On June 27, 2024 the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) granted emergency applications by several states seeking a stay of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) Good Neighbor Plan pending judicial review. The Good Neighbor Plan stems from the EPA’s interpretation of ozone pollution requirements in the Clean Air Act requiring “upwind” states to…
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The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) announced a proposed rule in July 2024 to regulate heat-related hazards in the workplace. According to OSHA, heat is the leading cause of death in the U.S., and the proposed rule seeks to protect employees who work in warm climates from hazards associated with high…
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In Markel American Insurance Company v. MT Group, LLC, et al., the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York held that a suit brought within the time permitted under the state statute of limitations was untimely filed based on a contractual provision that shortened the time limits for filing suit. 2024…
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Indemnity provisions are common features of contracts between project owners and engineering firms tasked with design elements of the project. However, a project owner sued by a general contractor cannot simply ride the contractor’s coattails to prove the project owner’s indemnity claims, as the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts held in…
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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced charges against broker-dealers, investment advisers, and dually-registered broker-dealers and investment advisers for failures to maintain and preserve electronic communications. The firms charged have admitted their conduct violated the recordkeeping requirements of federal securities laws, agreed to pay approximately $400 million in combined fines, and begun implementing new…
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The United States Supreme Court recently released two decisions which will impact the application of the Administrative Procedure Act and curb the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) enforcement of civil penalties. These decisions are likely to have far-reaching implications across the country, from securities rules to environmental regulations and healthcare costs. Loper In Loper Bright…
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On June 24, 2024, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear the case of a retired Florida firefighter who argued that the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) allows a former employee to sue over discrimination with respect to post-employment benefits that the former employee earned during their employment. In the case of Stanley v….
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In Lemartec Corp. v. E. Coast Metal Structures Corp., a commercial owner hired a contractor to construct a project consisting of three buildings: an office building; a molding building; and a pulping building. 2024 WL 2178312, at *1 (Fla. 4th DCA May 15, 2024). The contractor issued drawings to a subcontractor and provided three Letters…
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A common issue in Architect and Engineer cases is distinguishing between what are possible alternate designs and what are repairs to defective designs. Just because one architect or engineer would have handled a design challenge differently does not mean it was originally handled incorrectly. This distinction was recently addressed in North Carolina. In Cranes Creek,…
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On June 28, 2024, the United States Supreme Court decided Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, 144 S. Ct. 2244 (2024). The underlying controversy related to details of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (“MSA”), which was implemented to prevent depletion of fishery resources off the coasts of the United States. The National Marine Fisheries…
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