Legal News from Jim Dixon

The boom in drilling activity in the Utica and Marcellus Shale formations has presented innumerable opportunities for local businesses, laborers, and landowners. This month's feature includes a link to an article addressing the key terms that landowners must understand when negotiating oil and gas leases.

Other highlights of this month's newsletter include:

Links to the new contract documents used as a result of Construction Reform in Ohio;

An introduction to a new tech-related advance in project delivery;

An introduction to the Federal Venue Clarification Act of 2011; and,

An introduction to a new newsletter from Frantz Ward that focusses on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

And, for my work in construction litigation, I have joined the long list of Frantz Ward's attorneys recognized by Super Lawyers magazine, the digital edition of which is available here.

As always, you will find links to newsworthy events and to appearances and publications by my colleagues.

Thank you for taking the time to review this newsletter.

Jim Dixon

216-515-1642

jdixon@frantzward.com

Oil and Gas Leases Present Pitfalls for Landowners

While fracking has been blamed for a Youngstown-area earthquake (the response to which is a short-term moratorium on waste disposal in a particular well), it has also had a seismic impact on the Northeast Ohio economy. Fracking and related processes have lead to a boom for some local businesses, including suppliers of a special sand like R.W. Sidley, Inc.The associated land grab has impacted landowners, particularly farmers, who have felt the impact of increased demand for drilling rights. As reported in The New York Times, unwary landowners can make critical mistakes when negotiating leases. Our transactional lawyers have taken a thorough look at the issue and identified several key terms that landowners must address in their leases. Review this client alert to learn more about those key terms and the related dynamics.

Construction Reform is Here

January will usher in the changes brought by what is generally called Ohio Construction Reform. Public entities are no longer bound by the design-bid-build multiple-prime delivery system, so the state is now embarking on a new era of contracting. Turn to this link to follow the progress of the changes, including to review the new contract forms, which are now finalized.

COBie to Join BIM as the Next Tech Advance in Construction Project Delivery

Construction Operations Building Information Exchange, or COBie, is a software system that facilitates a great advance in the delivery of project close-out documentation. As detailed in this article from a program of the National Institute of Building Sciences, the system allows project participants to input warranty and operations information relating to building systems and components during both the design and construction phases. This sets the stage for a simple and efficient turn-over once the project is complete.

News In Brief

According to data gathered by AGC of America, Ohio and some other states added construction jobs from November 2010 to November 2011.

Did you catch the article in The New York Times about the development boom in University Circle? Or the related article about the funding made available to RTA to reposition a station closer to the action and to Little Italy?

Companies doing business in other countries should assess their exposure to liability under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Frantz Ward is now producing a regular newsletter to provide assistance on this important issue.

On December 7, President Obama signed the Venue Clarification Act of 2011 into law, providing important changes and clarifications to issues relating to removal generally, removal of cases involving a federal question, and more. Review this client alert to learn more.

Frantz Ward in Person and in the Media

Here are this month's publications and upcoming speaking engagements from me and my colleagues, who do a lot of writing and public speaking in order to keep businesses updated on legal developments.

This month in the Ohio Environmental Law Blog, Joe Koncelik discusses environmental issues relating to oil and gas leases.

In the Labor & Employment Law Navigator, Rebecca Bennett and Keith Ashmus had a busy December, publishing articles about the ADA, jury duty, Medicare, and the NLRB. Keith, who "leads the league" when it comes to quotability, also published an article in The Washington Post about the PPACA and provided input on postal cutbacks in an article posted by Federal News Radio.

If you have not had a chance to see my entertaining discussion of Ohio public project lien law (spoiler: it involves a pop quiz and a cheat sheet), stay tuned, because you'll have another chance in April 2012.

Disclaimer

This document is intended to provide general information about legal developments, not legal advice. Receipt of this information does not create an attorney-client relationship.