Construction Law Commons^™

Under Construction: The Past, Present, And Future Of Chapter 40, Nevada's Construction-Defect Laws, Stephen A. Davis

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Virtual Politics And The 2000 Election: Does First Amendment Protection Extend To Political Speech On The Internet?, Amity Hough Farrar

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

No abstract provided.

The Constitution And Enforceable Natural Law, Karl Deuble

The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research

No abstract provided.

The Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act At Twenty: Has Full Protection Made A Difference?, David E. Shipley

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

No abstract provided.

De Facto Class Actions? Plaintiff- And Defendant-Oriented Injunctions In Election Law, Voting Rights And Other Constitutional Cases, Michael T. Morley

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Tom V. Innovative Home Systems, Llc, 132 Nev. Adv. Op. 15 (Mar. 10, 2016), Adrienne Brantley

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determine that the decision of the State Contractors’ Board closing homeowners’ complaint and directing contractor to make repairs to residence was not a final decision resolving a contested case, as required to preclude a homeowner from relitigating whether contractor was required to have an electrical license. The Court also determine that genuine issues of material fact existed as to whether the contractor needed an electrical license and genuine issues of material fact existed as to whether the contractor completed its contractual obligations to homeowner.

Attorney’S Fees, Nominal Damages, And Section 1983 Litigation, Thomas A. Eaton, Michael Wells

Scholarly Works

Can plaintiffs recover attorney’s fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 when they establish constitutional violations but recover only nominal damages or low compensatory damages? Some federal appellate courts have concluded that no fee, or a severely reduced fee, should be awarded in such circumstances. This position, which we call the “low award, low fee” approach, rests primarily on the Supreme Court’s 1992 opinion in Farrar v. Hobby.

We argue that a “low award, low fee” approach is misguided for two main reasons. First, the majority opinion in Farrar is fragmented and the factual record is opaque regarding what and how …

Ahead Of The Curve: Promoting Land Tenure Security In Sub-Saharan Africa To Protect The Environment, Andrew R. Falk

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The 'Press,' Then & Now, Sonja R. West

Scholarly Works

Does the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of “the press” simply mean that we all have the right to use mass communication technology to disseminate our speech? Or does it provide constitutional safeguards for a particular group of speakers who function as government watchdogs and citizen surrogates? This question defines the current debate over the Press Clause. The Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, along with recent work by Michael McConnell and Eugene Volokh, suggests the answer is the former. This article pushes back on that view.

It starts by expanding the scope of the relevant historical evidence. Discussions about the …

Construction Law, Frank O. Brown Jr.

Mercer Law Review

This Article focuses on noteworthy opinions by Georgia appellate courts between June 1, 2014 and May 31, 2015 relevant to the practice of construction law.

D.R. Horton, Inc. V. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct, 131 Nev., Adv. Op. 86 (October 29, 2015), Brandonn Grossman

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Nevada Supreme Court considered a Petitioner home builder’s petition for writ relief and appeal of a district court order granting Respondent HOA’s ex parte motion for a stay and enlargement of time for service pursuant to NRS 40.647(2)(b). Ruling on Petitioner’s two writ petitions, the Court held the district court’s grant of a stay was not in error and the NRCP 41(e) five-year limitation period was tolled under the Boren exception to NRCP 41(e). Accordingly, the Court denied both writ petitions.

Construction Mortgage Financing In Ohio, Malcom B. Ramey, Robert A. Jefferies Jr.

Akron Law Review

This article consists of a review and analysis of the Yarborough decision and the open-end mortgage statute and an assessment of their probable impact upon current construction loan lending procedures. In addition, the authors offer various observations regarding the form in which disbursing agreements and construction mortgage deeds should be drafted. The structure of the article may be briefly described as follows: First, attention will be given to the three methods by which a mortgagee can preserve the priority of its mortgage lien over liens of mechanics men which attach to the mortgaged premises after the recording of the mortgage …

Apartments And Houses: The Warranty Of Habitability, Walter H.E. Jaeger

Akron Law Review

“The trend towards greater consumer protection so evident in the products liability field is clearly discernible in the sale of new homes by the builder-vendor, and in the leasing of apartments by landlords. Some of the fundamental concepts of real property law, especially those which make no sense in modern society, have been, or are being, overruled and superseded by more enlightened and public policy-minded decisions of both the federal and state courts. It seems safe to predict that the warranty of habitability which governs the sale of new homes by the builder-vendor, adopted by a substantial majority of jurisdictions, …

