Real Estate + Development Group lawyer Jerome Garciano moderated a luncheon panel discussion on “Innovative Building Methods and Modular Construction” at Robinson+Cole’s Boston office on September 10, 2019. The panel was presented by the Boston Harvard Real Estate Alumni Organization as part of its Innovation in Real Estate series. Panelists included experienced affordable housing developer Bart Mitchell, President & CEO of The Community Builders, the country's largest nonprofit developer of mixed-income housing, and Peter LaBonte, founder of Advanced Building Solutions, a startup focused on off-site construction. They addressed the rapid innovation and expanded use of off-site construction across the real estate industry among other topics. Following their remarks, Jerome led a discussion that explored the broader benefit of off-site construction in the real estate industry as well as in affordable housing.
Business Litigation Group lawyer Thomas Donlon authored the article “The DO NOTS of Oral Argument,” published in the July 2019 issue of Minority Trial Lawyer. A publication of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Litigation, the newsletter is intended to be a resource for litigation and business development strategies for lawyers from various minority groups.
The article highlighted five rules to observe for trial lawyers who are venturing into appellate courts. “There is a real ‘preaching to the choir’ aspect to much of the professional education about appellate advocacy,” Tom writes in the introduction to the article’s main points. “The judges are often talking not to trial lawyers but rather to attorneys who regularly appear in appellate courts: those who claim to be – or aspire to be – appellate ‘specialists.’ For many reasons – some economic, some procedural – the attorneys who actually end up handling appeals, however, are trial lawyers. Their focus is the drudgery of discovery and, hopefully, the elation of a courtroom victory.” To read a copy of the full article, click here.
Construction Group lawyer Ken Sherman presented the program “Contract Law Primer for Engineers” as part of the Engineering Law and Ethics Seminar in Manchester, New Hampshire on September, 5, 2019. Ken’s presentation addressed areas such as the necessary elements of a contract, understanding contract "legalese," liability-shifting contract provisions, making changes to contracts, and other related subjects. Other presentations offered during the seminar included “Professional Liability Law,” “Professional and General Liability Insurance for Engineers,” and “Handling Ethical Issues in Professional Engineering Practice.” The full-day public event was sponsored by HalfMoon Education, Inc., a nonprofit continuing education provider, and offered seven Professional Development Hour (PDH) credits for professional engineers.
The presentation focused on the new American Land Title Association (ALTA) Title Policy revisions, particularly, important changes to the loan title policies, American College of Mortgage Attorneys (ACMA) changes that did not make the cut, and notable changes to owner title policies.
The piece focuses on the Occupational Safety and Health Act’s (OSHA) fall protection standard for construction, the most cited OSHA violation in the country, which in some recent years, has accounted for more than one-third of workplace deaths. The article covers fall protection requirements, including training; recent notable citations; multi-employer worksite policy; and offers standard fall protection tips.
The panel addressed a broad range of topics, including Connecticut’s new mortgage lending laws, the latest developments in the state’s foreclosure laws, emerging industry trends, crumbling foundations, issues of concern to the Department of Banking, insights into the 2019 legislative session, and more.
Insurance + Reinsurance Group lawyer Dana M. Horton wrote the chapter “Discovery from Out of State and Foreign Nonparty Witnesses” in the recently published two-volume set A Practical Guide to Discovery and Depositions in Rhode Island. The 33-chapter manual is described as a go-to resource for experienced litigators and beginning lawyers alike for creating a discovery plan, drafting effective interrogatories and requests for production, conducting depositions, and taking on other challenges in modern-day discovery practice. Both the complete, updated 2019 guide as well as individual chapters - including downloadable, individual checklists and forms - are available for purchase here.
Insurance + Reinsurance lawyer Gene Murphy presented on “Business Interruption Issues Arising from Catastrophes” at the first annual Florida Insurance Network Symposium in Tampa, hosted by the Florida Defense Lawyers Association on August 16, 2019. The conference addressed various insurance coverage and bad faith issues, with panels consisting of attorneys, claims professionals, engineers, and forensic accountants, and had approximately 100 attendees.
Insurance + Reinsurance lawyer Gene Murphy presented on “Business Interruption Issues Arising from Catastrophes” at the first annual Florida Insurance Network Symposium in Tampa, hosted by the Florida Defense Lawyers Association on August 16, 2019. The conference, which welcomed approximately 100 attendees, addressed various insurance coverage and bad faith issues, with panels consisting of attorneys, claims professionals, engineers, and forensic accountants.
