Blogs

Construction

To Arbitrate or Not To Arbitrate

I regularly face the question of whether arbitration is “good or bad”, “better than court”, or best for a particular client. I always give that most lawyerly of all answers: It depends. Arbitration is presented as a means of streamlining disputes, cutting down expenses, and providing the parties with a more informed decision maker to…

May 10, 2010

Construction

Subordination, Non-disturbance and Attornment Agreements

Given the current commercial real estate market and the difficulties faced by many lenders, it is no surprise that many tenants are more concerned than ever about their landlord’s financing. In particular, even if the property is mostly leased and producing a steady income stream, tenants are concerned that highly leveraged landlords will have difficulty…

May 7, 2010

Construction

Buildings and Uses: Section 15.2-2282’s uniformity requirement in Schefer v. City Council of the City of Falls Church

Back to another of the cases highlighted in Case Watch: Upcoming Virginia Supreme Court Opinions. In Schefer v. City County of the City of Falls Church, the Virginia Supreme Court was confronted with a 2006 amendment to a Falls Church ordinance that specified different building height requirements for one-family dwellings in the same zoning district.

May 5, 2010

Construction

Virginia and MWAA Issuing Transportation Bonds

This week we have announcement of two significant bond offerings to cover transportation funding. According to ENR, Governor Bob McDonnell announced last Friday that Virginia will sell $500 million in bonds for transportation projects in the Commonwealth. This will be the first in a wave of bond offerings contemplated by Virginia which will total $2.2…

May 3, 2010

Tax Law

Tax Law: Economic Substance Test Enacted as Part of Health Care Law

The Affordable Care Act included several lesser-known tax provisions, including a major change to the federal economic substance doctrine. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Business Law Newsletter, the analysis explains that new Internal Revenue Code Section 7701(o) formally codified the economic substance doctrine and required a taxpayer to satisfy both parts of a two-part test. A transaction would only be respected if it meaningfully changed the taxpayer’s economic…

May 1, 2010

Construction

Lead Paint Regulations Changing: Owner Exception Going Away, Commercial Structures Coming Soon??

The EPA’s new lead regulations officially went into effect on April 22. As expected, EPA has promptly issued notice that it intends to change the regulations to remove the “opt out” provision. The opt-out created an exemption from the regulations where a home owner certified that no child under 6 or pregnant woman occupied the…

April 30, 2010

Construction

No Funding Available Yet for Virginia’s Chinese Drywall Remediation Fund

Back on April 14th I blogged about the creation and anticipated operation of the Virginia Defective Drywall Correction and Restoration Assistance Fund (the “DDCRAF”) via two new provisions to the Code of Virginia patroned by Delegate Oder this session. If you read that posting you’ll recall that the purpose of the DDCRAF is to create…

April 28, 2010

Construction

Public Service, Professionalism & Social Media

Public service is a core value in my life. Part of the fun of social media is that it gives the chance to show the wizard behind the curtain a bit and exhibit the personality and values that drive you. This is a little oblique to construction law, but ultimately these topics intertwine for me…

April 26, 2010

Construction

Deed in Lieu Transactions: Taxes and Bankruptcy

In the first part of this posting, we reviewed the deed in lieu process, and how it can be a viable alternative for both the lender and the borrower in situations of serious default where modifications or workouts are impossible. In this second part, we will discuss briefly some important tax and bankruptcy considerations.

April 23, 2010

Construction

Deed in Lieu Transactions: The Basics

We are very pleased to have a post today from one of our colleagues here at Bean, Kinney & Korman that focuses his practice on real estate related matters, John Kelly. We are looking forward to John’s contributions here on the blog moving forward and believe John may become a regular mainstay here shortly! Given…

April 19, 2010