Legal

New law could beef up Boulder City recall lawsuit

A law changing the way recall petitions are handled came too late for an attempt to remove two elected officials in Boulder City, but it will strengthen a lawsuit that challenges the denial of that petition last year, supporters say. After the passage of Senate Bill 156, the Secretary of State’s office issued a memo earlier this month backtracking on an interpretation of recall law that tightened requirements.

23 June 2009
By Jean Reid Norman

On home defect legislation, lobbyists went to the wire

Terry Care: The Democratic state senator from Las Vegas, center, wrote construction defect legislation that would have nearly wiped out Chapter 40, the provision in state law that provides for homeowners to collect reasonable attorney fees in construction defect settlements.

The construction industry had just captured a huge victory, pushing legislation through the state Senate that would limit the ability of homeowners to win settlements against developers for construction defects. Builders needed only a victory in the Assembly to save themselves millions in settlements and legal fees. Their lobbyists, gathered in the hallway of the state’s 1970s-era concrete slab of a Legislative Building on April 16, were ecstatic over the Senate vote.

21 June 2009
By J. Patrick Coolican,
David McGrath Schwartz

Veteran lawyer survives ‘ordeal’ of Nevada's bar exam

Byron Francis, managing partner of Armstrong Teasdale's Nevada offices, is shown in the law library of the firm's Las Vegas office June 11. Francis is a veteran attorney and recently passed the bar exam in Nevada.

When Byron Francis first took the bar exam in Missouri in 1974 there was no such thing as a personal computer, much less a laptop.

19 June 2009
By Stephanie Tavares

Catching the potential of social networks

Catching the potential of social networks

Social networking sites once relegated to the realm of teenagers in basements have become a major tool for professionals and businesses.

19 June 2009
By Stephanie Tavares

Nevada arbitration ruling may have national implications

It’s not often that an appeal thrown out by the Nevada Supreme Court makes waves in the legal community. But when it pertains to arbitration and mediation decisions, all eyes in the business community are front and center.

19 June 2009
By Stephanie Tavares

John V. White

Invested in the community: UNLV's Boyd Law School Dean John V. White is shown in his office June 3.

Two years ago John V. White took the helm of Boyd Law School just before the biggest economic meltdown in recent memory. He has led the law school through tough seas, implementing a hiring freeze and shrinking expenses in an attempt to preserve core programs while continuing community service vital to the poor and disenfranchised.

19 June 2009
By Stephanie Tavares

Judicial selection bill advances

Nevada is one step closer to appointing all future judges after the Legislature for the second time passed a bill calling for appointment and retention election of judicial candidates.

5 June 2009
By Stephanie Tavares

Failed merger divides firm

The managing partner and a founding partner of one of the state’s largest law firms are stepping down as the firm splits over a failed merger.

29 May 2009
By Stephanie Tavares

More settlements reached in Kitec plumbing lawsuit

Attorneys in a class action plumbing defect lawsuit said they have reached tentative settlements with all but three plumbers and two builders. Of the more than 40 home builders, plumbing contractors, distributors and related parties sued after installing Kitec brand plumbing systems in the valley, only Sharp Plumbing, Classic Plumbing, Majestic Plumbing, H&H Developments Ltd. and LBM Development Co. Inc., have yet to reach settlement agreements.

22 May 2009
By Jeff Pope

Law firm splits, partners leave after failed merger

A founding partner and the managing partner of one of the state's largest law firms are stepping down as the firm splits after a failed merger.

20 May 2009
By Stephanie Tavares

Union group part of lawsuit over home prices

A union trying to organize construction workers helped put together a lawsuit accusing KB Home and Countrywide Financial of inflating home values and appraisals in Nevada and Arizona, a union spokeswoman said Saturday.

9 May 2009
By Steve Green

Law firms react to downturn

The intermountain West law firm of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck is cutting its workforce because of a nationwide drop in demand for its services.

8 May 2009
By Stephanie Tavares

Killed crane oiler’s family sues MGM Mirage, others

Dustin Tarter’s death on May 31, which at the time was the sixth in 18 months at the mammoth Strip project, sparked a one-day walkout by his fellow workers over unsafe working conditions.

6 May 2009
By Jeff German

Owner claims spa used after hours for surgery

Tracy Hurst, owner of The Medical Spa at Summerlin, claims a former employee and the employee's husband used her medical equipment, which she spent half a million dollars on, to run a cash-only side business performing cosmetic procedures on patients after hours and on Sundays.

Tracy Hurst says she was the last one to know that a clandestine after-hours cosmetic surgery business was being run out of The Medical Spa at Summerlin. And she owns the place. Hurst said she has learned that her clients were being bled off to the off-hours business.

1 May 2009
By Marshall Allen

Richmond American Homes to settle again in plumbing lawsuit

This IPEX water pipe fitting was taken from a Pulte home in Anthem. The corroded fittings can cause declining water pressure and leaks.

Richmond American Homes has reached a second settlement in a plumbing defect lawsuit in which the home builder will pay about $16 million to replumb 2,400 homes. District Court Judge Timothy Williams granted a preliminary settlement today and set a fairness hearing for June 22. Richmond American settled in March 2008 to replumb approximately 1,150 homes for more than $10.2 million. More than half of those homes have been replumbed already.

28 April 2009
By Jeff Pope
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