Navigating Construction Contracts in the Energy Sector – Insights from Sheppard Mullin’s Webinar Series
October 01, 2024 —
Cesar Pereira - Sheppard MullinConstruction contracts in the energy sector involve unique challenges and risks, particularly with respect to bonds and mechanic’s liens.
Understanding how to navigate these challenges is key to protecting your projects from disputes with general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers.
In our recent webinar, “
Construction Contracts: Bond and Mechanic’s Lien Primer for Energy Projects,” I was joined by my Sheppard Mullin colleagues Chris Kolosov and Emily Anderson to discuss navigating common contract pitfalls and negotiation strategies to protect your interests.
Here are our key takeaways.
- Know Local Mechanic’s Lien Laws: Mechanic’s liens are statutory and vary significantly from state to state. It is critical to understand the local laws and regulations at play in your project’s jurisdiction.
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Cesar Pereira, Sheppard MullinMr. Pereira may be contacted at
cpereira@sheppardmullin.com
BWB&O ranks as a 2025 Best Law Firm by Best Lawyers®
December 10, 2024 —
Dolores Montoya - Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLPBremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara, LLP is honored to announce the firm has been recognized for its fifth consecutive year in the 2025 edition of Best Law Firms® and is ranked by Best Lawyers® regionally in three practice areas. To read the publication, please click here.
Metropolitan Tier 1
Las Vegas: Litigation – Construction
Orange County: Litigation – Construction
Metropolitan Tier 2
Orange County: Family Law
San Diego: Litigation – Real Estate
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Dolores Montoya, Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara LLP
Wildfire Risk Harms California Home Values, San Francisco Fed Study Finds
August 26, 2024 —
Laura Curtis - BloombergCalifornia’s wildfires are weighing on home prices more than in the past, and insurance availability does little to help in areas considered to be at higher risk, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco study.
“Our results suggest that property values have been more adversely impacted in recent years by being close to past wildfires than was the case previously,” economists Leila Bengali, Fernanda Nechio and Stephanie Stewart wrote in a paper published Monday on the Fed bank’s website.
While the effect of the proximity may be relatively small now, the economists warned “this pattern may become stronger in years to come if residential construction continues to expand into areas with higher fire risk and if trends in wildfire severity continue,” the study cautioned.
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Laura Curtis, Bloomberg
A “Flood” of Uncertainty; Massachusetts SJC Finds Policy Term Ambiguous
August 26, 2024 —
Michael S. Levine & Torrye Zullo - Hunton Insurance Recovery BlogThe highest court in Massachusetts recently held that term “Flood” and the associated phrase “surface waters,” as used in two all-risk insurance policies, is ambiguous in the context of water that accumulated on a parapet roof and rooftop courtyard, thereby negating the insurers’ attempt to limit coverage to a sublimited coverage for “Flood.”
Background
In June 2020, a severe storm caused damage to Norwood Hospital, owned by Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (“MPT”) and leased to Steward Health Care System (“Steward”), the policyholders. The relevant portion of the damage included damage from rain that accumulated on the rooftop courtyard and seeped into the interior of the building causing damage to the building and its contents.
Reprinted courtesy of
Michael S. Levine, Hunton Andrews Kurth and
Torrye Zullo, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Mr. Levine may be contacted at mlevine@HuntonAK.com
Ms. Zullo may be contacted at tzullo@HuntonAK.com
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Construction Litigation Roundup: “D’Oh!”
August 12, 2024 —
Daniel Lund III - LexologyThe U.S. DOL found itself on June 24 on the wrong end of a preliminary injunction concerning recent changes to the Davis-Bacon Act.
The lawsuit, initiated in Texas federal court by the Associated General Contractors of America and other concerned citizens, sought a preliminary injunction barring implementation and enforcement of “specified portions of § 5.2 and § 5.5(e) of the DOL’s ‘Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations’” – the “Final Rule,” published August 23, 2023.
