Monthly Archives: May 2017

Mechanics’ Liens in Pennsylvania: What You Need to Know in 2017

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Mechanic's Liens on May 30, 2017.

Robert Korn, Esquire will be presenting at PBI’s Mechanics’ Liens in Pennsylvania.  Receive a refresher and get the latest updates on the Mechanics’ Lien Law. The 2007 amendments Pennsylvania’s Mechanics’ Lien Law made dramatic alterations to that law, changing, and in some cases, reversing, the balance of power among owners and claimants. But those amendments were only the beginning. If the 2007 amendments were a revolution, the ten years that followed brought an almost constant evolution of the law. In addition to the four sets of amendments the General Assembly made over that period, faced with a steady stream of mechanics’ lien cases, the courts have contributed significantly to what is a very different looking Mechanics’ Lien Law landscape. This course provides a framework for attorneys new to mechanics’ liens in Pennsylvania as well as an up-to-the-minute update on recent case law and legislation that will be valuable to even the most experienced practitioners. Find out about the latest developments in the Pennsylvania Contractor and Subcontractor Payment Act Hear the differencing perspectives on the Mechanics’ Lien Law from counsel for claimants, owners and lenders.Learn about some of the ethical considerations that apply in working with mechanics’ liens Discuss and learn the answers to the following questions: How have the courts been applying the Supreme Court’s 2014 Bricklayers decision, and how should counsel proceed in the face of what sometime appear to be inconsistent approaches by the lower courts? What have we learned in the first months of operation of the State […]

Supreme Court of the United States reaffirmed that the Federal Arbitration Act

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Arbitration/Mediation on May 30, 2017.

On May 15, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States reaffirmed that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts state laws placing agreements to arbitrate on weaker footing than other types of contracts.  In Kindred Nursing Centers L.P. v. Clark, the Supreme Court found that: “A court may invalidate an arbitration agreement based on ‘generally applicable contract defenses,’ but not on legal rules that ‘apply only to arbitration or that derive their meaning from the fact that an agreement to arbitrate is at issue.’”  A copy of the Kindred case may be found here: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/16pdf/16-32_o7jp.pdf  

2017 AIA Documents

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Construction Industry News on May 1, 2017.

The 2017 AIA Documents were released today.  Information about the new forms, and free downloadable comparisons of the 2017 and 2007 version’s text, are available here: https://www.aiacontracts.org/contract-doc-pages/67216-2017-document-release?tab=library&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWXpZeE56UTRNVEppWldNeCIsInQiOiJqUWtGb1FTSWpwellwaE40YVFZM2hISm5WbVdaVWxEZlJkS3pKUkRPSE1xMEMrbjlUQUFpbXF2RmNNb1lzbFNFMmZsUVlQODgrS2hXcWI4ZmpiUkIyUnJNeEZia2ppQ2xqaFpvNFI5RkFKN1FEaHM4SzNvRytcL05idWlTRGRtcEIifQ%3D%3D  

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