Construction Law Firm Opens in D.C.
January 13, 2014 —
CDJ STAFFStephen Palley, a lawyer in the Washington, D.C. area who was recognized in 2013 as a “DC Super Lawyer” for his work in construction litigation, has open his own firm, Palley Law, PLLC. Mr. Palley said that his practice “remains focused on addressing insurance issues faced by construction industry clients.” He also noted that “few firms focus specifically on construction insurance, so a significant part of my practice involves helping other lawyers with individual projects or disputes for their clients.”
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Newmeyer Dillion Announces Partner John Van Vlear Named to Board Of Groundwater Resources Association Of California
January 13, 2020 —
Newmeyer DillionProminent Orange County-based law firm Newmeyer Dillion is pleased to announce that partner
John Van Vlear has been elected to the Board of Directors for the Groundwater Resources Association of California (GRA). He will serve a three year term effective immediately.
"It was an honor to be nominated and I'm excited to help further GRA's goal of remaining the preeminent professional organization in the West addressing timely and important groundwater issues," says Van Vlear. He has been a member of the GRA for five years and has spoken both at a Southern California branch event and the 2nd Annual Western Groundwater Congress in Sacramento. Serving on the GRA Board will be Van Vlear's fourth different lifetime non-profit Board volunteer effort. He joins a diverse group of members to complete the Board, including a hydrologist with the US Geological Survey, environmental and engineering consultants, an equipment manufacturer, and water agencies' managers.
Van Vlear's practice focuses on all aspects of "contaminated sites" environmental legal work. Applying technical acumen, he focuses on investigation, strategic analysis, and remediation for site acquisitions/sales, development, regulatory interface, and related litigation in federal and state courts. He represents clients before a wide range of environmental agencies and has a portfolio of projects that include: commercial, industrial, raw land, and residential, as well as specialty facilities such as affordable housing, oil fields, and landfills throughout California and across the country. These matters have involved a complex blend of soil, groundwater, and vapor contamination. Van Vlear is a frequent speaker on environmental, real estate and contamination topics, as well as being a professional author and novelist, an expert witness, and arbitrator on environmental issues. He has been interviewed on TV twice professionally and has testified before the California Senate subcommittee on Environmental Quality.
Established in 1992, the GRA is a 1,000 member state-wide professional organization dedicated to resource management that protects and improves groundwater supply and quality through education and technical leadership. The GRA hosts programs and webinars focusing on important issues to water management community at both the state-wide and regional branch levels.
About Newmeyer Dillion
For 35 years, Newmeyer Dillion has delivered creative and outstanding legal solutions and trial results that achieve client objectives in diverse industries. With over 70 attorneys working as a cohesive team to represent clients in all aspects of business, employment, real estate, environmental/land use, privacy & data security and insurance law, Newmeyer Dillion delivers holistic and integrated legal services tailored to propel each client's success and bottom line. 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 Nevada, and have been given Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review's AV Preeminent® highest rating. For additional information, call 949.854.7000 or visit www.newmeyerdillion.com.
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Homebuilders Offer Hope for U.K. Economy
August 20, 2014 —
Mark Gilbert – BloombergThe two elements of the U.K. economy that the Bank of England currently finds most worrying are the overheating housing market and the paucity of wage growth. Earnings reports this week from two of the nation's biggest homebuilders make for cheery reading on both counts.
Persimmon Plc, the U.K.'s largest homebuilder by market value, said today it completed 6,408 new homes in the first half of the year, a 28 percent increase from the year-earlier period. Bovis Homes Group, which mostly builds what it calls "traditional" family homes in the south of England outside London, said it sold 1,487 new homes in the first six months, a gain of 54 percent.
"The government has told us that we need 230,000 new homes per annum, and far be it for us to disagree with that," Bovis Chief Executive Officer David Ritchie said on a conference call. He expects to build about 3,650 homes this year, and reckons that "5,000 to 6,000 homes per annum is a very sensible target for the business."
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Mark Gilbert, BloombergMr. Gilbert may be contacted at
magilbert@bloomberg.net
Top 10 Hurricane Preparedness Practices for Construction Sites
September 25, 2018 —
Andrew Gilbert - Construction ExecutiveLast year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recorded that the North Atlantic saw the third highest number of major hurricanes to date. North America alone saw three tropical storms and four hurricanes make landfall, the most since 2005.
As the 2018 hurricane season takes shape (running from June 1 to Nov. 30), it’s imperative to begin construction site hurricane planning efforts early and to be as prepared as possible prior to any storm. Preparing for a storm can help ensure the safety of not only project and onsite teams, but also of the surrounding communities.
1. DEVELOP AND REVIEW A HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS AND SAFETY PLAN
Prior to hurricane season, make sure the project contractor has provided the team with a hurricane preparedness and safety plan. Review this plan with the entire team and the owner. This document outlines the exact timeline and steps the contractor will take to safely secure the project site in the event of a storm. The integrated process is especially important when dealing with renovation projects, exterior upgrades or projects that connect new construction to existing facilities.
Reprinted courtesy of
Andrew Gilbert, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.
