Category Archives: Recent Cases

Texas Central Wins Authority to Take Land for High-Speed Rail System

By Barclay Nicholson and Erica Gibbons on September 27, 2022 Posted in Recent Cases

Move over luxury bus lines and quick flights. Central Texans should be on the lookout for bulldozers and train stops. On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of Texas held that Texas Central Railroad & Infrastructure, Inc. and related entities (collectively “Texas Central”) have eminent domain authority to acquire property for a proposed high-speed rail … Continue Reading

Scabby Survives Another Trip to the NLRB: Board Reaffirms Rat-and-Banner Displays Targeting Neutral Businesses Are Permissible

By John Bolesta, Keahn Morris and Myles Moran* on July 29, 2021 Posted in Other, Recent Cases

On July 21, 2021, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) issued a 3-1 decision affirming its precedent that displaying banners and a large inflatable rat (“Scabby the Rat”) near neutral employers does not violate the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA” or “the Act”). This decision may come as a disappointment to many … Continue Reading

Build Me A Building As Fast As You Can

By Jodi Stein and Jennifer Dickson* on March 9, 2021 Posted in Recent Cases

Not your average game of patty-cake! Earlier this week, New York’s First Department, Appellate Division issued its decision related to 200 Amsterdam,[1] overturning the lower court’s decision which would have required 200 Amsterdam to remove several floors of its building in order to comply with zoning. The lower court determined that the NYC Zoning Resolution … Continue Reading

Landmark Contractor Licensing Case Limits Disgorgement Remedy in California

By Candace Matson on September 29, 2020 Posted in Arbitration and Mediation, Construction Claims and Litigation, Design and Construction Defects, Infrastructure, Licensing, Public Works, Recent Cases

Contractors performing work in California are required to be licensed by the California State License Board (“CSLB”). Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §7065. Except for sole proprietors, contractors are typically licensed through “qualifiers,” i.e., officers or employees who take a licensing exam and meet other requirements to become licensed on behalf of the contractor’s company. … Continue Reading

It’s All a Matter of [Statutory] Construction: Supreme Court Narrowly Interprets the Good Faith Dispute Exception to Prompt Payment Requirements in United Riggers & Erectors, Inc. v. Coast Iron & Steel Co.

By Erinn Contreras and Joy O. Siu on May 16, 2018 Posted in Construction Claims and Litigation, Recent Cases

On May 14, 2018, the California Supreme Court issued its opinion in United Riggers & Erectors, Inc. v. Coast Iron & Steel Co., No. S231549, slip. op. (Cal. Sup. Ct. May 14, 2018). In it, the Court narrowly construed the “good faith” exception to the general rule that a direct contractor must make retention payments … Continue Reading

“Good Faith” May Not Be Good Enough: California Supreme Court to Decide When General Contractors Can Withhold Retention

By Erinn Contreras and Joy O. Siu on March 7, 2018 Posted in Construction Claims and Litigation, Recent Cases

It is industry standard in California for owners of a construction project to make monthly payments to a contractor for work it has completed, less a certain percentage that is withheld as a guarantee of future satisfactory performance. This withholding is called a retention. Contractors generally pass these withholdings on to their subcontractors via a … Continue Reading

Picerne Construction Corp. v. Castellino Villas (Feb. 18, 2016, C071197)

By Joy O. Siu on January 23, 2017 Posted in Recent Cases

The Third District Court of Appeal recently held that completion under the mechanics lien statute requires actual completion of the work of improvement, meaning completion of the entire structure or scheme of improvement as a whole, in Picerne Construction Corp. v. Castellino Villas (Feb. 18, 2016, C071197).* In doing so, the Court resolved an ambiguity … Continue Reading