A Legal Overview Of The Osha Noise Standard, Peter T. Parashes

Akron Law Review

SINCE AUGUST 27, 1971, when it became effective, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) regulation concerning noise levels has been the source of considerable controversy and confusion.... The law concerning the noise standard is itself far from settled. The multitude of decisions from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission...and administrative law judges have left many questions unanswered and have allowed substantial uncertainty to remain regarding the interpretation and application of the standard

Please Report To The Principal's Office, Urine Trouble: The Effect Of Board Of Education V. Earls On America's Schoolchildren, M. Casey Kucharson

Akron Law Review

This Note analyzes the Supreme Court’s recent opinion in Board of Education of Independent School District No. 92 of Pottawatomie County v. Earls and its implication for the future of the Fourth Amendment and drug testing. Part II of this Note documents the history and the expansion of the “special needs” doctrine, and illustrates how the doctrine has whittled away high school and middle school students’ Fourth Amendment guarantees. Part III of this Note introduces the parties and gives a picture of the circumstances surrounding the Earls case. Part III then discusses the District Court for the Western District of …

John A. Bingham And The Story Of American Liberty: The Lost Cause Meets The "Lost Clause", Michael Kent Curtis

Akron Law Review

Nations have stories too. Ours is a story about the American Revolution against monarchy and aristocracy, a revolution based on the faith that all people are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. The revolution espoused the ideal that legitimate governmental power comes only from the consent of the governed.

In the old world, kings were sovereign. In America, the sovereign was “the people.” That ideal appeared in the preamble of the Constitution—a preamble that declared (somewhat inaccurately) that the Constitution came from “we the people” and was designed to assure liberty and justice. Though we …

Dangerous Woman: Elizabeth Key's Freedom Suit - Subjecthood And Racialized Identity In Seventeenth Century Colonial Virginia, Taunya Lovell Banks

Akron Law Review

After a brief discussion of English subjecthood in seventeen century England and the American colonies I explore the legal theories advanced in Elizabeth Key’s freedom suit to determine whether the factors considered by the judging parties continue to have validity in contemporary America. I conclude that treating Elizabeth’s claim only as a challenge to slavery is problematic because seventeenth century English judges, unfamiliar with modern slavery, were uncertain about the applicable common law principles to apply. Villeinage – English serfdom – was an imperfect analogy to African slavery; and even if villeinage principles were applied to Elizabeth’s case the outcome …

Lord Mustill And The Channel Tunnel Case, William W. Park

Faculty Scholarship

Over two decades ago, in the now legendary Channel Tunnel Case, the British House of Lords (as it then was) was asked to provide judicial support for the efficient completion of a monumental construction project. The decision in that matter, penned by the late Lord Mustill, illustrates the delicate interplay between the dynamics of otherwise applicable law and the bespoke arbitration framework chosen by sophisticated parties to govern their dispute.

Contractual Construction Of Jurisdiction Agreements: Exclusive Or Non-Exclusive -Hin-Pro International Logistics Limited V Compania Sud Americana De Vapores S.A. [2015] Ewca Civ 401, Man Yip

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The English Court of Appeal’s decision in Hin-Pro International Logistics Limited v Compania Sud Americana De Vapores S.A. [2015] EWCA Civ 401 is a case of note to Singapore as it took on the complex task of construing the effect of a jurisdiction agreement contained in a standard form bill of lading.The detailed contractual analysi has many points of reflection for Singapore law, given that the Singapore Court of Appeal has recently considered a contractualconstruction approach to jurisdiction agreements.

Formalism And Distrust: Foreign Affairs Law In The Roberts Court, Harlan G. Cohen

Scholarly Works

When it comes to foreign relations, the Roberts Court has trust issues. As far as the Court is concerned, everyone — the President, Congress, the lower courts, plaintiffs — has played hard and fast with the rules, taking advantage of the Court’s functionalist approaches to foreign affairs issues. This seems to be the message of the RobertsCourt foreign affairs law jurisprudence.

The Roberts Court has been active in foreign affairs law, deciding cases on the detention and trial of enemy combatants, foreign sovereign immunity, the domestic effect of treaties, the extraterritorial reach of federal statutes, the preemption of state laws, …

Architectural Exclusion: Discrimination And Segregation Through Physical Design Of The Built Environment, Sarah B. Schindler

Faculty Publications

The built environment is characterized by man-made physical features that make it difficult for certain individuals — often poor people and people of color — to access certain places. Bridges were designed to be so low that buses could not pass under them in order to prevent people of color from accessing a public beach. Walls, fences, and highways separate historically white neighborhoods from historically black ones. Wealthy communities have declined to be served by public transit so as to make it difficult for individuals from poorer areas to access their neighborhoods. Although the law has addressed the exclusionary impacts …

Airbnb And The Housing Segment Of The Modern Sharing Economy: Are Short-Term Rental Restrictions An Unconstitutional Taking, Jamila Jefferson-Jones

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Formalism And Distrust: Foreign Affairs Law In The Roberts Court, Harlan G. Cohen

Faculty Scholarship

When it comes to foreign relations, the Roberts Court has trust issues. As far as the Court is concerned, everyone — the President, Congress, the lower courts, plaintiffs — has played hard and fast with the rules, taking advantage of the Court’s functionalist approaches to foreign affairs issues. This seems to be the message of the Roberts Court foreign affairs law jurisprudence.

