On April 2, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling in Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro, 584 U.S. ___ (2018), holding that auto dealership service advisors are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (“FLSA”) overtime pay requirement. The case began in 2012 in a California District Court, and was later…
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Shell, BP and Sunoco have agreed to pay $196.5 million to resolve New Jersey’s contamination claims over a gasoline additive that seeped into groundwater throughout the state. The case is the first to be finalized since voters approved a constitutional amendment prohibiting money from such lawsuits being diverted away from cleanup and restoration of natural…
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In Triangle Construction Company, Inc. v. Fouche and Associates, Inc., 218 So. 3d 1180 (Mississippi 2017), Triangle Construction Company, Inc. (“Triangle”) contracted with East Madison Water Association (“EMWA”) to build a water system in Madison and Leake Counties in Mississippi. The contract designated Fouche and Associates (“Fouche”) as the project engineer, although Fouche was not…
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FINRA launched a retrospective review of its outside business activities and private securities transactions rules in May of 2017 to assess their effectiveness and efficiency. This request for comment stems from that review of FINRA Rule 3270 (Outside Business Activities of Registered Persons) and FINRA Rule 3280 (Private Securities Transactions of an Associated Person). The…
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In Patrick Durkin v. MTown Construction, LLC, N No. W201701269COAR3CV, 2018 WL 1304922, (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 13, 2018), the Court of Appeals of Tennessee overturned an award of property damages which was predicated in part upon the diminution of property value based upon a finding that the defendant had failed to present sufficient evidence…
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In recent years, a Circuit Court split has emerged regarding whether Title VII prohibits discrimination based solely on sexual orientation. On February 26, 2018, the Justices of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals heard an appeal seeking reinstatement of a Title VII claim brought by the estate of a former employee, Donald Zarda (“Mr. Zarda”). …
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Stephen Hrobowski (“Hrobowski”) was involved in a motor vehicle accident in Montgomery County, Alabama in 2015 wherein his vehicle collided with a vehicle being operated by Kevin Ledyard (“Ledyard”). The impact of this collision caused Ledyard’s vehicle to strike a vehicle being operated by Roosevelt McCorvey (“McCorvey”). At the time of the subject accident, McCorvey…
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The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has affirmed a lower court’s decision that the Environmental Protection Agency is under no obligation to require permits of landowners contributing to violations of state-developed Total Maximum Daily Loads (“TMDLs”). Conservation Law Foundation v. EPA, 48 ELR 20013 (1st Cir. 2018). In this consolidated appeal,…
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Arbitration case filings through December 2017 reflected a 6 percent decrease compared to cases filed in 2016 during the same time frame. More specifically, 3,681 cases were filed in 2016, but 3,456 cases were filed in 2017. Of the 3,456 cases filed, 65 percent or 2,260 were customer disputes and 35 percent or 1,196 were…
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In Zirkelbach Construction, Inc. v. DOWL, LLC, 402 P.3d 1244 (Mont. 2017), the Supreme Court of Montana ruled design professionals can contract to limit liability for a contract claim, even if the limitation is a nominal percentage of the overall fees paid, as long as the parties do not disclaim all liability outright. However, the…
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