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Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog

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Ninth Circuit Provides Clarity on ERA Whistleblower Protections

Today, Pillsbury attorneys Daryl Shapiro, Tim Walsh, Rebecca Carr Rizzo and Keith Hudolin posted their advisory titled The Ninth Circuit Provides Clarity on ERA Whistleblower Protections. The Advisory discusses the Ninth Circuit’s November 7, 2014 ruling in Tamosaitis v. URS Inc. In its Tamosaitis ruling, the Ninth Circuit provided clarity…

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NJ Announces Complex Business Litigation Program ~ Will Include Certain Construction Disputes

Chief Justice Stuart Rabner recently announced that, following the New Jersey Supreme Court’s November 13, 2014 order authorizing the Program, the New Jersey Judiciary will begin on January 1, 2015 accepting cases into the Complex Business Litigation Program. The Program will be a forum for the resolution of complex business,…

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Earthquake Brace + Bolt Program Available January 2015 in 26 CA ZIP Codes

2016 UPDATE:  Earthquake Brace + Bolt Program Provides Contractors with New Work for the New Year — Earthquake Brace + Bolt (EBB) 2016 program will be offered in the following ZIP codes: Albany: 94706 Berkeley 94702, 94703, 94704, 94705, 94707, 94708, 94709, 94710 Burlingame: 94710 Emeryville: 94608 Hillsborough: 94010 Millbrae: 94030…

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Owner/General Contractor With Right to Control Work and Worksite May Be Exposed to Claims by Subcontractors’ Workers for Safety-related Issues

Recently, the Nebraska Supreme Court, in Gaytan v. Wal-Mart, et al., 289 Neb. 49 (2014), concluded that there were genuine issues of material fact with respect to the general contractor’s liability for claims brought by a special administrator for a deceased worker’s estate. The claims against the general contractor, Graham…

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“Roadless Rule” Litigation Revived By DC Circuit Court of Appeals

It’s not over until it’s over. The State of Alaska was recently given another opportunity to challenge the U.S. Forest Service’s 2001 “Roadless Rule,” a rule that prohibits the construction and repairs of roads and timber harvesting on millions of acres in the national forests. The case is State of…

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Supreme Court Heard Oral Argument in Yates v. US

Day before yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument on November 5, 2014 in the case of Yates v. United States. The Supreme Court is being asked to answer the question: “Whether petitioner’s efforts to thwart a government investigation by dumping undersized fish at sea violated the criminal prohibition on…

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Proposed Redefinition of “Waters of the United States” Likely to Have Significant Implications

Many construction projects are subject to the federal Clean Water Act and its regulation of the discharge of pollutants into the navigable waters of the United States, which the law defines simply as the “waters of the United States”. This definition drives the scope of federal jurisdiction in numerous areas.…

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Anti-Bullying Training Required in California

On September 9, 2014, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed into law Assembly Bill 2053 amending California Government Code § 12950.1. Subdivision (b) requires an employer, as defined, to include prevention of abusive conduct , as defined, as a component of the training and education required in Subdivision (a) of…

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New Cal/OSHA “Serious Injury or Illness or Death” Reporting Requirement January 1, 2015

On July 8, 2014, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed into law Assembly Bill 326 amending California Labor Code § 6409.1. Subdivision (b) requires every employer, in addition to the report required by Subdivision (a), to make an immediate report to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health by telephone…