On October 3, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced it was accepting for investigation an Administrative Complaint filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Natural Resources Council against the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (“ADEM”). The Complaint alleges that ADEM engages in racially discriminatory practices against residents in the Black Belt region…
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Effective October 16, 2023, FINRA adopted amendments to its Codes of Arbitration Procedure (Codes) to modify the process relating to requests to expunge customer dispute information in the FINRA Dispute Resolution Services (DRS) arbitration forum. FINRA operates the Central Registration Depository (CRD), and customer dispute information maintained in CRD is reported through Forms U4 and…
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Arbitration in construction and design disputes can be a tempting alternative to resolving disputes outside of the traditional setting of a courtroom. However, once an arbitration award is issued, there is a high bar to be cleared should a disgruntled party move to have it vacated. Escapes! To the Shores Condo. Ass’n, Inc. v. Hoar…
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Public interest continues to shift due to a growing belief that individuals own their personal information and have the right to control it. As such, human resource departments can expect to see more employment protections amid growing regulations affecting human resource data. Several states have enacted Privacy Acts, including Colorado, Utah, Virginia, California and Illinois….
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In BEI-Beach, LLC v. Christman, a contractor was sued by the purchaser of a development for construction defects and a South Carolina appellate court held that the contractor was limited to an equitable indemnity claim against the project architect to recover damages for design defects that caused the contractor to incur expenses resulting from having…
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In an effort to delay FINRA’s expedited death sentence it imposed following its ruling that, Alpine Securities be expelled from the industry over allegations it misused customer funds and violated compliance rules, the broker dealer has taken direct action against FINRA and filed an injunction pending appeal. In its Emergency Motion for Injunction Pending Appeal,…
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On September 8, 2023, the Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency published new standards defining “waters of the United States” as it relates to regulations under the Clean Water Act. The new regulations took effect immediately to fill a void left by the Supreme Court’s ruling in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, 598…
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The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has barred a veteran financial advisor for providing falsified financial documents and making false statements during an investigation in violation of FINRA Rules 8210 and 2010. Timothy James Breslin, who owned and operated his own registered investment advisory firm, TJB Wealth Management (CRD # 325641), submitted a Letter of Acceptance,…
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In Koba Mushkudiani v. Racanelli Construction Group, Inc., et al., an Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court (“the Court”) affirmed summary judgment against the owner, general contractor, and developer of a construction project for violation of multiple New York Labor Laws. 2023 WL 5064219. Koba Mushkudiani (“Plaintiff”) was working on a construction site…
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On August 3, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a proposed denial of Alabama’s permit program to manage coal ash in landfills and surface impoundments. The EPA claims Alabama’s program is significantly less protective of people and waterways than required by federal regulations. This is the first time the EPA has proposed denying a…
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