Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Not long ago, force majeure clauses were often afterthoughts in construction contracts, referring in various ways to potential, unforeseeable and uncontrollable catastrophes, each in one mind’s eye as unlikely to then happen as not. After the fact, parties attempted to shoehorn this untested defense to have it apply to a wide range of events — natural and some unnatural. Then came 2020, and with it a new opportunity to put forward a fresh spin on the traditional “force majeure” concept as COVID-19, along with the attendant governmental shutdowns and other actions, brought havoc and uncertainty to the industry. We are only beginning to scratch the surface of the effect on the construction litigation visited on us by COVID-19-related impacts. However, the pandemic and its continuing impact has reinforced the importance of planning for the unexpected — and undefined — when negotiating construction contracts, perhaps even where there is no express force majeure clause to which to point.
Continue reading by getting
started with a subscription.
By Howard B. Epstein and Theodore A. Keyes
Many businesses have sought to recover their pandemic losses under commercial property insurance policies, only to be denied coverage. A significant number of policyholders have filed lawsuits challenging these disclaimers, primarily in state courts. But to the dismay of the insureds, a growing majority of high state courts have sided with the insurers in these disputes.
Navigating the Intersections of Commercial Real Estate and Eminent Domain Actions
By Ellen Smith and Elizabeth Story
For real estate attorneys, knowing how to navigate around eminent domain actions in the midst of various transactions and operations is critical to best position clients for the future condemnation conundrum.
A Prepackaged Bankruptcy Could Be the Answer to a Mortgage Default
By Timothy Little, Scott Vetri, Julie Lee and Peter Siddiqui
This article discusses the value of prepackaged bankruptcy as an alternative route for addressing commercial mortgage defaults in high tax jurisdictions.
NJ Supreme Court: Commercial Property Owners Have a Duty to Maintain Abutting Sidewalks
By Colleen Murphy
In a 4-3 decision on June 13, the New Jersey Supreme Court reversed an Appellate Division opinion in a slip-and-fall case, concluding that all commercial landowners have a duty to maintain public sidewalks and are liable to pedestrians who are injured as a result of their negligent failure to do so.