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Articles 1 - 8 of 8

Full-Text Articles in Law

Construction Liens And The "Secret Lien" Problem, Dale Whitman Jun 2022

Construction Liens And The "Secret Lien" Problem, Dale Whitman

Arkansas Law Review

Perhaps the most essential element of a modern scheme of land ownership is a system of records that will allow an owner to show to the world, and particularly to intended transferees, that she or he owns the land in question. It is almost equally important that an owner be able to create a lien or charge on land, putting it up as security for an obligation or debt while retaining possession. And as a concomitant principle, it is critical that an intended transferee be able to detect, in a reliable system of records, whether the land has already been …


Equitable, Affordable And Climate-Cognizant Housing Construction, Shelby D. Green Jun 2022

Equitable, Affordable And Climate-Cognizant Housing Construction, Shelby D. Green

Arkansas Law Review

In this Article, I recount some of the history of unwise and improvident land use policy and practices that have led to gross inequities and to the climate-exposed state, not only in terms of where people were assigned spaces to live, but how. I go on to suggest that communities should be designed with intent, with regard for the threats of climate change as well as accessibility to those historically excluded.


Design Professional Liability For Construction Worksite Accidents - How Arkansas Led The Way To A National Consensus, Marc M. Schneier Jun 2022

Design Professional Liability For Construction Worksite Accidents - How Arkansas Led The Way To A National Consensus, Marc M. Schneier

Arkansas Law Review

Three major developments underlie the law of architect or engineer (a/e) liability to construction workers, beginning in the second half of the twentieth century: (1) a change from a no-duty regime to a duty of care under a foreseeability test, (2) reactions to that expanded liability by changes to standard form documents by industry associations (in particular the American Institute of Architects (AIA)), (3) currently culminating in a broad national consensus. The Arkansas Supreme Court was instrumental in framing the issues of this jurisprudence early in its development and later contributed to its continued evolution.


Structural Precarity And Potential In Condominium Governance Design, Andrea J. Boyack Jun 2022

Structural Precarity And Potential In Condominium Governance Design, Andrea J. Boyack

Arkansas Law Review

This Article examines a condominium’s legal structure in the context of ensuring construction and upkeep quality in a multifamily building and explores possible systemic improvements. Part I considers three latent vulnerabilities inherent in the condominium governance structure: (1) overprotection of developers; (2) unwillingness of members to ensure optimal upkeep; and (3) association financial precarity. Part II critiques some suggested legal responses to the Surfside disaster and discusses the swift and dramatic impacts on condominium governance caused by changed underwriting requirements of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Finally, this Article concludes by calling for more effective stabilization of condominium governance to …


Construction Law Apologetics, Carl J. Circo Jun 2022

Construction Law Apologetics, Carl J. Circo

Arkansas Law Review

This Article challenges the legal academy’s perceptions and offers an alternative assessment of the relationship between the construction industry and law. Part I reviews practical reasons for teaching construction law to law students. In brief, Part I first demonstrates how a construction law course pairs advanced instruction in several topics introduced in the core curriculum, such as contracts, torts, civil procedure, evidence, remedies, and dispute resolution, with lessons on adapting legal knowledge to the specialized construction industry practice. Next, it explains how studying construction law can prepare students to represent clients in a wide range of complex commercial matters that …


Construction Law: The English Route To Modern Construction Law, Vivian Ramsey Jun 2022

Construction Law: The English Route To Modern Construction Law, Vivian Ramsey

Arkansas Law Review

In this Article, I will look at the way that construction law has developed in the English common law world from its roots in the law of England and Wales. Whilst common law traditions are now applied to many jurisdictions, the number of jurisdictions in which English precedents are binding is now small. But, in many common law jurisdictions decisions of the English courts are still treated as “persuasive.” English decisions in the field of construction law have an extensive reach in terms of their persuasiveness. First, having a long-established court system, including a specialist court for 150 years, has …


Construction Law: Its Historical Origins And Its Twentieth Century Emergence As A Major Field Of Modern American And International Legal Practice, Philip L. Bruner Jun 2022

Construction Law: Its Historical Origins And Its Twentieth Century Emergence As A Major Field Of Modern American And International Legal Practice, Philip L. Bruner

Arkansas Law Review

“Construction Law” is a rapidly emerging “capstone” legal field that over the past century has subsumed principles from many traditional fields of law and has contextually created new implied rights and obligations unknown to such traditional fields. Construction law’s emergence has been driven by the extraordinary modern growth in global construction activity, which in 2020 accounted for 13% (US$10.7 trillion) of the global gross domestic product and which by 2030 is expected to grow by another 42%. This growth in construction activities engages millions of firms and persons and has increased considerably the technical complexity and rapidity of changes in …


Ideological Preferences Of Supreme Court Justices: The Shift Throughout Tenure, Amelia Ver Woert May 2022

Ideological Preferences Of Supreme Court Justices: The Shift Throughout Tenure, Amelia Ver Woert

Political Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

For this thesis, I will analyze the tenure of five Supreme Court justices across the decades, ranging from the year 1940 up to the present year of 2022. The analysis will examine the variation between the justices' decisions at the beginning of their term compared to the decisions near the end of their term. The purpose of this study is to properly distinguish whether Supreme Court justices who have served on the bench for more than a decade are impacted by ideological drift and preference shifts throughout their career. The importance of this analysis is to determine the impact of …