Construction

  • August 16, 2024

    Feds Drop Extortion Case Against Convicted Ex-Labor Leader

    Federal prosecutors want to dismiss their extortion case against former International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 business manager John Dougherty, who was convicted of bribery and embezzlement and sentenced to six years in prison, but whose trial on charges related to allegedly threatening a contractor ended with a hung jury.

  • August 16, 2024

    Rhode Island Sues Cos. For Missing Washington Bridge Flaws

    Rhode Island on Friday accused more than a dozen contractors of negligence following the "catastrophic" emergency shutdown of the Washington Bridge, saying the companies missed critical structural deficiencies that has forced the state to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to replace the bridge entirely.

  • August 16, 2024

    7th Circ. Limits Collectives' Reach In H-2A Workers' OT Case

    Collective suits are similar to mass actions consolidating individual cases, a split Seventh Circuit panel found Friday, ruling in a Fair Labor Standards Act overtime suit from H-2A temporary agricultural workers that a court needs to establish jurisdiction over each member of the collective.

  • August 16, 2024

    Atty Gets 32 Months In Prison For Bribing Chicago Alderman

    An Illinois federal judge on Friday sentenced an immigration attorney and real estate developer convicted of bribing former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke to two years and eight months in prison, maintaining prison time is warranted because the lawyer initiated the bribe and tried to hide it from federal agents and the grand jury.

  • August 16, 2024

    6th Circ. Nixes Union Local's Win In Steel Co. Benefit Row

    The Sixth Circuit has reversed a judgment that a reinforced-steel contractor owes about $2 million in unpaid fringe benefit contributions to journeymen who traveled from other states to work on a project in Michigan, finding there was insufficient evidence to support the award.

  • August 16, 2024

    DC Circ. Rolls Back Pipeline Safety Rules

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday threw out a handful of new safety standards for gas transmission pipelines set by the U.S. Department of Transportation, ruling that federal regulators failed to explain why their benefits outweighed their costs.

  • August 16, 2024

    Insurer Seeks Early Win In Faulty Home Construction Dispute

    A construction company's insurer echoed its stance that its insured is not owed coverage for an underlying faulty workmanship lawsuit, telling a Georgia federal court that the defects alleged do not equate to property damage outside the contractor's own work, thus falling outside the policy's scope of coverage.

  • August 16, 2024

    DC Circ. OKs Energy Cos.' $395M Spain Award Suits

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday ruled that district courts have jurisdiction to enforce some $395 million in arbitral awards issued against Spain after the country rolled back economic incentives for renewable energy projects, but took no position on the awards' ultimate enforceability.

  • August 15, 2024

    Judge Rejects GE's Bid To Pull Plug On Contamination Suit

    A Louisiana federal judge on Wednesday refused to let General Electric escape a lawsuit alleging it is liable for widespread environmental contamination caused by a now-closed pressure valve manufacturing facility that GE used to own.

  • August 15, 2024

    Baker McKenzie Adds 2 A&O Shearman Attys In Johannesburg

    Baker McKenzie is beefing up its global disputes practice at its Johannesburg office with the arrival of two attorneys from A&O Shearman and another from Cliffe Dekker, the firm announced Thursday.

  • August 15, 2024

    Pa. Utility Regulator Insists It Can Reject Grid Project

    The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is urging the Third Circuit to reinstate its denial of a transmission project regional grid operator PJM Interconnection approved, saying the Federal Power Act and PJM's tariff can't be used to override its rejection of a "wasteful and counterproductive project."

  • August 15, 2024

    6th Circ. Finds Biden Had Power To Fire Former NLRB GC

    President Joe Biden lawfully fired former National Labor Relations Board general counsel Peter Robb more than three years ago, the Sixth Circuit ruled, with the appeals court saying removal protections for the agency's top prosecutor would affect the official's accountability to the president.

  • August 15, 2024

    Conn. Couple, Cos. Clash In Waterfront Access Suit

    A married couple and several companies are battling in Connecticut state court over the companies' motion to personally examine two related Bridgeport properties and other areas in the couple's waterfront access suit.

  • August 15, 2024

    Baha Mar Builder Blames Developer Debt As $1.5B Trial Wraps

    Counsel for the Chinese state-owned construction firm that built the Bahamian luxury resort Baha Mar closed out a bench trial in New York state court on Thursday arguing that it was the resort developer's overleveraged debt, not delays in the building process, that led to $1.5 billion in losses.

  • August 15, 2024

    Federal Circuit Upholds Duties On Steel Nails From Taiwan

    The Federal Circuit upheld the "dumping margin" duties charged on certain Taiwanese nail imports, finding that the U.S. Department of Commerce had been unable to wring detailed data out of some of the producers and was thus justified in relying on outside facts when calculating the rates.

  • August 15, 2024

    White Collar Partner Duo Joins Duane Morris In NY

    Duane Morris has hired two new trial partners in New York who've spent the last 15 years working together as white collar attorneys at Peckar & Abramson.

  • August 15, 2024

    Asphalt Co. To Pay $6.5M For Criminal Bid-Rigging Scheme

    A Detroit-area asphalt paving company was sentenced Thursday to pay $6.5 million after it pled guilty to participating in a sprawling bid-rigging scheme in Michigan, with federal prosecutors alleging the company's leaders worked with competitors to drive up the price of paving contracts.