The Roberts Court has been active in foreign affairs law, deciding cases on the detention and trial of enemy combatants, foreign sovereign immunity, the domestic effect of treaties, the extraterritorial reach of federal statutes, the preemption of state …

The Jury's Constitutional Judgment, Nathan Chapman

Scholarly Works

Despite the early American jury’s near-mythical role as a check on overreaching government agents, the contemporary jury’s role in constitutional adjudication remains opaque. Should the jury have the right to nullify criminal statutes on constitutional grounds? Should the jury apply constitutional doctrine in civil rights suits against government officers? Should courts of appeals defer to the jury’s application of constitutional law, or review it de novo?

This Article offers the first holistic analysis of the jury’s role in constitutional adjudication. It argues that the Constitution’s text, history, and structure strongly support the jury’s authority to apply constitutional law to the …

Correcting A False Step: Rethinking Overhead For The "Actual Expenses" Affirmative Defense To The Texas Construction Trust Fund Act, Wayne R. Barnes

Faculty Scholarship

In a typical construction project, an owner contracts with a general contractor to construct improvements or make repairs to real property. The owner agrees to pay a total contract price for the work. Often, the general contractor then contracts with subcontractors, laborers, materialmen, and other suppliers to do aspects of the job. These are part of the contractor’s costs to do the work for owner, and the expectation is that the contractor will pay his subcontractors and laborers from the money received from the owner. All too frequently, unfortunately, contractors receive the payment from the owner and then do not …

Back To Class: Lessons From The Roberts Court Class Action Jurisprudence, Bernadette Bollas Genetin

Con Law Center Articles and Publications

This symposium issue on The Class Action After a Decade of Roberts Court Decisions provides perspectives on how the class action has fared under persistent Supreme Court scrutiny. Over the past ten years, the Roberts Court has repeatedly returned to questions concerning class action litigation...This ten-year retrospective on the Roberts Court’s class action decisions provides a timely opportunity to reflect on the Supreme Court’s institutional role in construing the Federal Rules and in creating class action policy through decisions construing Rule 23...The contributors to this symposium focus on the Roberts Court class action decisions as a whole; the Roberts Court’s …

Construction Law, Frank O. Brown Jr.

Mercer Law Review

This Article focuses on noteworthy opinions issued by Georgia appellate courts between June 1, 2013 and May 31, 2014 that are relevant to the practice of construction law. Because condominium projects often result in construction-defect litigation, this Article also briefly discusses an amendment to section 44-3-106(h) of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.), part of the Georgia Condominium Act, which became effective July 1, 2014.

Summary Of Oxbow Constr. V. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct., 130 Nev. Adv. Op. 86, Erik Foley

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that (1) previously leased units become a “residence” under NRS 40.630 when their titles are later transferred to a home purchaser; (2) units previously leased prior to transfer of title to a purchaser are not considered “new” under NRS 40.615; and (3) where there is at least one “new residence” in a multiple unit building, relief is available for construction defects in the limited common areas assigned to that building.

Summary Of Barrett V. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct, 130 Nev. Adv. Op. 65, Laura Guidry

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined one issue: 1) whether a defendant subcontractor must provide NRS Chapter 40 prelitigation notice, which is statutorily followed by an opportunity to repair, prior to filing a fourth-party complaint against a supplier.

Fulton County Business Court: A Specialized Solution For The Modern Business Community, Megan K. Johnson

Georgia State University Law Review

Business courts or complex commercial divisions are growing in popularity as an effective tool to channel the most complex civil cases into one place before experienced judges with the background and training necessary to resolve the sophisticated issues often presented in those cases. According to North Carolina Business Court Judge Ben F. Tennille, one of the first judicial advocates of the business court model, the evolution of specialty business courts is a necessary response to “‘the rapidly increasing complexity, rate of change and globalization of business.’”

In 2005, Fulton County Superior Court launched a Business Case Division (“Fulton Business Court”) …