Kahana Feld Obtains Favorable Result in High-Exposure NY Premises Liability Case
June 15, 2026 —
Leigh Katz - Kahana FeldKahana Feld partner Leigh Katz obtained a significant victory in a recent matter involving a videotaped alleged trip and fall on the sidewalk in front of the client’s commercial residence. The plaintiff claimed he suffered a knee injury that necessitated surgery, along with other assorted injuries that prevented him from continuing high-level athletic activities. Leigh was able to demonstrate that the fall was staged and received a voluntary discontinuance with prejudice.
At mediation, Leigh emphasized that KF’s expert witness challenged the plaintiff’s claim that the fall was caused by a sidewalk height differential after reviewing the videotape footage and determining the plaintiff’s fall began before his feet made contact with the alleged defect. Based on this analysis, the expert concluded the reported height differential did not initiate the fall, which supported KF’s position that the incident depicted in the video was unrealistic and appeared staged.
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Leigh Katz, Kahana FeldMs. Katz may be contacted at
lkatz@kahanafeld.com
EPA Expands PFAS Reporting Requirements with Addition of New Chemical to Toxics Release Inventory, Published by Law360
June 08, 2026 —
Gordon Rees Scully MansukhaniThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) addition of sodium perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS-Na) to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) introduces new federal reporting requirements for businesses that manufacture, process, or use the chemical. Because reporting obligations apply retroactively to the start of the year, affected facilities must quickly evaluate their compliance and recordkeeping practices.
In a recent Law360 article, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Senior Counsel, Ayodeji Ayolola, explains why PFHxS-Na was automatically added to the TRI, how the EPA’s public reporting system works, and which businesses may be affected by the new rule. The article also touches upon key compliance considerations, including supply chain reviews, reporting thresholds for chemicals of special concern, and preparation for public disclosure requirements.
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Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
Self-Healing Infrastructure Could Pave the Road to the Future
May 05, 2026 —
Allan C. Van Vliet - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law BlogA single hairline crack in a bridge deck can seem insignificant. But left undetected, minor cracks and fissures expand, water seeps in, steel corrodes and repair costs start to increase. This risk multiplies across thousands of miles of aging highways and bridges nationwide.
As infrastructure endures increasing strain from heavier traffic, extreme weather and deferred maintenance, engineers are exploring “self-healing” systems, where streets and bridges are built with materials that can repair themselves. Concrete, asphalt and composites capable of detecting and mending microcracks autonomously are moving from laboratory research to pilot projects. But while emerging technology promises longer-lasting infrastructure, it also raises questions about long-term maintenance, performance guarantees, procurement frameworks and risk allocation.
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Allan C. Van Vliet, PillsburyMr. Van Vliet may be contacted at
allan.vanvliet@pillsburylaw.com
The Firm Turns 16!
July 20, 2026 —
Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law MusingsI have always found it appropriate that my jump to solo practice and Independence Day are so close in time. Today marks the 16th anniversary of
my first day as a solo practitioner of construction law at
The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill, PC. Time sure has flown by thanks to the great clients and friends who followed me to solo practice and whom I have met since the firm’s founding on July 1, 2010. I also could not have made the transition and had the fun and success I have enjoyed over the past 16 years without the support of the best wife and family that any construction lawyer could want.
Since the firm’s last anniversary, my youngest child (who was 7 when this journey began!) has graduated from N. C. State University with a fisheries and wildlife biology degree and is currently in Casper, Wyoming working for
Wyoming Game & Fish, my second oldest is an assistant director of admissions at
Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, and has celebrated his second wedding anniversary, and my oldest has celebrated her fifth marriage anniversary. Our home in Captiva, Florida continues its recovery from from Hurricane Ian and subsequent hurricanes.
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The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill
For Urban Walkers, a Patchy Dilemma: Who Owns the Sidewalk?
