The Library

As I was watching the Super Bowl last night, it occurred to me that defense matters. Just ask Peyton Manning. So, if you are a lawyer representing an owner or a general contractor who has been sued for a delay claim, then there are some ‘low-hanging fruit’ easy defenses that might apply to your case. A thorough Virginia construction lawyer should always check to see whether any of the following applies to their case: Lack of Proper Notice. The contractor or subcontractor failed to give timely notice of the delay claim as required by the contract or Virginia law. Although […]

When Congress passed amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act in 2008 (“ADAAA”), it was reacting, in part, to a series of Supreme Court decisions. One of those decisions, Toyota Motors Manufacturing, Kentucky Inc. v. Williams (2002), adopted a strict construction of the term “disability,” and ruled that a “temporary impairment” could not qualify as a disability. Many lower courts applied Toyota Motors to mean that an impairment that did not last for more than 12 months did not qualify as a “disability.” In amending the ADA, Congress made clear it was overruling Toyota Motors and made it clear that […]

This article, written by Gentry Locke Partner Todd Leeson, was published in “Virginia Human Resources Today” magazine (Winter/Spring 2004). Read the formatted PDF. Todd will also be presenting on hot topics in employment law, and on recent trends at the NLRB at Gentry Locke’s 2014 Labor & Employment Law Symposium. Employees are filing record numbers of retaliation and whistleblower claims. This short article provides some recommendations to employers to minimize their legal risks. First, here are some facts. For the fourth consecutive year, retaliation claims are the leading category of charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In […]

We thought it might be good to review some issues that could result in claims on construction projects. Knowing what indicators to look for will help contractors spot problem areas that could develop into claims if not addressed and dealt with promptly. As discussed in other posts, good record-keeping is key to proving a claim. So, when these issues come up, a contractor needs to be very diligent in recording this information in its daily logs and project documents. There are many common trends that we see that cause claims on projects. The following list sets out the causes that […]

The Daily Beast is running a Q&A with Richard Posner called “How I Write.” Judge Posner is a brilliant and prolific writer. As a person who writes for a living, I was naturally intrigued. Also, I picked up the link from U of R Professor Kevin Walsh‘s Twitter feed (@kevincwalsh). Professor Walsh has a habit of sharing fascinating arcana, like the story behind the terrifying hat that Justice Scalia wore to the inauguration. Unfortunately, except for one incredible line, the Posner article is a bit of a let-down. Here’s the line: Hilarious. Also, Judge Posner writes about 90 opinions a […]

On September 12, 2013, the Supreme Court of Virginia surprised many by ruling that a motion to dismiss (demurrer) is not the proper procedure to challenge the enforceability of a noncompete agreement when a lawsuit is filed to enforce the agreement. Instead, the Court ruled that when one argues that the restrictive covenant is overbroad on its face and unenforceable as a matter of law, the court cannot issue a ruling solely on the pleadings but it must have a factual record. In Assurance Data, Inc. v. Malyevac, a unanimous Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s decision to grant a […]

When we think about copyright infringement, most often we think about someone copying some or all of a book or article. In the construction arena, an ever-evolving and seemingly more disputed copyright issue arises in claims related to the concept and design for buildings, including high-end homes. Recently, a custom home designer/builder (we’ll refer to that as the Plaintiff Designer) sued several defendants, including a husband and wife homeowners (we’ll refer to them as the Homeowners) in federal court in Norfolk for violations of federal copyright law. The Plaintiff Designer also sued the design firm that ultimately designed a Georgian-style […]

As part of an OSHA worksite inspection, who has a right to come onto your premises other than a federal OSHA inspector? Until recently, there were two possibilities. First, if the OSHA inspector determined there was “good cause” because of unique circumstances, a non-employee such as an industrial hygienist or safety engineer with specific expertise could be brought along. Second, if the workplace was unionized, then a union representative was allowed to accompany the OSHA inspector during the walk-around inspection. No one would ever have guessed that in a non-union worksite, an outside union agent might be permitted to accompany […]

I’ve been helping a few friends prep for their first oral arguments recently. It’s been a mutually beneficial exercise, because (1) it has forced me to think about what I do to prepare and why I do it, and (2) it reassured them that, if I can do this stuff, then anyone can. Looking back on those conversations, though, I realized that I’d forgotten to give my friends one of the most useful pieces of information: What they should actually bring with them to the argument. You see, if you argue enough appeals, you will eventually suffer every conceivable embarrassment […]