Government and Public Works Articles
November 4, 2008
Laurie Demers Erosion is the detachment and transport of sediment particles caused by wind, rain, ice, and gravity. Sediment is a byproduct of erosion and is composed of organic and mineral particles that are suspended, transported and relocated from their origin. The deposition of these particles is called sedimentation. Erosion is a natural event. It is a slow, uniform process that is essential for maintaining a balance between plant and animal life. It is a soil forming process. Human induced land disturbing activities such as construction or mining greatly accelerate the natural erosion process. Many studies have been done on our nations waterways and sediment has been found to be one of the top pollutants. Full Story
October 28, 2008
Richard Pennington This paper summarizes common constitutional and legislative limitations1 on the liability allocation approaches in state and local government contracting.Requests by contractors for indemnification or hold harmless provisions2 often are opposed by governments based on constitutional principles. Other liability allocation techniques, such as warranty disclaimers, damage exclusions, ceilings on contractual damages orother liability, usually are not analyzed in terms of constitutional provisions. These clauses do not create liability of the state flowing to the contractor or a third party, but they limit possible damages that can be claimed against a contractor. This paper highlights common themes in analyzing the legality of these provisions. Full Story
October 16, 2008
Richard Pennington This paper summarizes common constitutional and legislative limitations1 on the liability allocation approaches in state and local government contracting.Requests by contractors for indemnification or hold harmless provisions2 often are opposed by governments based on constitutional principles. Other liability allocation techniques, such as warranty disclaimers, damage exclusions, ceilings on contractual damages orother liability, usually are not analyzed in terms of constitutional provisions. These clauses do not create liability of the state flowing to the contractor or a third party, but they limit possible damages that can be claimed against a contractor. This paper highlights common themes in analyzing the legality of these provisions. Full Story
September 17, 2008
Richard Pennington In 2005, Congress passed the Real ID Act of 2005. The Act prescribes uniform requirements for State-issued driver's licenses and identification cards to enable their acceptance as identification for entry to federal facilities and boarding federally-regulated commercial carriers, i.e., commercial airlines. On December 13, 2007, the Department of Homeland Security announced availability of grant funding for the States for a demonstration program, the 2008 Real ID Demonstration Grant Program.[1] The program guidance and grant application kit stated, "the Department encourages grant applications from States with a multi-state approach to Real ID identification systems implementation design and development." Full Story
August 26, 2008
Dan Small - Holland & Knight Not so long ago, persuading corporate executives that they needed extensive
preparation before testifying in a legal proceeding was a battle. Many
confident, articulate executives were convinced they could just "go
in and tell my story," and they were insulted by the notion that they
needed some lawyer to prepare them. Too many experienced lawyers didn't
push back. Full Story
August 14, 2008
Baker Donelson Last week, the Department of Justice announced planned revisions to its
Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations
(Principles) that signal changes to its policies regarding its
evaluation of cooperation, including waivers of the attorney client
privilege. The DOJ Principles govern the DOJ's process of
investigating, charging and prosecuting corporate crimes. These Principles
were last revised in December 2006 when U.S. Deputy Attorney General Paul
J. McNulty issued what has been referred to as the "McNulty
Memorandum." In particular, the Memorandum governs how DOJ measures a
corporation's cooperativeness in a criminal investigation and how the DOJ
determines whether the entity itself should be charged with a crime. On
July 9, Deputy Attorney General Mark Filip, in a letter to Sen. Patrick J.
Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, outlined proposed
changes to the McNulty Memorandum. Full Story
August 8, 2008
Lauren Beetle and Amy M. Trojecki - Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP Addressing environmental issues has emerged as one of the most
sig¬nificant concerns in commercial real estate transactions today.
The strict liability nature of environmental laws has resulted in a
heightened awareness of environmental issues in real estate
transac¬tions for decades now. Dealing with envi¬ronmental
concerns, however, has become increasingly important in recent years, due
to rigid state and federal environmental requirements and the fact that
many New Jersey developers, investors and property owners are now
acquiring existing and/or redeveloping abandoned or underuti¬lized
sites. Because environmental law has become a specialty practice area,
pro¬visions in real estate deals regarding envi¬ronmental matters
seem to be managed either so intensely that the environmental concerns
smother the transaction, or are virtually ignored. While it is not
practi¬cal to include provisions in an agreement that address every
potential environmental issue that may arise, it is crucial that
par¬ties to a real estate transaction understand the representations
and warranties that are made and the due diligence that is per¬formed
regarding environmental issues, along with the fiscal and legal
implica¬tions of such information. Full Story
August 1, 2008
W. Mark Smith and Jasper B. Smith - Sutherland In Metropolitan Life Insurance Company v. Glenn, issued on June
19, 2008, the United States Supreme Court ruled that when a ERISA
fiduciary responsible for determining in its discretion eligibility for
benefits under an employer plan is also the party financially responsible
for paying claims under that plan, a structural conflict of interest
exists that must be taken into consideration by courts when reviewing
benefit denials. Full Story