In one of the most significant decisions on flow control since the United States Supreme Court's landmark decision in United Haulers Ass'n v. Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority, 550 U.S. 330 (2007), the United States District Court for the Southern...
PLDO Law Blog
Month: March 2014
Preparing for Organics to Energy Technologies in Project Development
States across the country are expected to pass new laws and revisions to their solid waste policies that ban commercial organics from landfills. Massachusetts was the first and will implement a statewide ban to divert certain volumes of commercial food waste from...
The Importance of “First Impressions”
While the cliché, "You only get one chance to make a first impression," rings true in the social context, the phrase is also true in the business world where the stakes can be much higher. If you are applying for a bank loan, seeking capital from equity...
Considerations for Distressed Companies in a Down Economy
With the current state of the economy, some businesses have been more adversely affected than others. Typically, there are fewer options in financing debt for distressed companies. In his latest business advisory, PLDO Partner and business attorney Bill Miller,...
REAL ESTATE TITLE DISPUTES: THE PROCESS OF RECORDING “LIS PENDENS” IN RHODE ISLAND AND MASSACHUSETTS
If you or your business ends up in a dispute over real estate, it is likely that you will encounter a lis pendens. Lis pendens is Latin for “suit pending,” and it means just that, it is a statutorily governed legal tool that is often used to give notice on a...
HIGH STAKES: DRAFTING AND INTERPRETING PAYMENT REJECTIONS UNDER MASSACHUSETTS’ PROMPT PAY ACT
Under the Massachusetts Prompt Pay Act, which governs construction contracts, unless an owner meets the Act's "time and substance" requirements for rejecting a payment application from a contractor (ditto for subcontractors' applications to contractors), that...
RHODE ISLAND SUPREME COURT RULES THAT A PROPERTY’S FORECLOSURE WAS VALID DESPITE PLAINTIFF’S CLAIMS THAT MORTGAGE DOCUMENTS WERE “AMBIGUOUS”
BackgroundA recent case arose out of foreclosure proceedings that were instituted by Wells Fargo Bank (“Wells Fargo” or “defendant”) with respect to property located at 18 High Street in Bristol, Rhode Island. The property’s owner (“plaintiff”) secured the mortgage by...
FDA CONSIDERS RESCHEDULING MARIJUANA: A MILESTONE IN DRUG POLICY REFORM
The landscape of drug policy in the United States is poised for a significant shift as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) undertakes a reassessment of marijuana’s drug scheduling classification. The FDA is conducting a comprehensive review of marijuana’s current...
ARE NON-COMPETITION AGREEMENTS ENFORCEABLE IN RHODE ISLAND?
COURTS RULE IN FAVOR OF THE EMPLOYER’S AGREEMENT IN RECENT CASE The Rhode Island Supreme Court recently addressed the enforceability of a non-competition provision. In Walls v. Griggs & Browne Pest Control, Inc., the Court reviewed an agreement between Brian Walls...
