevin Riexinger at Gfeller Laurie.
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Mont. Kids' Climate Decision Reflects 3 Enviro Trends
A Montana district court's recent ruling in Held v. Montana represents a rare win for activist plaintiffs seeking to use rights-based theories to address climate change concerns — and calls attention to three environmental trends that are increasingly influencing climate litigation and policy, says J. Michael Showalter at ArentFox Schiff.
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To Hire And Keep Top Talent, Think Beyond Compensation
Firms seeking to appeal to sophisticated clients and top-level partners should promote mentorship, ensure that attorneys from diverse backgrounds feel valued, and clarify policies about at-home work, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.
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Negotiating Material Escalation In Construction Contracts
As material price escalation clauses have remained popular in construction contracts despite an easing of recent supply chain issues, attorneys representing owners should understand key considerations for negotiating such clauses, and strategies to mitigate potential exploitation by contractors, says H. Arthur Black II at Brooks Pierce.