After determining the appropriateness of the “standing” of the plaintiffs based upon the plaintiffs being “adversely affected” by the Final Rule, the federal court preliminarily enjoined enforcement of the Final Rule. In noting its disagreement with the Final Rule, the court stated:
“… the Final Rule amends the DBA [the Davis-Bacon Act] by imposing a stealth selfimplementing DBA requirement in the contract by an operation-of-law provision that contradicts the express statutory language of the Act [the court bristling at the idea that contracts might exclude with impunity the otherwise mandated DBA clauses]. Further, the Final Rule amends the Act to extend the DBA to apply to workers who are not mechanics and laborers, and to extend the scope of the work covered by DBA to include work is not performed ‘directly on the site of the work.’
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Daniel Lund III, PhelpsMr. Lund may be contacted at
daniel.lund@phelps.com
Supreme Court Opens Door for Challenges to Older Federal Regulations
August 05, 2024 —
Jane C. Luxton - Lewis BrisboisWashington, D.C. (July 1, 2024) – On July 1, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued another end-of-term major decision limiting the scope of federal agency actions in Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Adding to the tectonic shift in the regulatory landscape created by the Court’s June 27 and 28 rulings constraining the role of administrative law judges and overturning longstanding “Chevron deference” by courts to federal agency expertise, the decision in Corner Post establishes a newly expanded time frame for affected entities to challenge final agency action. Instead of confirming that final agency action is subject to a default six-year statute of limitations, the Court held that under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the time limit for appeal begins to run when a plaintiff is injured by the agency's action, not when the action becomes final. This decision has important implications for businesses and others affected by federal regulations.
The case arose when Corner Post, a truck stop and convenience store in North Dakota that opened in 2018, challenged a 2011 Federal Reserve Board regulation (Regulation II) that set maximum interchange fees for debit card transactions. Corner Post filed suit in 2021, arguing that Regulation II allowed higher fees than permitted by statute. The lower courts dismissed the suit as time-barred under 28 U.S.C. § 2401(a), which effectively requires APA claims to be filed "within six years after the right of action first accrues."
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Jane C. Luxton, Lewis BrisboisMs. Luxton may be contacted at
Jane.Luxton@lewisbrisbois.com
What Construction Firm Employers Should Do Right Now to Minimize Legal Risk of Discrimination and Harassment Lawsuits
October 07, 2024 —
Anthony LaPlaca, Dawn Solowey, Andrew Scroggins & Adrienne LeeSeyfarth Synopsis: In June 2024, Seyfarth published a blog article warning construction industry employers of recent anti-harassment guidelines issued by the EEOC. We predicted that the EEOC has “put the construction industry squarely in its sights.”[1] In this follow-up Alert, we discuss recent cases confirming the renewed regulatory focus on the construction sector, which demonstrate the need to put in place sound practices for non-discriminatory recruitment, hiring, and training of the work force in order to be prepared for this heightened risk of government scrutiny.
Recent EEOC Settlements
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has indicated, in no uncertain terms, that over the next five years it intends to prioritize the mitigation of systemic workplace problems and the historical underrepresentation of women and workers of color in the construction sector.[2] Two recent cases confirm that the EEOC is true to its word when it comes to tackling racial and gender disparities in the construction work force.
In August 2024, the EEOC secured two consent decrees with two separate construction firms in Florida, totaling nearly $3 million.
Reprinted courtesy of
Anthony LaPlaca, Seyfarth,
Dawn Solowey, Seyfarth,
Andrew Scroggins, Seyfarth and
Adrienne Lee, Seyfarth
Mr. LaPlaca may be contacted at alaplaca@seyfarth.com
Ms. Solowey may be contacted at dsolowey@seyfarth.com
Mr. Scroggins may be contacted at ascroggins@seyfarth.com
Ms. Lee may be contacted at aclee@seyfarth.com
Read the full story...
Wilke Fleury ranked in Best Lawyers’ Best Law Firms!!
December 03, 2024 —
Wilke Fleury LLPWilke Fleury is pleased to announce its inclusion in the 2025 edition of ‘Best Law Firms’ ranked by Best Lawyers! Firms included in the 2025 “Best Law Firms” list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. Achieving a tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise.
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Wilke Fleury LLP
