Blogs

Business and Financial Services

The Dead Man’s Statute in Virginia

Virginia’s “Dead Man’s Statute” is an evidentiary rule designed to prevent interested parties from fabricating conversations or agreements with someone who has died and can no longer respond. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Business Law Newsletter, James V. Irving explains that the rule arose in a dispute involving an alleged oral promise by a farming couple to leave their estate to a relative in exchange for his returning home to help operate the family farm.…

March 1, 2010

Construction

The Line Between Maintenance and Modification: What Constitutes an “Improvement” under Virginia’s Statute of Repose

In a recent Fairfax Circuit Court case, Travelers Indemnity Co. v. Simpson Unlimited, Inc., the court wrestled with the issue of what exactly constitutes an “improvement” under Virginia’s statute of repose found in Virginia Code Section 8.01-250. Three Flint Hill Partnership, RLLP designated Simpson Unlimited Inc. to act as in independent contractor on a building…

February 26, 2010

Construction

Affirmed! The Fourth Circuit Upholds Judge Martin’s Ruling in the Granby Tower Litigation

The Fourth Circuit has just issued their decision upholding the district court’s ruling in Universal Concrete Products Corporation v. Turner Construction Company, the topic of a December 2009 blog post on the Granby Tower litigation. The parties agreed that the pay-when-paid clause in the Turner-Universal contract was unambiguous. However, just as it did at the…

February 24, 2010

Construction

Urbanism: One Size Does Not Fit All

Land use policy is the fulcrum in the tug of war between the property rights of individual owners and the regulatory interest of communities in establishing and enforcing a vision of their own community. Three separate conversation and analysis threads bring home the reality that the cookie cutter approach to development and even to the…

February 22, 2010

Construction

How Not To Get Sued

My friend Vickie Pynchon recently posted at Chris Hill’s blog, Construction Law Musings, on “How to Get Sued“. On the flip side, there are some simple pointers that all individuals and entities can follow that will dramatically reduce the chances of being sued. These tips apply across a spectrum of businesses and are certainly not…

February 19, 2010

Construction

Urban Planning, the “Retail Everywhere” Doctrine and Mixed-Use Development

A recently completed study by Arlington’s Retail Task Force outlined some interesting conclusions for ground floor retail, suggesting something contrary to the status quo of conventional urban planning thought . Traditionally, in Arlington County, as well as other urban jurisdictions, it has been a moot argument that good urban planning require ground floor space to…

February 17, 2010

Construction

Living in Architecture: Me and Eero Saarinen

Award winning design does not necessarily translate to an effective, successful or liveable built environment. My interest and passion for interesting design is somewhat tempered by my having seen the consequences of projects not matching constructability and coordination with interesting design. As I have previously revealed obliquely in my post on How to Pick a…

February 16, 2010

Construction

Construction Quick News Takes

There are a number of important construction law and economic developments that I want to pass along to our readers. Given timing and the plethora of topics to address, I wanted to share these developments in a more rapid fire format so these updates remained timely.

February 11, 2010

Construction

Huge Snowfall Leads to Wave of Roof Collapses

So, here in the Washington, DC area we are buried under a couple feet of snow. You know we have a lot of snow when the Lincoln Memorial steps have been transformed into a good tobogan run. Unfortunately, so much snow means a ton of dead load placed on roof structures. There are a number…

February 8, 2010

Construction

Va. Stormwater Regulations: Suspended or Killed?

After much back and forth, the Soil and Water Conservation Board announced on January 14th that they voted to suspend their hotly debated changes to stormwater regulations to permit an additional 30-day comment period. The stage was formally suspended on January 26, 2010 which means that the status will be stuck in suspension until a…

February 4, 2010