Many of you have seen the devastation on the news about families all over Middle Tennesse who have displaced from their homes. Two of the groups that have received little to no attention in the media are the homeless and lower income populations throughout Nashville. Tent City has been destroyed and these people have lost
Tennessee
Hike in Building and Permit Fees in Nashville: Is It Really Necessary?
Today’s post is by Craig Mangum, a fellow construction attorney with Smith Cashion & Orr. Craig has an undergraduate degree from Boston College and a law degree from Florida State. He also worked with the Construction Industry Licensing Board at the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
A bill to raise the building and …
AGC “Rocks” Tennessee Capitol Hill on Construction-Related Bills
I wonder who that sad little scrap of paper is? Do you know? Oh, yeah, he’s just a bill … he’s just a bill on capitol hill.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=H-eYBZFEzf8%26hl%3Den_US%26fs%3D1%26rel%3D0%26color1%3D0xe1600f%26color2%3D0xfebd01%26border%3D1
You knew that Nashville was the Music City, right? Reminiscent of the "Schoolhouse Rocks" days, last night I attended the kick off dinner for the AGC of …
Cost Overruns on the Nashville Convention Center? “There Aren’t Going to Be Any”
As you may know, the Nashville Metro Council recently passed the $585 million financing package for construction of the new Music City Convention Center. As reported by the Tennessean this morning, discussions have now turned to project management and how to control the costs.
When asked about what areas would incur the most cost…
Greenest City in the South: Panel Addresses Whether Nashville Can Get There
When Nashville Mayor Karl Dean created the Green Ribbon Committee on Environmental Sustainability, he had lofty goals of making Nashville the greenest city in the Southeast. Indeed, Tennessee’s Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey shared a similar commitment to be a green "LEEDer" in the South.
Fast forward to January 2010 … Where are we on…
Sometimes It Is Too Late to Withdraw Condemnation Proceedings
Is it too late to discuss a case from 2009? Nah. Especially if the court released the opinion within the past two months. And according to the decision in Shelby County v. Crews (pdf), there are times when it may be too late to withdraw a condemnation petition. That line in the sand appears to be the date after…
TN Legislative Update: New Workers’ Comp Law Affecting Construction Industry Goes Into Effect January 1, 2010
Back in November, I wrote about a Tennessee Attorney General Opinion that addressed the new workers’ compensation law in Tennessee that requires sole proprietors to carry workers’ compensation insurance on themselves. (Traditionally, there was an exclusion for sole proprietors.) Just after release of the AG-Opinion, the leadership in the state house and senate came to an agreement to…
Tennessee Consumer Protection Act Case Gives Warning to Developers, Builders and Realtors
Every construction litigator in the residential arena knows that a state’s consumer protection laws are good grounds for disputes. Will my client get treble damages? Will they recover attorney fees for deceptive trade practices? Does my client have any defenses to these types of claims?
In Fayne v. Vincent (pdf), the Supreme Court of Tennessee…
Watch Out Kids: There is a New Exception to the Tennessee Hearsay Rules
I recently read in the Nashville Bar Journal about a new change to the hearsay rules. This is what immediately came to mind. On any given day, I receive a call from my lovely wife about one of my five children who has been put on the witness stand for interrogation by my wife. The defendant…
Tennessee State High School Mock Trial Competition Involves Defective Construction Dispute
As reported by the Tennessee Bar Association, the 2010 Tennessee State High School Mock Trial Competition got underway yesterday with the release and publication of the mock problem. The case involves a dispute over the design and construction of a 400,000 square foot distribution center featuring a concrete slab-on-grade floor. The primary issue in…