A Property Boom Is Coming to China's Smaller Cities
May 01, 2019 —
Bloomberg NewsProperty developers that focus on smaller cities in China are set to be the beneficiaries of a reform last week that could encourage 100 million rural citizens to move to urban areas.
Policy makers said cities with an urban population of 1 million to 3 million should scrap the residency registration system this year, a move that is seen boosting housing demand in lower-tier cities. Developers with higher land reserves or housing inventories in those cities, especially growing areas such as the Yangtze River Delta and Greater Bay Area are among the winners from the policy, analysts say.
“The speed of urbanization should accelerate, which is constructive for real estate developers, especially those focused on lower tier cities where we can expect stronger demand for residential properties,” said Ken Hu, chief investment officer for Asia Pacific fixed income at Invesco Hong Kong Ltd.
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Bloomberg
Lakewood Introduced City Ordinance to Battle Colorado’s CD Law
September 24, 2014 —
Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFFAccording to The Denver Post, the Lakewood City Council “introduced an ordinance that would make it more difficult for homeowners associations to sue developers for construction defects and give builders more opportunity to fix problems before litigation begins.” A hearing and final vote is scheduled for October 13th.
"If there are defects, we want to get them fixed rather than dragging this through the courts for years," Lakewood Mayor Bob Murphy told The Denver Post. Murphy believes the ordinance will bring “more diverse housing options to Lakewood, especially around stations along the Regional Transportation District’s West Rail Line.” Lakewood’s City Planner Travis Parker also declared that the defects law is to blame for the lack of condos in the area.
However, some believe that “Lakewood is overstepping its bounds as a home-rule city,” according to The Denver Post. "What they're trying to do is use an ordinance to circumvent state law in order to make it impossible for homeowners to seek redress against builders for defects," Molly Foley-Healy an attorney who serves as legislative liaison for the Community Associations Institute's Legislative Action Committee told the Post. “Mayor Murphy needs to incentivize quality construction in Lakewood instead.”
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It Has Started: Supply-Chain, Warehouse and Retail Workers of Essential Businesses Are Filing Suit
June 22, 2020 —
Robert G. Devine, James Burger & Douglas Weck - White and Williams LLPSupply-chain businesses that are appropriately characterized as “essential” have remained open for the delivery of critical supplies while everyone else has been told to close up shop and stay home. Now essential-business employees are contracting COVID-19 and filing suit. Following up on our earlier piece — “Is a Violation of a COVID-19 Order the Basis For Civil Liability?” — it is important to recognize that government directives, oftentimes couched as “recommendations,” can come to define what it means to provide a reasonably safe workplace that protects employees from COVID-19. While common law negligence defenses consider the reasonableness of conduct, these directives will likely become the standard.
The cases that have been filed are overwhelmingly premised upon the timeless negligence construct. The negligence construct, simply put, imposes a duty to act as a reasonable person would under the circumstances. Nonetheless, while the negligence construct lives in the ordinary world of “reasonableness,” infection-control guidance lives in the rapidly developing world of the science of COVID-19. Guidance on seemingly basic questions, such as the methods of transmission (e.g., personal contact, mucus membrane only, airborne transmission) or even the virus’s shelf life on different surfaces, of particular interest packaging and material handling equipment, can change by the day. All of this provides challenges for the supply-side business looking to protect its workforce.
Reprinted courtesy of White and Williams LLP attorneys
James Burger,
Robert Devine and
Douglas Weck
Mr. Burger may be contacted at burgerj@whiteandwilliams.com
Mr. Devine may be contacted at deviner@whiteandwilliams.com
Mr. Weck may be contacted at weckd@whiteandwilliams.com
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Federal Government Partial Shutdown – Picking Up the Pieces
February 27, 2019 —
Jacob W. Scott - Now that the partial shutdown has ended (though with the specter of another just around the corner), contractors are asking, “What now?” and “What did that cost me?” Although every case is fact-specific, following are some guidelines for moving forward after the shutdown.
Following up on our previous guidance, contractors should make sure that any court, board, or agency filings made during the shutdown were received and properly docketed. If there is any question whether a filing was received, file it again as soon as possible with proof of the earlier attempt to file. The busiest tribunals, such as the federal courts, the Court of Federal Claims, the Boards of Contract Appeals, and the Government Accountability Office, remained open, or at least open to accept filings, and all indications are that filings made during the shutdown were received and acknowledged. But for some of the other tribunals or agencies, such as the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) Office of Hearings and Appeals and the SBA Office of Government Contracting and Business Development, prudence dictates double-checking that all filings were received. In many cases, non-statutory deadlines have been or will be adjusted by the court, board, or agency.
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Jacob W. Scott, Smith CurrieMr. Scott may be contacted at
jwscott@smithcurrie.com
Newmeyer & Dillion Appoints Partner Carol Zaist as General Counsel
June 22, 2016 —
Newmeyer & Dillion LLPNEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – June 21st, 2016 – Prominent business and real estate law firm
Newmeyer & Dillion LLP is pleased to announce that partner
Carol Zaist has been named the firm’s General Counsel. Zaist will report to the Managing Partner, Executive Committee and other senior level management as it relates to the firm’s governance and policy matters. Zaist’s appointment is effectively immediately.
“We are excited to have appointed Carol as the firm’s General Counsel,” said Jeff Dennis, Newmeyer & Dillion’s Managing Partner. “As we continue to expand across markets, this is another proactive measure to ensure our strategic growth and success.”
