Real Estate & Construction

February 20, 2020

ConsensusDocs are standard construction documents put together by a team of people in the industry representing all facets of a project, from design to contracting to ownership. The documents are supposed to be more neutral than other standard documents provided by other organizations. Here we’ll look at the payment clauses from the ConsensusDocs 750 Standard Agreement Between Constructor and Subcontractor. Schedule of Values 8.1 Schedule of Values – “As a condition precedent to payment,…

RLUIPA Defense

Baltimore County’s Zoning Code Found to Violate RLUIPA’s Equal Terms Provision

By Evan Seeman

February 20, 2020

RLUIPA’s equal terms provision requires municipalities to treat religious uses no worse than analogous secular assembly uses. Generally, if a municipality wants to either prohibit religious uses from a certain zone or subject them to stricter zoning review, it must have a strong justification to do so. Justifications may include promoting important public health and safety issues. However, municipalities may find themselves on the wrong side of a RLUIPA lawsuit if they treat religious uses…

BuildSmart

Lawyer’s Advocacy in Arbitrations: The Top 10 Horrible, Terrible, No Good Mistakes Lawyers Make

By David K. Taylor

February 20, 2020

There’s a great argument that lawyer advocacy in an arbitration is more essential than at a trial in court. This post is the beginning of the 10 most horrible, terrible, no good, “bang your head against the door” mistakes that I have seen lawyers make in arbitrations, both when I served as counsel but primarily when I served as an arbitrator. Agreeing to arbitrate a dispute, whether in a contract or by agreement, is a…

Virginia Condominium & Homeowners' Association Law Blog

Association Meetings and the annual Community Associations Day on March 14

February 20, 2020

CA DAY 2020 is coming up on Saturday, March 14, 2020 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center! Please mark your calendars and signup. Check out the information on the web site of the Southeastern Virginia Chapter of the Community Associations Institute (CAI) – www.sevacai.org. The theme this year is Salute to Service. At a 9 o’clock session Mike Inman, along with insurance expert, Connie Phillips, will be speaking on water issues related to association…

Association Alert

Post-Turnover Declarant Rights? Think Again…This One has a Happy Ending for the HOA

By Lydia Chartre

February 20, 2020

Declarant/Developers of Community Associations love to reserve themselves rights within the Declaration that extend far beyond their Declarant control powers. This is nothing new. But when a Homeowners Association puts it foot down, who will end up on top? It depends on how all the sections in the Declaration read together, and as this case shows, ambiguity does not favor the Declarant. Facts In a 2019 case, a court had to interpret the Declaration governing…

California Construction Law Blog

It’s All About the Equities. Indemnity Provision Survives Anti-SLAPP Motion

By Garret Murai

February 19, 2020

norman-rockwell-in-vermont-victory-in-defeat-may-1953-e1582183662746.jpg

By Garret Murai, February 19, 2020 In our last post, Heads I Win, Tails You Lose. Court Finds Indemnity Provision Went Too Far, we discussed a case in which a project owner tried to use a contractual indemnity provision to require the principal of its contractor to defend and indemnify the project owner from the contractor’s claims against the property owner. If you read the post you know that the project owner’s indemnity…

Crunched Credit

Quick Note: The NY Fed is Publishing Compounded SOFR Screen Rates

By Jonathan Gaynor

February 19, 2020

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced last week that it will be publishing “Average SOFR” for 30, 90 and 180 days on its website starting on March 2, 2020. The confusing thing about this announcement is that the Fed has named these rates the “SOFR Averages” when the rates clearly use the ISDA Compounded SOFR methodology. The NY Fed will also publish a “SOFR Index” which will allow users to calculate Compounded…

Ontario Condo Law Blog

Flame-shifting – Extinguishing Fire Code Violations

By Tony Bui

February 19, 2020

The City of Toronto recently hired over 300 new fire inspectors, pledging to inspect every high-rise building in the city at least once a year. The Fire Code adopts a broad definition of “owner”, and, as a result, the city may lay Fire Code charges against unit owners, condo corporations, property managers, management firms and directors for the same infraction. However, there are a few precautionary steps condos can take to minimize exposure to a pesky…

Construction Payment Blog

New York Lien Waivers Can Give Up More Than Just Lien Rights

By Alex Benarroche

February 19, 2020

If you’ve worked in the construction industry for any period of time, you’ve likely signed a lien waiver. However, just because its standard practice, doesn’t mean that all lien waivers are standard. Many lien waivers contain additional language that contractors could end up regretting. A recent case in New York emphasized the importance of reading and understanding all of the terms included in the lien waiver form. How lien waivers work in New York Lien waivers…

The Lien Zone

The Accepted Work Doctrine: Something Every Contractor Should Be Aware Of

By Patrick Barthet

February 19, 2020

A tragic accident occurs. A motorcyclist collides with a car which he couldn’t see coming because of some large plants at the intersection – a preventable accident but for the obstructing shrubbery. Is the contractor who planted the shrubs responsible? Not necessarily, not according to the accepted work doctrine. Here’s why. Contractors, whose work has been approved and accepted, shall not be held liable to third parties for injuries suffered because of any dangerous condition…

Real Estate & Construction

ConsensusDocs 750: Subcontract Payment Clauses Explained In Simple Terms

Baltimore County’s Zoning Code Found to Violate RLUIPA’s Equal Terms Provision

Lawyer’s Advocacy in Arbitrations: The Top 10 Horrible, Terrible, No Good Mistakes Lawyers Make

Association Meetings and the annual Community Associations Day on March 14

Post-Turnover Declarant Rights? Think Again…This One has a Happy Ending for the HOA

It’s All About the Equities. Indemnity Provision Survives Anti-SLAPP Motion

Quick Note: The NY Fed is Publishing Compounded SOFR Screen Rates

Flame-shifting – Extinguishing Fire Code Violations

New York Lien Waivers Can Give Up More Than Just Lien Rights

The Accepted Work Doctrine: Something Every Contractor Should Be Aware Of

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