The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its final rule and interpretive guidance implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which became law on June 27, 2023. Employers previously relied on...more
I. Background In the case of Kirkbride v. Antero Res. Corp., the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is faced with a novel argument on the interpretation of a condition precedent within an oil and gas lease. The case comes to the...more
In President & Fellows of Harvard College v. Zurich Am. Ins. Co., the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that Harvard was not entitled to coverage under an excess claims-made and reported policy issued...more
In December 2022, Congress enacted two new federal laws that protect employees and applicants who are pregnant or postpartum: the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing...more
What are Notice Provisions in A Contract? Notice provisions are contract terms that describe the procedure parties must follow when notifying each other about important contract developments. Most contracts have a general...more
The Supreme Court of Texas recently addressed notice requirements in a construction contract. In James Construction Group, LLC v. Westlake Chemical Corporation, the court held that even though the substantial compliance...more
There is no shortage of articles addressing the key points of construction contracts. Just enter that phrase into any internet search engine and you will find plenty. It should go without saying that a construction contract...more
Estoppel and waiver are common arguments used to rebut the enforcement of time bar and notice provisions in construction contracts. However, these arguments have often seen limited success. Nevertheless, estoppel was...more
Can a valid claim notice issued, on time, referring to one contractual basis, be relied upon where a claim is ultimately pursued on a different ground? In the first authoritative case to consider this issue, the Hong Kong...more
In Dodika Ltd & Ors v United Luck Group Holdings Limited, the High Court (HC) has accepted the sellers’ argument that a notice of a tax claim under a tax covenant served on them by the buyer was invalid because it did not...more
Companies have been navigating how to adjust “standard” business contracts to mitigate the ongoing uncertainties and risks resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic for several months now. Parties should consider the following...more
Two years ago, in Severability Clauses: To Sever, Modify, or Invalidate?, I discussed how to review and negotiate severability clauses. My focus then was on customizing what many view as a boilerplate contract provision to...more
In my last post, “Real Estate Alphabet Soup: M is for Force Majeure” I continued my primer on the “alphabet soup” of real estate. This post continues to stir the “alphabet soup” with the letter “N.”...more
What is a Notice Clause? A notice clause describes the process parties must use to provide formal notice to each other. As I discussed in my previous article Read Your Concert Program Booklet and Your Boilerplate Notice...more
In another post, I discussed how an email can satisfy the signature requirements of the Statute of Frauds. Nevertheless, an email is not always sufficient. Indeed, as the plaintiff in Terry v. Vinfen recently learned,...more
Claims-made liability insurance policies typically require the policyholder to notify the insurer of a claim within a set amount of time — typically during the policy period, or within a specific period of time after the end...more
In Manastersky v. Royal Bank of Canada, 2019 ONCA 609, the Ontario Court of Appeal (“OCA”) considered the important question of whether a terminated employee is entitled to be awarded damages in lieu of a lost opportunity to...more
Construction and engineering contracts often contain provisions specifying that, within a particular time, one party (traditionally the contractor) must notify the other (the employer and/or the contract administrator) of a...more
Preparing contracts can be like using the music for a performance. Like musicians are expected to perform from memory even when it does not serve them well, contracts include boilerplate language which does not add to the...more
The Supreme Court of the State of Washington issued its opinion in Nova Contracting Inc. v. City of Olympia, Docket No. 94711-2 on September 27, 2018, which hammers home the need for contractors to review the notice...more
A recent Supreme Court of North Dakota holding is worth noting for anyone who enters into agreements containing notice periods to terminate the right or obligation to proceed under a contract. Continental Resources, Inc. v....more
Concertgoers typically receive a program as they enter the concert hall. Frequently, orchestras include several concerts in a single printed program, so the programs are small booklets, rather than just a couple of sheets of...more
As of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, state laws requiring public sector collective bargaining agreements to contain agency shop...more
Delay and disruption issues can come up in any project. This article offers an initial introduction and explains the legal requirements for both delay and disruption claims, and practical ideas....more
Notice provisions in property insurance policies typically require the insured to promptly provide notice of a loss to the insurer. Despite the plain language requiring prompt notice, some jurisdictions require that an...more