Real Estate & Construction

By Aron C. Beezley on December 14, 2018

The Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) recently issued what appears to be its first ever decision on a bid protest challenging a company’s eligibility for participation in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) veteran-owned small business (VOSB) and service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) program, known as the Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) Veteran Information Pages (VIP) database. See Blue Cord Design and Construction, LLC, SBA No. CVE-100-P (Dec.…

Keeping It Real Estate

Consultation launched on enfranchisement rights

By Tim Reid & Ingrid Stables on December 14, 2018

What does enfranchisement actually mean and what’s wrong with the current regime? Enfranchisement is the process by which people who own property on a long lease may extend the lease, or buy the freehold. The procedure for doing so is not, however, universally popular. Leaseholders argue that it is complex and expensive, leading to unnecessary conflicts, litigation and delay. In light of this, the Law Commission has recently published a consultation paper setting out sweeping…

McNees Land Use Blog

Alert!! EPA Announces “WOTUS” Replacement Rule that Will Affect Development and Narrow Jurisdictional Wetlands and Waters

By Scott Gould, Steve Matzura & Errin McCaulley on December 13, 2018

Our Energy and Environmental Practice Group issued a client alert today related to a rule released by the EPA and USACE that deals with “waters of the United States.” The rule will impact land development and permitting. The first two paragraphs of the article are reproduced below and additional details and the full text of the alert are available here. On December 11, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the Army Corps of…

Keeping It Real Estate

Commonhold: Dead duck or ugly duckling?

By Jane Dockeray & Olivia Sadler on December 13, 2018

Tasked with reinvigorating commonhold, the Law Commission has published a consultation on its proposals to make commonhold a workable alternative to leasehold, for both existing and new homes. Dead duck? As previously blogged, commonhold was introduced in 2002 and was heralded as a new form of property ownership that would address the difficulties faced by leaseholders and other landowners. Similar systems have operated successfully in a number of other countries including Australia and the…

Construction Law Toolbox

U.S. Department of Transportation Announces Two Grant Awards Totaling $38 Million for Mississippi Infrastructure Revitalization Projects

By Lynn Patton Thompson on December 13, 2018

On December 11, 2018, the United States Secretary of Transportation announced the award of grants to pay for ninety-one (91) infrastructure revitalization projects through the DOT’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (“BUILD”) program. Projects funded through BUILD grants include road, rail, port, and transit infrastructure projects. The two projects awarded in Mississippi include (1) a $13 million grant to fund road reconstruction and bridge replacements along 2.6 miles of Holly Springs Road and (2)…

Federal Opportunity Zones

In the News> National Study Ranked Nearly 8,000 Opportunity Zone Tracts in 2 categories: Newark had one in Top 10 of both

By Ted Zangari on December 13, 2018

As seen on: ROI-NJ.com By Tom Bergeron The city of Newark has one of the top locations in the country for investors looking to take advantage of the new Opportunity Zone Program, according to a national study released Thursday morning. The LOCUS National Opportunity Zone Ranking Report ranked a census tract in downtown Newark in a tie for sixth place among the top Opportunity Zones for Smart Growth Potential, in a ranking of nearly 8,000…

A Closer Look: Internal Investigations

Changes Ahead: Department of Education Proposes Revisions to Title IX Regulations

By Catherine Nguyen & Kate Emert Gleason on December 13, 2018

As expected, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) recently released proposed Title IX regulations, specifically concerning sexual harassment, including sexual assault. This is significant because the DOE has never addressed these issues through regulation. In the past, guidance has only been available through informal resources, such as the 2011 Dear Colleague Letter and the 2014 Guidance/Q&A. As discussed in previous blog posts, these new regulations, if adopted, would constitute a substantial departure from prior…

Boundary Dispute Law Blog

Success is the Progressive Realization of a Worthy Ideal

By Bob Zierman on December 13, 2018

Earl Nightingale who was mentored by the fountainhead of motivational speaking, Napoleon Hill, states unequivocally: “Success is the Progressive Realization of a Worthy Ideal.” What’s your ideal? Is it to obtain better health, money, and happiness? If so, I suspect that you might have demonstrated this in the past by means of a two-dimensional Venn Diagram. In such a rendering, the object to be obtained is the “sweet spot.” Conceptual spaces, a term which as…

Boundary Dispute Law Blog

Or/And: A New Use for the Ampersand?

By Bob Zierman on December 12, 2018

Set of decoration ampersands for letters and invitation. Handwritten type. Isolated on white background

As I now continue to transition along my 180° pivot away from boundary dispute law after going deep down its rabbit hole for a decade, I realize I have developed an incredibly unique skill which has broad application. I can look at exactly where a decision has been sliced through by the knife of reason, and whether that knife was dull or sharp. This concept is not easy to explain singularly, but I might be…

Keeping It Real Estate

Contractual rights outweigh public interest in restrictive covenant case

By Mary Foord-Weston on December 12, 2018

The Court of Appeal has sent a firm message to developers who seek to cut corners by knowingly breaching restrictive covenants. A recent decision means that 13 units of social housing, constructed on land on which building was prohibited, may now need to be torn down. What happened? Millgate was a developer that owned land subject to a restrictive covenant which prevented any use of the land other than as a car park. The Alexander…