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Mr. Gilbert may be contacted at
andrew.gilbert@cbre.com
U.S. Tornadoes, Hail Cost Insurers $1 Billion in June
July 09, 2014 —
Kelly Gilblom – BloombergTornadoes, hail and windstorms that pounded the U.S. from the Rocky Mountains to the Tennessee Valley last month will probably cost insurers more than $1 billion, Aon Plc said in a report.
Hailstorms and winds greater than 90 miles an hour (145 kilometers) in June caused billions of dollars of economic losses, led by a full week of storms early in the month, the London-based insurance broker said today.
More than 300 tornadoes hit the U.S. last month, compared with 125 a year earlier and 111 in June 2012, according to preliminary data from the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center. May, June and July tend to be the worst months for twisters, it said.
Severe weather from June 3 to June 9 this year killed three people and led to more than 100,000 claims, Aon said. Later in the month, “hail and winds gusting to hurricane strength tracked eastward,” the broker said in its report. The storm “shattered windows, punctured roofs and downed trees onto homes, structures and vehicles.”
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Kelly Gilblom, BloombergMs. Gilblom may be contacted at
kgilblom@bloomberg.net
An Interesting Look at Mechanic’s Lien Priority and Necessary Parties
May 13, 2019 —
Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law MusingsAs regular readers of Construction Law Musings are well aware, I like to discuss mechanic’s liens. Whether it is their picky nature, the way court’s treat them or the soon to take effect changes in the form, mechanic’s liens are a topic near and dear to my heart as a construction attorney.
This past month the Fairfax Circuit Court took on the intersection of mechanic’s lien priority under Virginia Code section 43-21 (the lien priority statute) and what constitute necessary parties that must be named in any enforcement suit. In Marines Plumbing, LLC v. Durbin, et al., the Court discussed an all too typical scenario. Marines Plumbing performed repair work on the defendants’ property and the defendants did not pay for the work. Marines Plumbing recorded a memorandum of lien and subsequently sued to enforce that lien. In filing its suit, Marines Plumbing failed to name the trustees and lender on a deed of trust securing the loan on the property. Needless to say, the Defendants moved to dismiss the action for failure to name necessary parties (lender and trustees).
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The Law Office of Christopher G. HillMr. Hill may be contacted at
chrisghill@constructionlawva.com
Does Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code Impact Your Construction Project?
November 07, 2022 —
Chris Cazenave - ConsensusDocsThe Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) is a set of statutes governing commercial transactions. Every state has adopted the UCC or some version of it. Understanding when and how the UCC applies to construction contracts is important because it can affect the agreement’s terms.
Article 2 of the UCC applies to the sales of goods, which the UCC defines very broadly to mean “all things (including specialty manufactured goods) which are movable . . . other than money in which the price is to be paid . . . .” UCC § 2-105. For the construction industry, UCC Article 2 governs most, if not all, purchases of materials and equipment installed or incorporated into the project. As a result, contractors and subcontractors should be familiar with the circumstances under which Article 2 may apply and how it may affect the project.
This article provides a brief overview of when Article 2 may affect your construction project and why it matters. The article also generally covers the UCC’s potential effects on the applicable statute of limitations, implied warranties, and when the obligation to make the payment arises.
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Chris Cazenave, Jones Walker LLP (ConsensusDocs)Mr. Cazenave may be contacted at
ccazenave@joneswalker.com
EPA Issues Interpretive Statement on Application of NPDES Permit System to Releases of Pollutants to Groundwater
May 27, 2019 —
Anthony B. Cavender - Gravel2GavelOn Tuesday, April 23, 2019, in a development of interest to practically anyone who operates a plant or business, EPA published its Interpretive Statement in the Federal Register. (See 84 FR 16810 (April 23, 2019).) After considering the thousands of comments it received in response to a February 20, 2018, Federal Register notice, EPA has concluded that “the Clean Water Act (CWA) is best read as excluding all releases of pollutants from a point source to groundwater from a point source from NPDES program coverage, regardless of a hydrological connection between the groundwater and jurisdictional surface water.”
Acknowledging that its past public statements have not been especially consistent or unambiguous on this important matter, EPA states that this interpretation “is the best, if not the only reading of the CWA, is more consistent with Congress’ intent than other interpretations of the Act, and best addresses the question of NPDES permit program applicability for pollutant releases to groundwater within the authority of the CWA.” Indeed, the absence of “a dedicated statement on the best reading of the CWA has generated confusion in the courts, and uncertainly for EPA regional offices and states implementing the NPDES program, regulated entities, and the public.” The recent and contrary interpretations of this issue by the Ninth Circuit (Hawaii Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui, 886 F.3d 737) and the Fourth Circuit (Upstate Forever v. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, LP, 887 F.3d 637) will be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, which will now have the benefit of the agency’s official position. In addition, EPA discloses that it will be soliciting additional public “input” on how it can best provide the regulated community with “further clarity and regulatory certainly”; these comments will be due within 45 days (June 7, 2019).
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Anthony B. Cavender, PillsburyMr. Cavender may be contacted at
anthony.cavender@pillsburylaw.com