Zaist is a partner in the Newport Beach office of Newmeyer & Dillion, concentrating her practice on business litigation, real estate litigation, and probate litigation. She has significant experience advising clients in contract disputes, business and property torts, and trademark and trade secret disputes in both federal and state jurisdictions. Zaist also serves as strategic counsel, advising clients on the impact of multiple litigation matters in different jurisdictions, and integrating strategy and tasks efficiently and cohesively. She will lend this variety of experience to her new role as General Counsel for the firm.
“I am honored and thrilled to work with our managing partner and Executive Committee to assist the firm in its strategic growth and development,” said Zaist.
About Newmeyer & Dillion
For more than 30 years, Newmeyer & Dillion has delivered creative and outstanding legal solutions and trial results for a wide array of clients. With over 70 attorneys practicing in all aspects of business, employment, real estate, construction and insurance law, Newmeyer & Dillion delivers legal services tailored to meet each client’s needs. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, with offices in Walnut Creek, California and Las Vegas, Nevada, Newmeyer & Dillion attorneys are recognized by The Best Lawyers in America©, and Super Lawyers as top tier and some of the best lawyers in California, and have been given Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review's AV Preeminent® highest rating. For additional information, call 949-854-7000 or visit www.ndlf.com.
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Louisiana Couple Sues over Defects in Foreclosed Home
September 24, 2013 —
CDJ STAFFA Louisiana couple is suing over the home they bought, claiming that the sellers knew there were defects in the home, including termite damage, mold, and roof leaks. When the Eastmans bought the home, they were assured that inspectors had cleared the property.
The home had been foreclosed upon and purchased by Beverly Knoll, LLC. The Eastmans subsequently purchased the home from Beverly Knoll. After the sale, the plaintiffs hired their own inspector who found the damage and no evidence of attempts at repair.
The Eastmans informed one of the defendants, Troy Duhon, who informed them that the defendants would be assuming the costs of repair. However, after the Eastmans requested $94,000 in reimbursements, the defendants declined to pay.
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COVID-izing Your Construction Contract
December 21, 2020 —
Frederick E. Hedberg - Construction ExecutiveThe global COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world forever, disrupting many industries, as well as creating unprecedented challenges that threaten many businesses. The construction industry is no different. Projects throughout the country have been adversely affected by unplanned work stoppages, delays, disruptions to the supply chain, price escalations and other unanticipated events.
It is critical that owners, developers, contractors and suppliers learn from their experiences over the past year and account for the COVID-19 pandemic when drafting and negotiating contracts for their projects.
First and foremost, parties should clearly define their rights and responsibilities to properly manage risks due to COVID-19 and its impacts. COVID-19 and other key related terms should be defined, relying on the CDC and state governments for guidance, to eliminate any uncertainties. The contract should also identify executive orders, guidelines and regulations that have been issued concerning COVID-19 by states, municipalities and other authorities that have jurisdiction where the project is located.
Reprinted courtesy of
Frederick E. Hedberg, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.
Mr. Hedberg may be contacted at fhedberg@rc.com
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The California Legislature Passes SB 496 Limiting Design Professional Defense and Indemnity Obligations
June 15, 2017 —
Mark Himmelstein & Jenny Guzman – Newmeyer & Dillion LLPSince 2008 when the California legislature limited subcontractor indemnity obligations, the design professional community has been shouting “what about us?” Well, the legislature finally responded and a new law that limits design professional’s defense and indemnity obligations to their percentage of fault goes into effect on January 1, 2018.
THE NEW LAW – SB 496
SB 496 amends California Civil Code section 2782.8 and states that indemnity agreements must be limited to the negligence, recklessness or willful misconduct of the indemnitee (i.e. no more Type I indemnity with design professionals). The amendment also provides that “in no event shall the cost to defend charged to the design professional exceed the design professional’s proportionate percentage of fault”, with a limited opportunity for reallocation in the event another defendant is judgment proof.
However, the duty to defend still remains and still arises at the time of the tender of the defense (both issues that were unsuccessfully targeted by the design professional lobbyists).
WHAT CAN BE DONE NOW?
Developers and Owners should strongly consider reviewing and revising the indemnity provisions in their consultant contracts to comply with the new legislation before the first of the year. This includes master agreements because project addenda entered into after January 1 are subject to the new law. The statute does not apply to current contracts, so these do not need to be amended.
Questions? Newmeyer & Dillion is happy to assist in navigating the process to ensure you are compliant prior to January’s deadline. Please let us know how we can help.
Mark Himmelstein is a partner focused in the areas of construction, real estate, business and insurance litigation. He has an in-depth experience in drafting and negotiating construction and real estate contracts. You can reach him at mark.himmelstein@ndlf.com.
Jenny Guzman is a litigation associate in the Newport Beach office, focusing her practice in the areas of business and real estate litigation and transactions. You can reach her at jenny.guzman@ndlf.com.
About Newmeyer & Dillion
For more than 30 years, Newmeyer & Dillion has delivered creative and outstanding legal solutions and trial results for a wide array of clients. With over 70 attorneys practicing in all aspects of business, employment, real estate, construction and insurance law, Newmeyer & Dillion delivers legal services tailored to meet each client’s needs. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, with offices in Walnut Creek, California and Las Vegas, Nevada, Newmeyer & Dillion attorneys are recognized by The Best Lawyers in America©, and Super Lawyers as top tier and some of the best lawyers in California, and have been given Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review's AV Preeminent® highest rating. For additional information, call 949-854-7000 or visit http://newmeyeranddillion.com/
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