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What is the penalty for a pro se party retaining a “consultant” who used “artificial intelligence hallucinations” to prepare an appellate brief with fictitious case law? A Missouri Court of Appeals recently had the opportunity to answer that question. In Molly Kruse v. Jonathan R. Karlen, et al., Kruse sued her former employer for unpaid wages.  Kruse alleged she was chief creative officer for her employer from 2015 to 2019, but that the employer failed to pay her wages for 2018 and 2019. Karlen, appellant, was the owner and chief executive officer of her former employer. The trial co

Is a worksite accident that occurred during the construction of a stormwater detention vault excluded from coverage by a residential construction exclusion in a commercial general liability policy?  A Washington State court recently answered, yes. In Evanston Insurance Co. v. NW Classic Builders, LLC, Felipe Flores was injured while constructing a stormwater detention vault for a new residential subdivision in Sammimish, Washington. His employer, ARH & Associates, contracted with NW Classic Builders, the general contractor.  Flores sued NW Classic Builders for failing to provide a safe w

With tighter terms on construction loans and permanent financing, payment claims in the construction arena have increased. Noticeable during this uptick are assertions of violations of the Texas Construction Trust Fund Act. The Act is found in Chapter 162 of the Texas Property Code and creates overarching rules for all real property construction projects, with one applying specifically to residential construction over $5,000. The Construction Trust Fund Act classifies construction payments made to a contractor or subcontractor or one of their officers, directors, agents under a construction co

The Supreme Court of Texas issued two important opinions in December 2023: One of which dealing with a savings statute for the statute of limitations and another regarding the applicability of “but for” causation in adverse employment actions. Sanders, et al. v. The Boeing Company, et al. In a personal injury suit involving a couple of flight attendants for a major airline, the Supreme Court of Texas answered a certified question from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit concerning the breadth of a savings statute that tolls statutes of limitations. Lee Marvin Sanders and Matthe

On December 11, 2023, a federal jury concluded that Thomas Jefferson University and Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, Inc. (Jefferson) damaged Dr. Abraham in the amount of $15 million. Dr. Abraham was an orthopedic surgeon who formerly held clinical privileges and a faculty appointment at the hospital. The jury found that Jefferson violated Title IX when it failed to properly investigate his claims for sexual misconduct against a colleague and acted with a bias against him since the offending party was female. Dr. Abraham alleged he held a party in his home in June 2018 at which a “sexu

In late December 2023, the Federal Acquisition Rules were amended to require project labor agreements (PLA) in all federal projects with an estimated total construction cost of $35 million or more.  Will this new rule enhance or impede competition on large scale construction projects, and will it moderate or escalate labor costs?  The battle lines have been drawn, but the questions remain unanswered. Under FAR 22.503, federal agencies must require use of PLAs for contractors and subcontractors engaged in construction on the large scale projects unless an exception applies. The exceptions, wh

The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Cal/OSHA) recently adopted a new Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) aimed at protecting workers in the engineered stone industry from silicosis, a serious and sometimes fatal lung disease. The ETS stems from a February 2023 petition that urged the regulatory agency to adopt an emergency standard to protect workers in the engineered stone fabrication industry from exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS). While the ETS generally applies to all California employers, it targets employers in the engineered stone industry, an ind