Real Estate + Development Group lawyer Michele Maresca moderated the program "Opportunity Zones: The Many Perspectives on the Land of OZ" at the 2019 New England Conference and Deal Making, which was presented by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) in Boston, MA from July 15-17, 2019. The panel discussion addressed key questions from the perspectives of a developer, real estate investor, and local municipality, including:
• What are Opportunity Zones?
• How did they come to be?
• Where are they?
• How do they work, and
• What are the issues surrounding them?
The conference provided opportunities to connect, learn and road test ideas with other professionals, gain information about the most current industry issues, and meet and make deals with colleagues and retailers doing business in the same region. Michele is part of the ICSC's State Volunteer Leadership in Connecticut and a member of the 2019 Program Planning Committee. Robinson+Cole was a member-hosted Reception sponsor.
Real Estate + Development Group lawyer Michele Maresca moderated the program "Opportunity Zones: The Many Perspectives on the Land of OZ" at the 2019 New England Conference and Deal Making, which was presented by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) in Boston, MA from July 15-17, 2019. The panel discussion addressed key questions from the perspectives of a developer, real estate investor, and local municipality, including:
The conference provided opportunities to connect, learn and road test ideas with other professionals, gain information about the most current industry issues, and meet and make deals with colleagues and retailers doing business in the same region. Michele is part of the ICSC's State Volunteer Leadership in Connecticut and a member of the 2019 Program Planning Committee. Robinson+Cole was a member-hosted Reception sponsor.
The piece examines a new dispute involving the practice of underpinning in New York, a method used by developers to reinforce and stabilize a foundation and enable it to withstand heavier weights above ground. “Despite the strict liability imposed on a developer, until recently Appellate Division precedent indicated that a statute commonly used to compel licensed access to neighboring properties could not be used to compel a neighbor’s consent to underpinning. A new dispute has prompted the Supreme Court to give a much-needed fresh, new look at the case law and relevant statutory and regulatory framework. But whether this new Supreme Court decision serves as a victory for every developer is now a new question.”
The piece covers the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) newly formalized internal drone policy for inspection activities, which is especially significant at constructions sites “where OSHA may feel the use of a drone is safer than sending inspectors into an active site or to significant heights.” The article also encourages employers to prepare an OSHA drone strategy plan before an OSHA inspector arrives and offers some concepts to consider when developing such a strategy.
Bankruptcy + Reorganizations Group lawyer Davis Wright was a panelist for the discussion "Bankruptcy Trends: Sales and Restructuring" at the 15th Annual Mid-Atlantic Bankruptcy Workshop in Hershey, Pennsylvania on August 2, 2019. Presented by the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), the moderated session focused on issues pertaining to expedited sales and plan confirmation timelines, the benefits and risks of pre-filing communications and the importance of a communication plan, bankruptcies being run for the benefit of secured creditors, and a discussion on the bankruptcy court’s ability to disband a statutorily appointed creditors’ committee. The ABI is the nation’s largest association of bankruptcy professionals, with more than 12,000 members in multi-disciplinary roles, including attorneys, bankers, judges, lenders, turnaround specialists, and accountants, among others. The organization plays a leading role in providing congressional leaders and the general public with non-partisan reporting and analysis of bankruptcy regulations, laws and trends. Robinson+Cole is a sponsor of the ABI.
Robinson+Cole's Bankruptcy + Reorganizations lawyer Mark Fink was a panelist for the "Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Litigation Update," presented as one of three parts of the Asbestos Litigation Group CLE Program at the American Association for Justice's 2019 Annual Convention in San Diego, California from July 27-30, 2019. This session provided practitioners with current events updates regarding various trusts, the role the Department of Justice is taking in mass tort bankruptcies, and the status of some notable pending bankruptcy cases, including Bestwall LLC and Imerys Talc America, Inc. - two cases in which Robinson+Cole represents the committees that have a fiduciary duty to protect the interests of those with currently manifested diseases. The two other Asbestos Litigation Group CLE sessions were "Personal Jurisdiction: Updates on Filing Asbestos Cases Nationwide" and "Asbestos-Containing Talc Use Litigation Update."
The Convention brought together accomplished trial lawyers to discuss the latest developments in trial advocacy and specialized topics. The agenda of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs was designed to help lawyers better represent their clients and keep abreast of the latest developments in their practice areas by attending Section, Litigation Group and Committee meetings, while also offering the opportunity to earn up to a year’s worth of CLE credits.
Data Privacy + Cybersecurity Team Chair Linn Freedman co-presented the program “The Myths and Realities of Cyberliability Insurance” as part of the SMB Cyber Security Series presented at the Tech Collective in Providence, Rhode Island on July 31, 2019. Businesses are struggling to evaluate the new and often complicated insurance needs that apply to their industry in regard to potential cyber-related losses. The panel discussion outlined how cyberliablity insurance works when there is a loss and provided tips based upon the panelists’ experience in this area.
