Features

Construction Management Agreements: Pricing
This article covers the pricing of construction management agreements (CMAs), including the fee of the construction manager, general conditions costs, subcontract costs, contingency and insurance. Note: Where appropriate, we will make distinctions between "cost-plus" and guaranteed maximum price (GMP) CMAs.
Columns & Departments
Case Notes
Tenant Entitled to Relief from Failure to Timely Exercise Renewal Option Neighbor Has Standing to Seek Damages for Violation of Zoning Ordinance
Features

The Importance of 'Particulars' in Criminal Fraud Cases
This article discusses the standard for ordering a bill of particulars in the Second Circuit, drawing a comparison with the standard for civil fraud claims, and then describes a recent decision ordering a bill of particulars in the high-profile prosecution growing out of the Theranos blood-testing scandal. The decision in that case highlights the importance of seeking bills of particulars in fraud cases.
Features

A New Regime in Preference Litigation
One of the provisions of the Small Business Reorganization Act amends the language of Bankruptcy Code Section 547 — which gives trustees and debtors in possession the right to seek to recover a payment to a third party in the 90-day period prior to the commencement of a bankruptcy case as a "preference" — to add a due diligence requirement. Though the intent behind the added language seems clear, it may not have its intended effect.
Features

Legal Tech: Will the U.S. Become a Haven for International Discovery Under Section 1782?
Second and Eleventh Circuit rulings are likely to expand refuge to discovery in the U.S., even for international litigation and arbitrations that don't ordinarily include discovery rights.
Features

Neighbor Standing to Challenge SEQRA Determinations
When does an immediately adjacent neighbor have standing to challenge a SEQRA determination? In Matter of Sun-Brite Car Wash, Inc. v. Board of Zoning and Appeals, the Court of Appeals made it clear that adjacent neighbors have presumptive standing to challenge zoning determinations.
Features

Key Provisions in Film Location Agreements
Property owners granting production companies access to their properties seems like a no-brainer — who wouldn't want their property featured in that next big blockbuster movie or hit television series? However, when filming occurs on private property, a location agreement is a must, from the perspectives of both the production company and the property owner.
Features

Assignment and Consent Standards in Commercial Leases
Assignment provisions in commercial leases are heavily negotiated and very important to both landlords and tenants. This article presents a brief overview of the assignment provision in commercial leases, both office and retail.
Features

Bankruptcy Court Preliminary Injunction Held Not Appealable
A bankruptcy court's preliminary injunction was "not a final and immediately appealable order," held the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware in In re Alcor Energy, LLC.
Features

Discharge of Student Loan Debt OK'd Under Brunner Standard
In January, a Southern District of New York U.S. Bankruptcy Chief Judge entered a decision granting summary judgment to a pro se debtor, finding that he debtor had satisfied the "undue hardship" standard set forth in Section 523(a)(8) of the Bankruptcy Code, and ordering the discharge of the student loan debt of more than $220,000.
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