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Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog

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Houston Court of Appeals Affirms Jury Verdict and Trial Court Instructions in San Jacinto Waste Pits Case

In a decision released on October 6, 2016, the Court of Appeals for  the First District of Texas, sitting in Houston, unanimously affirmed the jury’s verdict that International Paper Company (IP) was not liable for large civil penalties as a result of the discharge of dioxin-contaminated paper mill waste into the…

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Federal Contractors and Subcontractors Take Note of DOL’s Final Rule Requiring Paid Sick Leave

The U.S. Department of Labor has issued its final rule implementing President Obama’s 2015 Executive Order 13706, “Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors,” an executive order requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to provide their employees working on covered government contracts with up to seven days of paid leave per…

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In UK, Pre-Contractual Deal Documents May Be An Enforceable Contract

Recently, our colleagues Luca Denora and Zara Machado published an interesting client alert titled The Ties that Bind: Commitment Letters under English Law. The publication discusses a recent decision of the UK Commercial Court, Novus Aviation Limited v. Alubaf Arab International Bank BSC (c) [2016] EWHC 1575 (Comm), which contemplates that pre-contractual…

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Cal. Court Creates New Threshold Inquiry for Supplemental CEQA Review

Recently, our colleague Norman Carlin published his client alert California Supreme Court Sets New Deferential Standard for Supplemental CEQA Review. The Alert discusses the California Supreme Court’s rejection of the “new project” test for determining whether a changed project remains similar enough to the original project for supplemental California Environmental…

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ND Pipeline Decision: Court Grants TRO to Prevent Indian Nation from Interfering with Construction of Pipelines

On September 13, the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota granted a Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order in the matter of Paradigm Energy Partners, LLC v. Fox, et al., prohibiting the defendants from interfering with the Paradigm’s construction of two pipelines (an oil and a natural gas…

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District Court Rejects Petition for Preliminary Injunction to Stop Dakota Access Pipeline, Triggering Forceful Response by Federal Government

On September 9, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied a motion for a Preliminary Injunction against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to stop the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, a pipeline that will run within one-half mile of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, located in North…

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Subcontractor’s Faulty Workmanship: Property Damage and An Occurrence Under Developer’s CGL Policy?

Check out my latest blog for Pillsbury’s Policyholder Pulse titled A Subcontractor’s Defective Work Is an Occurrence: Weedo Wobbles … and Falls Down. It discusses a recent ruling in New Jersey,  Cypress Point Condominium Assoc., Inc. v. Adria Towers, L.L.C., on the issue of whether damage caused by a subcontractor’s faulty workmanship constitutes…

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Courts of Appeals Issue Highway Beautification Act Decisions

Two Court of Appeals, one in the District of Columbia and the other in Texas, issued opinions regarding the federal Highway Beautification Act, 23 U.S.C. § 131 (HBA) and its state counterpart, the Texas Highway Beautification Act, respectively. The first decision illustrates how the courts will apply the principles of administrative law in…

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“Blacklisting” Executive Order Final Rule Issued

Our colleagues, Kimberly Higgins, Julia Judish, Selena Brady, Rebecca Carr Rizzo, John Jensen and Dick Oliver, today published their alert titled Final Rules and Guidance Issued on “Blacklisting” Executive Order, Controversial Mandate Requires Disclosure of Labor and Employment Violations as Part of the Federal Contracting Process discussing the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council’s final rules…