Blogs

Construction

Virginia Raises General District Court Jurisdictional Limits

Virginia’s General Assembly has passed a bill that, among other things, raises the upper limit of cases that may be filed in the General District Court. This increase will potentially make it easier to try certain matters more cost effectively moving forward.

February 16, 2011

Construction

Class Action Lawsuit Against LEED and USGBC Evolves

In October 2010, Henry Gifford filed a lawsuit against USGBC alleging misrepresentation claims against USGBC and some of its individual founders regarding its LEED rating system. The crux of the suit centers on Gifford’s claims that USGBC and the LEED green building rating system makes false promises about energy performance of LEED buildings. The original…

February 10, 2011

Construction

Richmond Hammers on Arlington HOT Lanes Lawsuit

Arlington County has been widely criticized for its aggressive lawsuit over the proposed Interstate 395 HOT lanes expansion, which includes allegations that individual state and federal officials committed civil rights violations in approving the project. In a time of significant economic troubles and governmental budget challenges, the county has reportedly paid over $1 million in…

January 28, 2011

Construction

EPA Accepts Virginia’s Plan for the Bay

Last week EPA issued its “pollution diet” for the Chesapeake Bay. The total maximum daily load (TDML) of various materials is established by EPA in the diet and includes a 25% reduction in nitrogen, a 24% reduction in phosphorous, and a 20% reduction in sediment according to Engineering News Record (subscription only). The plan also…

January 7, 2011

Tax Law

Tax Law: 2010 Tax Relief Act Has Far-Reaching Consequences

The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 significantly changed estate taxes, gift taxes, income taxes, payroll taxes, and business incentives for 2011 and 2012. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Business Law Newsletter, the analysis explains that the law increased the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to $5 million per person while reducing the top transfer tax rate to 35 percent. The…

January 1, 2011

Business and Financial Services

The Substantially Prevailing Party

Attorney’s fee provisions in contracts often allow the “substantially prevailing party” to recover fees and costs, but determining who actually qualifies can become complicated when both sides win and lose on different claims. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Business Law Newsletter, James V. Irving explains that courts do not always view the substantially prevailing party as the litigant who simply wins the most claims. The article discusses a dispute in which the…

January 1, 2011

Government Contracts

Competitors Challenging Land Use Approvals

Real estate lawyers and developers know that overcoming NIMBYism is a huge challenge. We are finding that even after approval, you still may face other hurdles including neighbors or even your business competitors challenging or appealing your zoning or permit approval. Virginia Lawyer’s Weekly recently reported that the Supreme Court of Virginia issued an “unusual…

December 16, 2010

Construction

Social Media in the Construction Industry

Construction companies were beginning to embrace social media as a way to market services, recruit employees, manage projects, and communicate with clients. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Construction & Land Use Newsletter, Juanita F. Ferguson explains that tools such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, RSS feeds, and project webcams allowed contractors to showcase work, share updates, and strengthen their brands. The article notes that social media could be a…

December 1, 2010

Construction

Tenant Issues in Real Estate Leases Part II

Part I of this post focused on basic provisions found in commercial real estate leases such as assignment and subletting, use restrictions and the determination of the commencement date. Here in Part II, below, we will address other important issues from the tenant’s perspective including insurance, mutual waivers and defaults.

November 19, 2010

Construction

Mushrooms May Replace Styrofoam?

I ran across a recent TED presentation by Eben Bayer, co-inventor of MycoBond. MycoBond is an adhesive based on mycelium, a living organism. In essence, the process uses fungi to transform agriwaste and convert it into a foam-like material that can be used for packaging and insulation. Styrofoam is ubiquitous in transport and packaging. Styrofoam…

November 12, 2010