A recent decision issued by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an employer may defend a claim under the Equal Pay Act by proving that its pay structure was based on employees’ prior salaries, so long as this structure was reasonable and effectuated a business policy. This decision parts ways with other Circuits…
Read More
In Melden & Hunt, Inc. v. East Rio Hondo Water Supply Corporation, No. 16-0078, 2017 WL 2492006 (Tex. June 9, 2017), East Rio Hondo Water Supply Corp. contracted with Melden & Hunt, Inc. to provide engineering-design and project-supervision services for a new water-treatment plant in San Benito, Texas. Following substantial completion of the project, East…
Read More
In Anderson v. Taylor Morrison of Florida, Inc., No. 2D16-314, 2017 WL 2374404 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. May 31, 2017), the Second District Court of Appeal of Florida held an arbitration provision in a homeowner’s sales agreement was void as against public policy because it limited the homeowner’s statutory remedies. In April 2009, Reginald and…
Read More
The Massachusetts Supreme Court recently issued the most comprehensive opinion to date addressing whether an insurer’s duty to defend extends to counterclaims asserted by the insured. The court in Mount Vernon Fire Ins. Co. v. VisionAid,Inc., SJC-12142 (Mass. 2017), held that where an insurance policy provides that the insurer has the “duty to defend any…
Read More
On January 17, 2017, the IRS issued a Guidance Notice classifying syndicated conservation easement transactions as “Listed Transactions,” or presumed tax shelters. A conservation easement is an agreement between a landowner or investor, and a land trust or government agency that permanently limits development of the land with the aim of conservation. The restrictions are…
Read More
In Corwin v. NYC Bike Share, LLC, No. 14-CV-1285, 2017 WL 1399034 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 13, 2017), the Southern District of New York granted a Motion for Summary Judgment in favor of Alta Planning + Design + Architecture of New York, PLLC (“APD”) against the City of New York (the “City”) based on deviations from APD’s…
Read More
The National Employment Law Project (“NELP”) partnered with several other organizations to spearhead a grassroots movement to encourage employers to change their policies to consider the qualification of job applicants without consideration of their criminal history. Prior to the efforts of NELP, it was commonplace for an employer to ask a job applicant whether the…
Read More
The Washington State Supreme Court recently published an opinion that may impact how courts will approach exclusions in certain liability policies. In Xia v. ProBuilders Specialty Insurance Company, 2017 WL 1532219 (Wash. Apr. 27, 2017), a homeowner became ill soon after moving into a new house. It later was determined an improperly installed exhaust vent…
Read More
In Busch v. Lennar Homes, LLC, No. 5D16-1626, 2017 WL 1372085 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. April 13, 2017), Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeals found the trial court improperly dismissed the Homeowner’s complaint regarding construction defects based on the ten year statute of repose. The Court determined the Homeowner’s complaint was not barred by the…
Read More
In Lawley v. Chelsea Hidden Acres, Aaron Ashcraft obtained a defense verdict from Judge Sonny Conwill following a bench trial. The Plaintiff alleged she sustained an injury in the course and scope of her employment as a patient care tech, lifting a resident out of a bed on July 23, 2013. This allegation remained consistent…
Read More
Our locations in Birmingham and Pensacola are conveniently located for clients in the Southeast.
Get In Touch