  • August 14, 2024

    Top Stories From Real Estate's Latest Quarterly Updates

    Catch up on the headlines made by the largest public real estate companies during their latest quarterly earnings calls with investors, from data centers and lease deals to market forecasts and casinos. 

  • August 14, 2024

    Biz Says Mich. Cities Ignore Taxpayers In Fee-Or-Tax Fight

    A pipe fitting business has urged the Michigan Supreme Court to reject municipal organizations' "histrionic" arguments that cities' financial stability will be in jeopardy if the top court finds Detroit's fire inspection fee is a disguised tax, saying the groups are disregarding citizens' rights to be free from illegal taxes.

  • August 14, 2024

    BP Unit Can't Escape Truck Stop Suit, Developers Claim

    Companies suing a BP subsidiary for terminating their truck stop franchise agreement and leaving them stuck with unrecoverable development costs hit back against its "shotgun approach" to have their suit seeking more than $300 million in damages thrown out, telling an Ohio federal judge that their complaint is grounded in compelling claims.

  • August 14, 2024

    Ohio Panel Says Union Wage Dispute Filed In Wrong Court

    An Ohio state appeals court declined to rule on a union's appeal in its suit over whether the state's prevailing wage law pertains to the construction of a college dormitory by a public university because the union sued in the wrong county, avoiding deciding a matter of first impression.

  • August 14, 2024

    NC DOT Looks To Ditch Race Bias Suit Over $17.8M Megasite

    The North Carolina Department of Transportation wants an early exit from a subcontractor's suit claiming that its Black employees were met with racial discrimination on a large development site, saying the subcontractor's real beef is with the main contractor on the project.

  • August 14, 2024

    Insurer Off Hook For Jury Award In Construction Dispute

    A commercial insurer does not have to indemnify a contractor found liable for multiple structural and other problems in a home he built, a Massachusetts intermediate appellate court concluded Wednesday in a case of first impression involving what is considered "property damage" in a construction dispute.

  • August 14, 2024

    Rising Star: Perkins Coie's Mica Klein

    Mica Klein of Perkins Coie LLP has advised Microsoft on a series of data center and electrical substation construction projects across North, Central and South America and represents the Seattle Mariners in a major stadium renovation, earning her a spot among the construction law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 13, 2024

    No Cause To Revisit Maple Leaf Standard Yet, Fed. Circ. Says

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday declined a solar industry group's push to review a decades-old, "breathtakingly deferential" precedent a panel invoked in a decision affirming the president's Trade Act authority to make existing solar safeguard tariffs more trade restrictive.

Expert Analysis

  • Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

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    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

  • Series

    Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC

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    The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts

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    Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.

  • Opinion

    Contractors Need Protection From NJ Homeowner Protections

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    A recently passed New Jersey law, combined with the state's Consumer Fraud Act, is intended to protect innocent homeowners, but legislative action must be taken to prevent homeowners from abusing the law to avoid paying hardworking contractors, say Gary Strong and Madison Calkins at Gfeller Laurie.

  • Opinion

    NY Shouldn't Pair 421-a Restoration And Good Cause Eviction

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    The good cause eviction system of rent control should not be imposed in New York, nor should its legislation be tied to renewal of the 421-a tax abatement program, which New York City desperately needs, says Alexander Lycoyannis at Holland & Knight.

  • 7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves

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    As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.

  • Series

    Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.

  • A Rare Look At Judicial Interpretation Of LEG Exclusions

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    A Florida federal court’s order last month in Archer Western-De Moya v. Ace American Insurance and an earlier decision from a D.C. federal court offer insight into how courts may interpret defects exclusion clauses developed by the London Engineering Group — filling a void in case law in the area, says Jonathan Bruce at Holman Fenwick.

  • What Recent Setbacks In Court Mean For Enviro Justice

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    Two courts in Louisiana last month limited the federal government's ability to require consideration of Civil Rights Act disparate impacts when evaluating state-issued permits — likely providing a framework for opposition to environmental justice initiatives in other states, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Gulf Cooperation Council

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    The Gulf Cooperation Council is in the early stages of ESG policy implementation, but recent commitments by both states and corporations — including increases in sustainable finance transactions, environmental commitments, female representation on boards and human rights enforcement — show continuing progress toward broader ESG goals, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Steps For Companies New To Sanctions Compliance

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    Businesses newly required to implement compliance programs due to the increased breadth of mandatory sanctions and export controls, including 500 additional Russia sanctions announced last Friday, should closely follow the guidance issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control and other regulators, say Jennifer Schubert and Megan Church at MoloLamken.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: The Terms Matter

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    Stephanie Magnell and Zachary Jacobson at Seyfarth examine recent decisions from the U.S. Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, which offer reminders about the importance of including contract terms to address the unexpected circumstances that may interfere with performance.

  • 6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media

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    In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.

  • A Look Ahead For The Electric Vehicle Charging Industry

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    This will likely be an eventful year for the electric vehicle market as government efforts to accelerate their adoption inevitably clash with backlash from supporters of the petroleum industry, say Rue Phillips at SkillFusion and Enid Joffe at Green Paradigm Consulting.

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