Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, we wrote about the legal concept of “force majeure” clauses found in some business contracts. A force majeure clause excuses a party from performing its obligations under a contract based upon some unforeseen and serious event such as a...
PLDO Law Blog
Covid-19
Cyber Security in a COVID-19 World
A recently published article by the Harvard Law School Forum provides valuable insight to the multiple challenges being faced due to the pandemic. Although businesses have readily discussed the actions to be taken in the event of a pandemic, the scope of challenges...
A “NATURAL DISASTER” – THE PANDEMIC’S IMPACT ON CONTRACTS
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, we wrote about the legal concept of “force majeure” clauses found in some business contracts. A force majeure clause excuses a party from performing its obligations under a contract based upon some unforeseen and serious event such as a...
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...