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Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog

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Third Circuit Breathes Life Into Procedural Due Process Claims In Pipeline’s Case Against Delaware’s State Escheator

In the case of Plains All American Pipeline L.P. v. Cook, et al., decided on August 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit largely affirmed the dismissal of Plains All American Pipeline L.P.’s (Plains) complaint that the State of Delaware’s proposed escheat audit of the pipeline is unconstitutional.…

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New Groundwater Contamination Case: TVA Ordered To Excavate Large Quantities of Coal Ash Waste

On August 4, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee issued a very significant ruling in the case of Tennessee Clean Water Network, et al., v. Tennessee Valley Authority. The District Court has ordered the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to excavate huge quantities of coal ash waste generated over…

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DC Circuit Weighs In on EPA’s Rule Establishing Renewable Fuel Requirements

In Americans for Clean Energy, et al v. EPA, decided July 28, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2015 rule establishing renewable fuel volume obligations for the years 2014 through 2017, with one exception: the court held that EPA…

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FTA Proposes Rule Waiving Regulatory Burdens on Public-Private Partnerships (P3s) for Public Transportation Projects

On July 31, 2017, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register, for a proposed regulation that would establish new, experimental procedures to encourage use of public-private partnerships (P3s), joint developments and other private investment mechanisms in surface transportation capital projects. The rulemaking…

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California Attorney General Weighs In On Scope Of State Fire District Chiefs’ Authority To Enforce State Fire Marshal’s Building Standards and Regulations

On Wednesday, July 26, the California Office of the Attorney General (Attorney General) issued an Opinion answering the question: Does Health and Safety Code section 13146 prohibit fire protection district chiefs from enforcing the State Fire Marshal’s building standards and regulations as they relate to R-3 dwellings? The Attorney General…

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Changes in Retail Landscape Create Opportunities for Real Estate Industry

Search “Death of Retail” on Google.com and, as of July 26, you will get approximately 855,000 hits, many of which stress the negative impact that online sales and Amazon, in particular, have had on traditional retailers. However, predicting the future of the retail industry cannot be reduced to an easy…

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Sixth Circuit Balances Rights of Forest Service and Rights of Private Property Owners Provided by Michigan Law

Balancing the interests of the Federal Government as owner of thousands of acres surrounding Crooked Lake and private owners’ rights, on July 26, in a 2 to 1 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the U.S. Forest Service exceeded its authority when issuing rules…

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R-E-C-I-P-R-O-C-I-T-Y ~ Find Out What It Means To You (Updated July 2017)

UPDATED JULY 2017: What a difference a few years make. This blog was originally published in 2014. We have updated the links to the various resources made available by the state licensing agencies regarding whether reciprocity is available or not and, in some cases, the application for reciprocity. Is a licensed contractor…

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Second Circuit Follows Viking Pump Methodology to Calculate Total Insurance Liability for Environmental Cleanup Efforts Spanning Years and Policies

On July 17, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided the case of Olin Corporation v. OneBeacon America Insurance Company, an environmental insurance recovery lawsuit. Olin Corporation has filed such lawsuits against several of its insurance carriers with respect to the contamination indemnification claims generated by Olin Corporation’s…

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Data Center Trends in Construction and Real Estate

Data centers trigger visions of windowless, concrete boxes located at the periphery of suburban office parks. That perception may fade in the coming years. With new technologies, such as cloud computing, blockchain platforms, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, big data and mobile apps demanding instant access to data, the…