July 06, 2026 —
Linda Poon – BloombergIn 2007, New York City’s sanitation department
threatened Natalie Shea with a $300 fine for defacing public property with graffiti. Her crime: drawing a blue flower in front of her family’s Park Slope home with sidewalk chalk. She was six years old.
The incident, which made
local and
national news at the time, captures the fraught role that sidewalks often play in US cities. These patches of pavement do more than carry pedestrians to their destinations: They’re also places for commerce, social interaction and childhood play, from chalking to learning how to ride a bike. Urbanist Jane Jacobs once likened the range of activities that city sidewalks attract to an “intricate ballet.”
In the new book
Sidewalk Nation: The Life and Law of America’s Most Overlooked Resource (Harvard University Press), author Michael Pollack explores the “tangled web of state and local regulation” that governs sidewalks, with cities often passing along responsibilities for tasks like clearing snow and keeping walkways safe. He paints a portrait of the American sidewalk a disorderly and often neglected network, filled with literal and metaphorical cracks that give rise to all sorts of conflict, from mundane clashes over maintenance to more consequential fights over accessibility and inequality.
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Linda Poon, Bloomberg
Inaccurate Representations Can Lead to Differing Site Conditions Claim
May 26, 2026 —
David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal UpdatesIn the
prior posting, I discussed a case dealing with a differing site condition. In that case, the owner did not have an affirmative duty to make a representation and there was no inaccurate representation made by the owner that misled the contractor.
Well, what about when there is an inaccurate misrepresentation regarding the site? This was the circumstance in an older Florida case where a dredging contractor had a successful differing site conditions claim. See Jacksonville Port Authority v. Parkhill-Goodloe, Co., Inc., 362 So.2d 1009 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978).
The government provided inaccurate information as to the lack of rock that would be encountered during the dredging that was relied on by the dredging contractor. But the government had “
superior knowledge” that there was rock in an adjacent location based on a prior claim from a contractor, yet the government did not disclose the possibility that rock could be encountered.
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David Adelstein, Kirwin NorrisMr. Adelstein may be contacted at
dma@kirwinnorris.com
The Great Escape: Non-Invalidation Clauses and Property Damage Claims
October 20, 2026 —
Abigail Smith & Kaarthiga Manimaran - SDV FenchurchAt their core, non-invalidation clauses (“NICs”) recognise an important commercial reality: an insured cannot control everything that happens at its premises.
In the event that an insured finds itself in breach of a condition or warranty owing to events that have increased the risk of damage to its property, but which were outside its authority, knowledge or beyond its control, a NIC may prevent the insurer from avoiding the claim. For that reason, they’re an important tool in an insured’s coverage arsenal.
Although there is relatively little caselaw on NICs, their purpose was recognised in The Seashell of Lisson Grove Ltd v Aviva Insurance Ltd [2011] EWHC 1761 (Comm) (on which we wrote a previous article –
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: #26 The Good: The Seashell of Lisson Grove Ltd v Aviva)
Reprinted courtesy of
Abigail Smith, SDV Fenchurch and
Kaarthiga Manimaran, SDV Fenchurch
Ms. Smith may be contacted at abigail.smith@sdvfenchurch.uk
Ms. Manimaran may be contacted at kaarthiga.manimaran@sdvfenchurch.uk
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Rogue AI — Is Your Company Prepared?
September 28, 2026 —
Michael S. Levine - Hunton Insurance Recovery BlogThe recent wave of "rogue AI" incidents should be a wake-up call for every business leader and risk manager paying attention.
Recent accounts document a sobering reality: AI systems from multiple leading AI developers have each escaped controlled testing environments and caused real-world harm—compromising outside infrastructure, exploiting third-party vulnerabilities, and even canceling another person's reservation to help a user jump a waitlist. These aren't hypotheticals from a sci-fi movie. They happened this summer.
Read the full story...Reprinted courtesy of
Michael S. Levine, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLPMr. Levine may be conta
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