Eleventh Circuit Set to Hear Challenge to Florida Law Barring Foreign Citizens From Buying Real Property
April 22, 2024 —
Michael Gnesin - Lewis BrisboisFort Lauderdale, Fla. (April 2, 2024) - This month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit will hear a challenge to a recently-enacted Florida law, Senate Bill 264, which restricts foreign ownership or investment in Florida real property from specific countries and imposes a near ban on property purchases by Chinese, Russian and other foreign nationals.
On July 1, 2023,
Senate Bill 264 [codified under Fla. Stat. Ann. §§ 692.201 to 692.205] took effect. The bill, titled “Interests of Foreign Countries,” prohibits Chinese nationals and nationals from other countries, including Russia, from buying real property unless they are American citizens or permanent residents.
Prior to the new law's effective date, on May 22, 2023, four Chinese citizens who hold nonimmigrant visas and reside in Florida, along with a Florida-based real estate firm,
sued the state of Florida in federal district court, alleging that the new law is unconstitutional and discriminatory, and that it violates the Fair Housing Act [Shen v. Simpson, Case No. 4:23-cv-208].
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Michael Gnesin, Lewis BrisboisMr. Gnesin may be contacted at
Michael.Gnesin@lewisbrisbois.com
Washington Court Denies Subcontractor’s Claim Based on Contractual Change and Notice Provisions
January 29, 2024 —
Wendy Rosenstein - Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLCThe recent unpublished case, Cascade Civil Construction, LLC v. Jackson Dean Construction, Inc., et al.,[1] provides a legal justification for contractors to require a directive or change order in advance of performing changed work—thereby preventing the party who requested the changed work from later arguing that notice provisions were not complied with.
In the case, Jackson Dean, the prime contractor, hired Cascade to perform excavation work on a project to build a new Costco Corporate headquarters. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and other issues, Jackson Dean directed resequencing, which required Cascade to perform excavation concurrent to dewatering. Jackson Dean also required deeper-than-planned excavation under one of the buildings.
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Wendy Rosenstein, Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLCMs. Rosenstein may be contacted at
wendy.rosenstein@acslawyers.com
Message from the Chair: Kelsey Funes (Volume I)
November 06, 2023 —
Marissa L. Downs - The Dispute ResolverI am so honored to assume the Division 1 mantle from my friend, Tom Dunn, and look forward to carrying on his good work.
For those of you who don’t know me, I’d like to take this opportunity to share a bit about my background. I grew up in New Orleans and went to LSU for undergraduate and law school. (Geaux Tigers!) I started my practice in 1997 at Phelps Dunbar LLP in Baton Rouge, where I still practice today. I manage the litigation group in the Baton Rouge office of the firm. I practice as a construction lawyer full time and serve on the Construction Panel of the American Arbitration Association and serve as a mediator in construction cases.
I am married to Dr. Chris Funes (the world’s best pediatrician) and we are the parents to two high schoolers. My son is a high school senior and my daughter is a sophomore. So, when I am not lawyering, I have been spending my time lately touring colleges, prepping for homecoming, and helping to teach my daughter to drive (all very relaxing!!). We also have a very sweet (and very hairy) rescue dog, Maggie, who makes sure we get lots of walks.
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Marissa L. Downs, Laurie & Brennan, LLPMs. Downs may be contacted at
mdowns@lauriebrennan.com
Payne & Fears LLP Recognized by Best Lawyers in 2024 “Best Law Firms” Rankings
November 27, 2023 —
Payne & Fears LLPPayne & Fears LLP has been recognized by Best Lawyers 2024 “Best Law Firms” list. Firms included in the 2024 edition of Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” are recognized for professional excellence with consistently impressive ratings from clients and peers.
Payne & Fears LLP has been ranked in the following practice areas:
- Metropolitan Tier 1
- Orange County
- Commercial Litigation
- Employment Law – Management
- Insurance Law
- Labor Law – Management
- Litigation – Labor & Employment
- Litigation – Real Estate
- Metropolitan Tier 3
- Orange County
- Litigation – Intellectual Property
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Construction Contract Basics: Indemnity
October 30, 2023 —
Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law MusingsI’m back after a welcome
change of offices from a Regus location to a separate and more customer-friendly
local shared office space location. I thought I’d jump back into posting with a series of construction contract-related posts, the first of which relates to indemnification clauses.
