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Anthony Guzzone, former director of global construction at Bloomberg LP, has been sentenced to 38 months in federal prison for tax evasion stemming from his role in $6 million pay-to-play bribery schemes on Bloomberg construction projects in New York City. U.S. Department of Justice officials said Guzzone failed to report as income $1.45 million in illicit payments and gifts. — Construction Dive
According to Construction Dive, Guzzone must also pay $574,005 in outstanding taxes and interest and serve three years of supervised release after he completes his prison sentence. View full entry
Erica Tishman died last year after rubble fell from 729 Seventh Ave. and struck her in the head. The building had several outstanding violations with the Department of Buildings some of which her family’s lawyers say still hadn’t been addressed when the family sued the city and building owner in August for wrongful death and negligence. — Daily News
According to Daily News, the city Law Department tried to dodge liability in a new Manhattan Supreme Court filing by saying the city streets are known to be dangerous, so people on sidewalks should be prepared for the worst. The city Law Department wrote: "Plaintiff(s) knew or should have... View full entry
In China, a media company has been ordered by the court to cough up $30,000 to a real estate developer for accusing one of their buildings of having bad feng shui, CNN reports. In the post published by Zhuhai Shengun Internet Technology, a Chinese blogger warned of the building's inauspicious... View full entry
Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas is suing its neighbor Resorts World, which is currently under construction, for copying its design. The 17-page lawsuit includes a trademark infringement and unfair competition lawsuit against the soon-to-be casino and resort. According to Wynn, the similarity in designs... View full entry
British artist Anish Kapoor has reached a settlement with the NRA for using his reflective Bean sculpture in one of their promotional videos. The ad, titled The Violence of Laws, had used images of modern architectural landmarks, such a Gehry's Disney Concert Hall, Piano's New York... View full entry
Patrik Schumacher has sued to become the sole executor of Zaha Hadid's $85 million estate, applying to remove developer Peter Palumbo, Hadid's niece Rana, and artist Brian Clarke from the late Dame's will. Upon Hadid's death, Schumacher and five of the architect's relatives were each left a... View full entry
An exhibit traveling around China is facing legal action by the artists the exhibit claims to be showcasing. According to Nikken Asian Review, a Chinese company has been putting on pop-ups since April that have been displaying forged works meant to be by contemporary Japanese artists Yayoi Kusama... View full entry
Despite having been under construction for more than 130 years, Gaudí's Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona has lacked the proper paper work. Turns out, the Unesco world heritage site, attracting more than 20 million visitors a year, has never been granted a building permit, the BBC... View full entry
A US businessman has pleaded guilty in a case involving the fraudulent winning of federal government construction contracts intended for companies run by women, ethnic minorities, former servicemen and disabled people. — Global Construction Review
Thomas Brock is accused of taking advantage of his wife, an Air Force veteran with a service-connected disability, and his friend Cory Adams, who is black, to apply for military construction projects meant for minority-owned companies. His schemes ran from 2002 to 2013, and totaled around $... View full entry
Jason and Jodi Chapnik, who live in a multi-million dollar home on Strathearn Rd., filed a lawsuit against their neighbours for remodeling a nearby property on Vesta Dr. to look “strikingly similar” to their house. — The Star
The couple sued their neighbors for $2.5 million—$1.5 million in damages, $20,000 in statutory copyright damages, $1 million in punitive damages, and a mandatory injunction on the defendant to change the design of the home. The lawsuit was filed against their neighbor Barbara Ann Kirshenblatt... View full entry
Paul J. Newman, 49, was discovered back in April to have been practicing as an architect despite lacking both a license and registration. The investigation, dubbed "Operation Vandelay Industries," found that Newman, stealing the license number of a registered architect and forging a NY State... View full entry
Over on the /r/legaladvice thread on Reddit, user StrangeHomeBuilder asked for some help with a question about intellectual property rights and architecture. Basically, the redditor’s house burnt down due to an electrical fire, which also destroyed all their personal belongings. They had bought... View full entry
It’s the all-too-common hazard that buyers of multimillion-dollar homes often overlook: Disagreements between homeowners can turn even the nicest neighborhoods into war zones. These disputes can happen anywhere, but in wealthy communities, the tendency to lawyer up quickly can ignite small sparks into all-consuming conflagrations. Collateral damage to neighbors can include legal costs, a soured neighborhood feeling and more difficulty in selling homes. — wsj.com
Related stories in the Archinect news:Don’t Like Your Neighbors’ House? Sue Them.Hearing begins for "modernist" North Carolina home threatened with demolitionCouple sues architect for allegedly copying their dream house View full entry
The Los Angeles Business Journal reports in this week's issue that the filmmaker, Steven Slomkowski, sought to get out of the project after the suicide of Mark Stahl, one of three siblings who control the property, also renowned in architecture lore as Case Study Home #22. Slomkowski sued in 2014, alleging that the surviving siblings, Bruce and Shari Stahl, got cold feet over depictions of Mark and their late father, Buck. The Stahls countersued... — LA Observed
When it's not involved in documentary-driven legal feuds, the iconic Stahl House frequently serves as a backdrop for a variety of fictional films, including Atom Egoyan's "Where The Truth Lies," and "Galaxy Quest:"For more on the intersection between architecture and cinema:"The Dessau Bauhaus"... View full entry
Renters and apartment owners must equally share the financial burden of earthquake retrofitting, the Los Angeles City Council agreed Wednesday, capping a more than year-long debate that allows the city to begin implementing the most sweeping mandatory seismic laws in the nation. [...]
Owners can pass half the retrofit costs to tenants through rent increases over a 10-year period, with a maximum increase of $38 per month.
— latimes.com
Related stories in the Archinect news:Should tenants pay for earthquake retrofitting costs?Deep Retrofits Next Market for Struggling ArchitectsNapa Quake a 'Reality Check' View full entry
