News & Insights

Finra Reaches Settlement With Six Member Firms Resulting In 16.8 Million In Restitution To Customers

FINRA recently announced the results of its targeted examination of Unit Investment Trust (UIT) early rollovers. The investigation resulted in settlement with six member firms, totaling $16.8 million in restitution for approximately 10,000 investors. Following its investigation into the six firms, FINRA concluded that each firm failed to reasonably supervise early rollovers of UIT’s, which…
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Supreme Court Blocks President Biden’s Covid 19 Emergency Temporary Standard

On November 5, 2021, OSHA released the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) providing that employers with at least 100 employees adopt a vaccination policy requiring employees to be fully vaccinated or submit to weekly testing. On January 13, 2021, in a 6-3 decision, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling blocking the mandate stating…
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Florida Court Of Appeal Says Neighborhood Association Is Bound By Arbitration Agreement

In Lennar Homes, LLC v. Martinique at the Oasis Neighborhood Association, Inc., No. 3D20-1732, 2021 WL 6057113 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. Dec. 22, 2021), the Third District Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s decision to deny Lennar Homes, LLC’s (“Lennar Homes”) Motion to Compel Arbitration. The Court of Appeal held the arbitration provision was…
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On Matter Of First Impression, Northern District Court Of Alabama Holds That Remediation Costs Are Recoverable, Even Where They Exceed Diminution Of Value Damages, Where There Is A Legal Duty To Remediate

Plaintiff KMG-Bernuth, Inc., (“KMG”) operates a pentachlorophenol (“penta”) plant in Tuscaloosa which produces and stores liquid penta, an industrial wood preservative.  Penta is a hazardous pesticide subject to Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) regulations.  Defendant Ranger Environmental Services, LLC’s (“Ranger”) is an industrial cleaning and environmental services company based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.   On May 19, 2019, a…
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Florida Appellate Court Upholds Dismissal Of Contractor’s Case

In Gen. Contractors of Cent. Fla. LLC v. Heritage Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., No. 3D21-34, 2021 WL 5617450 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. Dec. 1, 2021), the Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the lower court’s decision to dismiss General Contractor of Central Florida’s (“General Contractors”) lawsuit seeking payment for work it performed on its…
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Colorado Appellate Court Rules Limitaiton Of Liability Provision In Engineer’s Contract Was Ambiguous, But Not Void

In Johnson Nathan Strohe, P.C. v. MEP Engineering, Inc., 2021 WL 4314216 (Colo. App. Sept. 23, 2021), a Colorado appellate court addressed an issue of first impression and held that a limitation of liability provision in the contract between an architect and engineer was ambiguous, but did not render the provision void. Johnson Nathan Strohe,…
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Eleventh Circuit Resolves Forty Year Old Battle To Restore The Ocklawaha River By Concluding It Lacks Subject Matter Jurisdiction To Review Agency Enforcement Decisions

In 1971, President Richard Nixon cancelled construction of the Cross Florida Barge Canal in order to prevent permanent damage to the Ocklawaha River.  By the time the Canal construction was cancelled, nearly one-third of the project was completed.  The Rodman Dam (now the Kirkpatrick Dam) blocked the Ocklawaha River and created the Rodman Reservoir.  The…
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Finra Releases September 2021 Board Of Governors Meeting Report

FINRA Board of Governors met on September 23-24, 2021 to approve new maintaining qualifications fees and to reaffirm FINRA’s Financial Guiding Principles. The Board approved a proposal to establish a $100 annual fee for individuals who chose to complete continuing education (CE) to remain qualified to reregister with FINRA following the termination of the individual’s…
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