The 90-minute program addressed the intricacies of cyberliability insurance in an environment of rapidly changing laws, regulations, and increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks, as well as common policy exclusions, including some exclusions that many insureds are unaware are part of their policies. It also highlighted recent cybersecurity incidents that have not been covered by insurance - when companies thought they had purchased “cyberliablity” insurance.
The piece offers insight into re-designing a product or service as an approach to avoiding patent infringement, which is “encouraged under the law as being beneficial to further innovation.”
Following strong market returns and larger-than-expected employer contributions in anticipation of future corporate rates from tax reform, many employers are finding now to be an optimal time to terminate their pension plans. This checklist provides a detailed and centralized list of the necessary requirements to be used by the various actuarial, legal, and plan administration practitioners tasked with advising an employer through the plan termination process.
The article covers the evolution of the anti-concurrent causation (ACC) clause in a typical property insurance policy. Greg then examines how the interpretation and application of the ACC clause have evolved in litigation arising from hurricanes and other natural disasters. He also offers insight on what may lie ahead as coverage lawsuits arise from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.
Construction Group lawyer Joseph Barra authored the article “Engineers Beware: The Massachusetts Prompt Pay Act Contains Hidden Pitfalls for the Uninformed (Part 2),”published in the June 2019 issue of BSCES News, a monthly publication of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section/ASCE. The Prompt Pay Act (Act) took effect on November 8, 2010. This second article addresses the proper use and application of “Pay-if-Paid” clauses; provisions negating a contract obligation that requires a contractor to continue working when an approved payment is more than 30 days late; and contract clauses that improperly restrict a contractor’s ability to trigger a contract’s dispute clause. Joe summarizes the Act’s impact on current practices and makes clear that project participants must understand how the Act renders unenforceable certain contract provisions and common methods of practice. To read the article in the full edition of the BSCES News, click here.
Bankruptcy + Reorganizations Group lawyer Steve Boyajian was among the panelists speaking during the Consumer Forum Session, "Practice Pointers: When Bankruptcy and Consumer Protection Statutes Collide," presented as part of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s “2019 Northeast Bankruptcy Conference & Northeast Consumer Forum” in Newport, Rhode Island July 11-13, 2019. The same circumstances that can lead debtors to bankruptcy often give rise to claims under various consumer-protection statutes. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s mortgage-servicing rules, and similar consumer-protection rules and statutes can have substantial impacts on the creditor/debtor relationship.
The session offered an understanding of how consumer-protection statutes intersect with bankruptcy and the challenges and opportunities that clients might face – whether businesses or consumer debtors, creditors, or estate fiduciaries - when bankruptcy and consumer-protection laws meet. The panelists, including a U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge and a representative from the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, discussed practical implications of the common intersection of consumer-protection statutes and bankruptcy. Robinson+Cole was a Benefactor-level sponsor of the Conference.
Patrick also wrote the paper "Reawakening Section 1334: Resolving the Conflict Between Bankruptcy and Arbitration Through an Abstention Analysis" for the Conference. To read the paper, click here.
This article refreshes the recollection regarding the extraterritorial application of federal statutory law and the presumption against extraterritoriality. Using the Second Circuit’s extraterritoriality decision as the framework, the article re-examines the applicability of the presumption against extraterritoriality in the context of avoidance proceedings commenced under the Code. To read the article, click here.
The panel explored such topics as zero coupon bonds; repudiation of cash; subordination of debt; right of first refusal; waivers and releases; designation of contracts and “no shop” clauses, with a focus on protecting avoidance actions and the omnipresent issues surrounding the value associated with releases.
Linn’s presentation highlighted the fact that tax professionals are prime targets for cybercrime because they have valuable client information, including detailed personal and financial information such as bank and investment accounts, Social Security numbers, W-2s and tax returns. She emphasized the critical importance of security measures and cyber hygiene to minimize a tax professional’s business against a cyber attack.
Linn’s presentation focused on a number of key issues for tax professionals to address, including:
The practice note describes how to structure financing transactions for healthcare providers to overcome anti-assignment and collection limitations on Medicare and Medicaid receivables. To view the article, click here. It also will be published in the Fall 2019 quarterly print edition of "The Lexis Practice Advisor Journal."
The panel addressed the predominant sources and routes of PFAS exposure associated with adults and children in the general public, communities in close proximity to production areas, and occupational populations, where inhalation may be the primary driver. Methodologies to derive inhalation-based toxicity criteria to allow for screening level assessment were presented.