ON FEBRUARY 19, 2015, THE COURT OF APPEAL OF QUEBEC1OVERTURNED A JUDGMENT RENDERED BY THE SUPERIOR COURT2, ON JULY 12, 2013, WHICH GRANTED THE DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS. ESSENTIALLY, THE COURT HAD TO DETERMINE WHETHER COVERAGE UNDER A BUILDER’S RISK INSURANCE POLICY EXTENDS TO DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE WORK TO AN EXISTING STRUCTURE, OR WHETHER IT IS LIMITED TO THE SITE ON WHICH THE WORK IS BEING DONE ...
Growth of the real estate industry in Panama is evident everywhere. Skyscrapers that could very well be found in large cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong or Miami, rise proud in former residential and colonial areas of Panama city. Panama’s architectural identity is driven by important local and international architects, and symbolic buildings such as the Biodiversity Museum and the F&F Tower, also known as ‘the Screw’ ...
At first glance, "net neutrality" may seem a natural principle for the internet environment. This expression, however, gives rise to sometimes divergent interests and some concerns. As a general concept, net neutrality means an open Internet, through which consumers would be able to make their own choices about the content they wish to access and share, as well as the services and applications they want to use ...
To allow for adequate planning, the Quebec government phased in the coming into force of certain regulatory amendments on building safety that were adopted in the past few years. These new standards were previously discussed in bulletin Nos. 6 and 9, issued in April 2013 and June 2014 respectively, of our Lavery Real Estate and Construction series. This newsletter serves as a brief reminder of the most imminent deadlines ...
The possibility of buying real estate rests normally on the capacity of an individual or company to acquire debt, reason why credit entities play an essential role in the success of the real estate market. Lately, we have noticed that in addition to the traditional loan guaranteed by a mortgage, there is an offer for loans guaranteed by a security trust ...
When Congress passed the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, the elimination of the Sustainable Growth Rate—the so-called “Doc Fix”—received most of the attention. The fact that Congress had officially waded into the quagmire of health information technology interoperability, however, went largely unnoticed ...
Last June 10, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) announced that the floor amount for obtaining a public contract dealing with services without its prior authorization would be reduced to $1 million ...
In this age of social networks, the dividing line between private life and public life seems more and more blurred. The same is true of the boundary between individuals' personal and professional lives. Indeed, headlines in the past few weeks remind us that the personal and professional aspects of an individual's life can sometimes become confused, at great cost to the individual ...
Earlier this year, the UK government launched 'Tech Nation'; an interactive data project that shows the growth of digital businesses within specific areas/regions across the UK. The report is the first of its kind and ranked Belfast as the second highest region in the UK in terms of the highest average company turnover in this sector, with Greater Manchester securing the top spot and Sheffield, Inner London and South Wales coming third, fourth and fifth respectively ...
Standard real estate brokerage contracts generally stipulate the obligation for the seller to pay a commission to the broker in the event that an agreement for the sale of the property occurs during the term of the brokerage contract or where the seller voluntarily prevents the free performance of the contract. It is not unusual, even in the absence of an actual sale, that real estate brokers claim the payment of the commission stipulated in the brokerage contract ...
For those of us who commonly represent lenders, there is nothing more unsettling than hearing the words “course and pattern of conduct” or “dominion and control” or some variation of the same. Any suit where someone seeks to impose liability on a bank for something above and beyond the amounts loaned and repaid is a scary one for lenders (and ultimately should be a scary one for anyone who may need to borrow money in the future) ...
Writer, Margaret Rouse, describes a social media policy as “a corporate code of conduct that provides guidelines for employees who post content on the internet, either as part of their job or as a private person”. Underestimating the significance of a sound social media policy may lead to dire consequences for an organisation ...
Attractive Real Estate Business in the Czech Republic The Czech property market has developed considerably in recent decades and this optimistic trend continues. According to statistical figures, the volume of commercial investment during the last twelve months to Q1 2015 in the Czech Republic reached EUR 2.6 billion, representing 90.8 % increase ...
On 28 July 2015 the newly enacted “Law on Conversion” (the “Law”) which sets out the procedure for converting the right of use into ownership rights over construction land for a fee (the “Conversion”), will come in force. The Law outlines the rules for the Conversion procedure and specifies the particular list of entities that are eligible to file for the Conversion ...
In this article, we provide a brief overview of the most important new rules applicable to Hungarian data protection laws after 1 October 2015. BCRs accepted after 1 October 2015 Binding corporate rules (BCR) have so far not been recognized by Hungarian law and, thus, could not be used whenever personal data were transferred to a non-EEA country ...
Although the Czech real estate market has recently witnessed several significant deals (see Attractive Real Estate Business in the Czech Republic), there is definitely still great potential in the Czech Republic for future investors. Correspondingly, according to the latest figures, it seems that even a forecast of a 6% price increase will be surpassed in 2015 ...
The Philippine section of The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Patents 2016 was contributed by SyCipLaw partners Enrique T. Manuel and Vida M. Panganiban-Alindogan. The chapter includes patent enforcement, patent amendment, licensing, patent term extension, patent prosecution and opposition, border control measures, antitrust law and inequitable conduct and current developments in relation to patents ...
WWII deeply modified the Canadian economy1. The concentration of resources toward the war effort brought about, among other things, a shortage of rental premises2. Hence, the law governing leases was adapted3. and the existing liberal vision of free negotiation of contracts and consent made way for a stricter one ...
In February 2015, the report on the public enquiry of the fire commissioner concerning the fire that occurred on January 23, 2014, at the Résidence du Havre at L’Isle-Verte, which resulted in the death of thirty-two residents, was tabled1 ...
The Finnish Criminal Code has been recently amended to combat cybercrime more effectively. The Criminal Code now takes a tougher stance against cybercrime by amending certain provisions, introducing completely new provisions and more severe penalties. The amendments entered into force 4 September 2015. From now on, cybercrime offences, such as illegal data interference and identity theft, can be found under their own titles in the Criminal Code ...
Although many of us still wonder at a drone cruising the sky, it has become relatively common to see these devices around. Drones are used for commercial, industrial, marketing and informational purposes, and also for pure fun and enjoyment. Drones, technically referred to as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), are now part of our lives. As many other aspects of day-to-day life, there is a regulation in Guatemala that applies to drones, though it is scarcely known by the general public ...
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the United States Department of the Treasury issued a “Geographic Targeting Order” on January 13, 2016, aimed at curbing money laundering in the real estate sector. The targeting order is an expression of the Treasury’s power under 31 U.S.C. § 5326 of the Bank Secrecy Act and will affect all-cash purchases of real estate valued at $3 million or more in Manhattan and $1 million or more in Miami-Dade County ...
Termination of electricity supply due to non-payment of an electricity account A landlord may not, without a court order, terminate the supply of electricity to premises leased to a tenant who is in arrears with monthly electricity payments. This is according to the recent High Court judgment in the matter of Anva Properties CC vs End Street Enterprises CC (22109/2014, 14 April 2015) ...
The confusing definition of “instalment sale agreements” in the Act In terms of the National Credit Act (“the Act”), an instalment agreement is defined as a sale of movable property. From the definition, it would seem that instalment sale agreements over immovable property are excluded from the Act; however, this is not the case ...
