Weekly LexisNexis Video News Update - September 22, 2010

Among the stories on this video edition of LexisNexis Legal News, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not "make" a contractor use the exact backfill material that was used for the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal Lock Replacement Project in New Orleans, nor did it "require" the contractor to select the compaction method that was employed in the project.   On Sept. 14, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed and remanded a lower court's finding that the contractor is entitled to government-contractor immunity in a case stemming from Hurricane Katrina flood damages.

Also, Maryland federal Judge J. Frederick Motz in mid-September reluctantly allowed the mayor and City Council of Baltimore a third chance to amend a lawsuit against Wells Fargo Bank.  The city contends the bank's discriminatory and predatory lending practices led to a high number of foreclosures in black neighborhoods in the city resulting in decreased home values and decreased property tax revenues.