An indemnification clause in a contract obligates one party (the Indemnitor) to take on liability (read pay for) any damages to another party (the Indemnitee) under certain circumstances. In a construction context, this type of arrangement can arise in a
bonding context with a general indemnity obligation to the surety among other contexts outside of the four corners of any prime or subcontract. I will not be discussing those other contexts and will focus on the typical indemnity clause found in most if not all, construction contracts. These clauses most often state that the “downstream” party is to indemnify all of the upstream parties for any and all damages incurred by the indemnitees due to any action of the downstream party, its employees, subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, etc. The clauses are often not limited in scope and generally include attorney fee provisions and generally require indemnity for breaches of contract by their terms.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
The Law Office of Christopher G. HillMr. Hill may be contacted at
chrisghill@constructionlawva.com
Recent Developments in Legislative Efforts To Combat Climate Change
October 30, 2023 —
Dominick Weinkam & Robert B. Cimmino - ConsensusDocsGovernments across the United States have been increasingly integrating climate considerations into legislation affecting various sectors of the economy. The construction industry is no exception. Recent legislative developments at various levels of government are reshaping construction practices to mitigate the industries’ greenhouse gas emissions and vulnerability to climate-related risks. These developments include incentivizing eco-friendly construction projects, mandating stricter regulations to reduce carbon emissions, and enhancing building resilience to more severe weather events. Contractors must stay abreast of these developments to ensure compliance with new substantive and administrative requirements to remain competitive in a changing environment.
Funding Greener Construction Projects: The Inflation Reduction Act
The federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) enacted in August 2022 marked a significant milestone in the pursuit of greener construction. The IRA is widely considered to be the single largest investment into climate change in history, with potential ripple effects throughout the construction industry. The IRA allocates substantial funds for projects utilizing “low-carbon” materials, with an explicit focus on climate-conscious construction. This initiative aligns with the broader goal of curbing emissions from sectors like steel, concrete, and glass, which have been major contributors to the nation’s carbon footprint.
Reprinted courtesy of
Dominick Weinkam, Watt Tieder and
Robert B. Cimmino, Watt Tieder
Mr. Weinkam may be contacted at dweinkam@watttieder.com
Mr. Cimmino may be contacted at rcimmino@watttieder.com
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Government Claims Act Does Not Apply to Actions Solely Seeking Declaratory Relief and Not Monetary Relief
March 25, 2024 —
Garret Murai - California Construction Law BlogPerhaps it should come as no surprise, but public entities get special treatment under the law, and when filing a claim against a public entity, in most cases, a claimant is required to file a claim with the public entity before filing suit under the Government Claims Act (Gov. Code §810 et seq.).
But, as the next case demonstrates, that’s not always the case. In Stronghold Engineering Incorporated v. City of Monterey, 96 Cal.App.5th 1203 (2023), the 6th District Court of Appeals examined whether a public works contractor that alleged an extended overhead claim was required to file a Government Claims Act claim before filing suit when its initial complaint was limited to a claim for declaratory relief.
The Stronghold Case
In December 2015, general contractor Stronghold Engineering Incorporated entered into a construction contract with the City of Monterey for the renovation of the City’s conference center and an adjacent city-owned plaza. The construction contract provided that any modification to the construction contract had to be approved by the City through a written change order. No surprise there.
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Garret Murai, Nomos LLPMr. Murai may be contacted at
gmurai@nomosllp.com
Residential Contractors, Be Sure to Have these Clauses in Your Contracts
December 23, 2023 —
Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law MusingsI have often “mused” on the need to have a good solid construction contract at the beginning of a project. While this is always true, it is particularly true in residential contracting where a homeowner may or may not know the construction process or have experience with large scale construction. Often you, as a construction general contractor, are providing the first large scale construction that the homeowner has experienced. For this reason, through meetings and the construction contract, setting expectations early and often is key.
As a side note to this need to set expectations, the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) and the Virginia General Assembly require certain clauses to be in every residential construction contract. DPOR strictly enforces these contractual items and failure to put them in your contracts can lead to fines, penalties and possibly even revocation of a contractor’s license.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
The Law Office of Christopher G. HillMr. Hill may be contacted at
chrisghill@constructionlawva.com