Under Minnesota law, a contractor may collect reasonable attorneys’ fees in a mechanics’ lien foreclosure action even if the property is a homestead. The amount of the award is in the discretion of the court. That is not the case in every state as recently illustrated in Iowa.
Historically, Iowa has liberally construed its mechanics’
On Tuesday, February 11, 2020, the Minnesota Legislature returned to the Capitol for the start of the 2020 legislative session. Having passed a biennial state budget in 2019, this year’s “short session” will run until May 18, 2020. With the only politically divided state legislature in the nation and all 201 legislators on the ballot
Larkin Hoffman recently hosted a forum on energy storage by Clean Energy Economy MN, a group that provides a strong and unified voice for clean energy businesses in Minnesota. The event helped explain some of the barriers and opportunities to greater adoption of energy storage in Minnesota. In this piece, guest blogger Amelia Cerling
A statute of repose defines the date by which a particular type of claim must be asserted before it becomes untimely, or “stale,” and can no longer be pursued. This provides designers and builders of construction projects some security that, after a certain date, they cannot be hauled into court to answer for their alleged
The development community has long maintained that the practice of cities exacting transportation fees or charges from developers as a condition of development approval is illegal, but the issue had not been directly and fully addressed by the courts until the Minnesota Supreme Court handed down its decision in Harstad v. City of Woodbury in
Whether a business’s employees are represented by a union or not, all builders should be concerned about the pending Protecting the Right to Organize Act (“PRO Act”) being considered by Congress. If enacted, the PRO Act will alter fundamental principles of labor law and significantly prejudice the rights of employers. Supporters of the PRO Act
The Minnesota Legislature passed sweeping new amendments to statutes which create criminal penalties for the failure to pay wages and impose requirements for employers (including contractors) to document the terms of employment with their employees. The new amendments took effect July 1, 2019. Then, on August 8, Minneapolis passed an ordinance, essentially piggybacking on the
One of the most consequential decisions of the recently concluded term of the U.S. Supreme Court involves the reversal of a 30-year precedent and reinstatement of a landowner’s right to seek redress in federal court for an alleged taking of property without just compensation. The 5-4 majority decision in Knick v. Township of Scott, PA
Last week the City of Bloomington adopted an expansive “inclusionary zoning” ordinance for the purpose of compelling developers of single and multifamily housing to include a portion of their new housing as affordable based on prescribed income standards. “Inclusionary zoning” refers to a policy that compels developers to include some land use component desired by
Real estate investors across the country are asking how to tap tax benefits for investing in projects in low-income areas, known as “Opportunity Zones” under an obscure provision of the 2017 Tax Act. They may not have to wait much longer – the federal government just released guidance for comment.
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