[!<CDATA[ As of September 1, 2021, in a change to Texas caselaw that had been in place for over a century, Texas contractors now have protection in certain circumstances from liability for defective plans and specifications provided to the contractor by someone else. In the 1907 Texas Supreme Court case Lonergan v ...
Hunting Titan, Inc. v. DynaEnergetics Europe GMBH, Appeal Nos. 2020-2163, -2191 (Fed. Cir. March 24, 2022) In a notable review of the USPTO’s new Precedential Opinions Panel, the Federal Circuit discussed the circumstances under which the Patent Trial and Appeal Board should raise a ground of unpatentability against substitute proposed claims in a motion to amend that a petitioner has not advanced or insufficiently developed ...
The new Register of Persons Holding a Controlled interest in Land (RCI) will come into force in Scotland on 1 April 2022. The purpose of this article is to highlight the key points of the regulations behind the RCI1 and how they may affect landowners and tenants of registrable leases (being those longer than 20 years) in Scotland ...
Law No. 21.398 "Pro-Consumer", which was published on December 24, 2021, entered into force yesterday March 24th 2022, increasing the term of the legal guarantee for consumers from 3 to 6 months ...
Intending to provide clear reporting obligations for issuers, and to provide consistent, comparable, and decision-useful information for investors, on March 21, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a landmark climate disclosure rule that would mandate SEC registrants to disclose greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and certain materials risks relating to climate change ...
March 24, 2022 By: John Epperson and Peter McGaw UPDATE: At the time Buchalter published its client alert regarding the new ASTM Standard for Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (Phase I ESAs), we noted that the new ASTM Standard would not be considered “All Appropriate Inquires” for purposes of establishing defenses under CERCLA until the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) amended its regulations to incorporate the new Standard ...
The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act received Royal Assent on 15 March 2022. Its effects will be felt far and wide across the UK real estate industry. We explained in our article Economic Crime Bill – what it means for real estate, that the aim of the new Act is to crack down on foreign criminals using UK property to launder money ...
On 12 August 2020 a tragedy occurred on Scotland’s railways. A passenger train, already turned around due to blockages on the line, derailed. Three people tragically lost their lives. After months of investigation the Rail Accident Investigation Board (“RAIB”) has released its formal report into the incident. The report details a number of failings, which led to the tragedy ...
As the world becomes ever more focussed on environmental and climate change issues, so businesses are increasingly concentrating on whether their people are working in ways that best achieve the green credentials many organisations now aspire to. Employment practices and policies can be adjusted or altered in ways that will help organisations positively contribute towards lessening their environmental impact ...
The Corporate Transparency Act (the “Act”) was enacted by Congress on January 1, 2021, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. The Act’s purpose is to curtail shell companies often used in corporate transactions, including real estate transactions, from conducting illegal activities made possible by concealing the ownership and control of such entities ...
How has the use of digital technology, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, contributed to the rise in fraud? As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses experienced a rapid and significant increase in the use of digital technology. Bearing in mind health concerns, as well as business continuity, many businesses began to shift to widespread remote working environments ...
A decision this week from the Third District Court of Appeals serves as a reminder for why contractors need to be aware of all of the terms of the warranties they rely on and pass on to their customers. In West Bay Plaza Condominium Association v. Sika Corporation, a condominium association appealed the dismissal of its lawsuit due to claims that the lawsuit was filed in the wrong location ...
Last week the government issued the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill. The bill looks set to become law later this month and it will have a significant impact on the process of overseas entities acquiring or disposing of land in the UK ...
In December, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal reversed a judgment in favor of a landlord holding that a contractor’s lien could not attach to the real property being improvement by a tenant of the landlord. The reversal allowed the contractor’s lien enforcement claim to proceed. K.D. Construction of Florida, Inc. v. MDM Retail Ltd, arose from improvements made to a movie theater by a contractor ...
Since the beginning of the year, Florida’s courts have issued three decisions impacting contractors, which are summarized below. Does Failure to Obtain Local Licenses Render Contracts Unenforceable? A decision from Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal addressed the issue of whether a subcontractor that failed to obtain local licenses required by a county ordinance was allowed to litigate claims for work that required those licenses ...
The European Commission has released the long-awaited proposal for a directive on corporate sustainability due diligence. As expected following the resolution approved by the European Parliament on 10 March 2021, the implications for companies are many and will have an impact on their organisation and the way they conduct themselves. The directive also affects the companies and other organisations they have commercial relations with ...
ALRUD Regulatory practice is proud to present you the Regulatory Guide for the Third Quarter of 2021. The points of focus of this regulatory guide are product compliance, regulatory enforcement and environment protection. Most, if not all, of the topics commented in this guide have strategic importance for the Russian regulatory field ...
The courts have always dealt with big issues and complex questions. But are the courts the right place to tackle perhaps the biggest issue of all? In recent times there have been a number of high profile court actions relating to climate change, leaving courts in various parts of the world grappling with this complex and difficult issue ...
On 19 January 2022, the Scottish Government approved legislation that will require local authorities to set up licensing schemes for short-term lets, and require all short-term let properties to hold a suitable licence ...
The Oregon legislature is currently considering, as part of its February 2022 session, three bills that form a comprehensive set of changes to the Oregon Forest Practices Act (Senate Bill 1501), create a small forestland owner tax credit (Senate Bill 1502), and update the forest harvest tax (House Bill 4055). The bills stem from negotiations between private forestry companies, small woodland owners, conservation groups, and fishing organizations ...
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act from the U.S. Congress, signed into law November 15 by President Biden, provides $1.2 trillion to rebuild roads and bridges, water infrastructure, resilience, and internet, with a focus on infrastructure improvements and expansion of broadband networks. The Biden Administration has established a website for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that contains helpful links to programs and program descriptions ...
