Blogs

Construction

Eminent Domain, Public/Private Land Inventories and Economic Development

Step 1: Create Redevelopment and Housing Authority (the “Authority”) Step 2: Authority identifies areas of city that it wants to designate as a “blight” Step 3: Authority creates a Master Redevelopment Plan for areas of city it has determined are blighted Step 4: Authority uses public funds to condemn all the privately owned land in…

December 16, 2009

Construction

The Economic Loss Rule Applies to Professional Malpractice Claims Too

Virginia law continues to apply a strict division between contract claims and tort claims. This rule holds true in the context of professional malpractice claims as well. Many states apply legal rules where professional malpractice claims arise from negligence or both negligence and contract. This is not the case – from 1976 forward, the Supreme…

December 14, 2009

Construction

Virginia’s Economic Loss Rule: Products Liability, Part 2 (Why it Matters!)

As we watch Chinese drywall litigation erupt nationally, we see the rapid fallout: insurance companies denying coverage; suppliers going bankrupt; homeowners filing suit against all the parties in the food chain. We have seen this story before. In Virginia, the applicable could translate to some very harsh results even if owner plaintiffs can prove the…

December 10, 2009

Construction

Protection or Pilfering: Stop The Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection

No state has a longer shoreline than Florida – over 2,000 miles of shoreline, with 825 miles of beaches. These beaches define Florida’s top industry of tourism and are in a constant state of erosion. Understandably, Florida has embraced the “public trust doctrine,” which dictates that tidal lands are held in trust for the people…

December 9, 2009

Construction

Virginia’s Economic Loss Rule: Products Liability, Part 1

We have seen waves of claimed problems with construction products over the last several decades: PVC plumbing fixtures and materials; fire retardant treated (FRT) plywood; exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS). We are on the front edge of another eruption with Chinese drywall, and indeed we have heard the first rumblings that the drywall problems…

December 7, 2009

Construction

Are You Sure You Really Want to Sign that Petition?

The Supreme Court of Virginia recently accepted a Petition for Appeal by forty citizens of Gloucester County who were hit with sanctions for circulating a petition for signatures and filing the petition with the Circuit Court for Gloucester County to have some members of the Board of Supervisors removed by the Circuit Court. These citizens…

December 4, 2009

Construction

Bean Kinney & Korman Adopts Sustainability Policy

We are pleased to announce that our firm has stepped up and adopted a formal sustainability policy. The policy adopts specific measures to reduce material and energy usage, increase reuse and recycling of materials, and to include sustainability as a core value in vendor purchases. We are excited to commit to doing our part to…

December 3, 2009

Construction

Drywall Claims: New Testing Data, and is US Drywall a Problem Too?

Last week we discussed the first Chinese drywall case going to trial in January involves Virginia plaintiffs. We have two interesting reports that may constitute both shoes dropping at once. First, Engineering News Record reported on November 25, 2009 that a federal study, “found ‘a strong association’ between imported wallboard made in China and metal…

December 2, 2009

Estate Planning

New Uniform Power of Attorney Act in Virginia

Virginia’s adoption of the Uniform Power of Attorney Act represented a major shift in how powers of attorney would be created, interpreted, and accepted. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Wills, Trusts and Estates Newsletter, the analysis explains that powers of attorney would become automatically durable unless the document expressly stated otherwise. The article also notes that agents would need specific authority to exercise certain “hot powers,” such as making…

December 1, 2009

Construction

Case Watch: Upcoming Virginia Supreme Court Opinions

Here is a sampling of cases to watch for in 2010. The Virginia Supreme Court has granted appeals for these cases earlier this year, and will hear argument in 2010. In May, the Court granted the appeal in W &W Partnership v. Prince William County BZA, et al., Record No. 090328, challenging the ruling of…

November 30, 2009