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Revised law is new paint job for construction remedies

Originally published in the San Francisco Daily Journal - December 26, 2012. If the sudden 2008 credit crunch can be likened to an earthquake, then the following flood of mechanics lien and stop payment notice...more

Construction Newsletter -- November 2012: New California Law Reforms Disability Access Litigation

On September 19, 2012, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 1186, aiming to help California business owners guard against costly, predatory lawsuits filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and...more

Luu v. American Investments Real Estate Corporation

Final Order of the Virginia Board for Contractors Authorizing Payment of Claim

This is the Final Order of the Virginia Board of Contractors that rejected its own Summary which recommended denial of the claim and after hearing testimony, ultimately approved payment of the maximum statutory amount of...more

Special Advisory: New Mechanics Lien Act in California

In 2010, the California Legislature enacted Senate Bill ("SB") 189 to reorganize and simplify the laws governing works of improvement. The bill completely re-writes the statutes which provide for mechanics liens, stop notices...more

New Indemnity Law Protects Subcontractors

California Senate Bill 474 prohibits a contract provision requiring a subcontractor to indemnify a general contractor, construction manager, or other subcontractor for claims arising out of their "active negligence." This...more

California’s Revised Mechanics Lien Law: Changes in Rights and Obligations of Construction Lenders

California’s mechanics lien law provides various rights and remedies to persons who provide labor, service, equipment or material to real property, including the right to record a mechanics lien on the improved work for both...more

Contractual and Federal Statutory Support for an Owner’s Right to Withhold Payment for Work Performed

Owner/contractor disputes over payments for work performed can jeopardize the success of a construction project if not promptly resolved. Accordingly, a construction contract should contain carefully crafted payment...more

Changes to California Mechanics’ Lien Laws Effective July 1 – Are You Ready?

On July 1, 2012, pursuant to Senate Bill No. 189 (“SB 189”), all of California’s laws regarding mechanics’ liens, stop notices and payment bonds were revised, renumbered, supplemented and/or replaced. Although some provisions...more

Iowa's New Mechanic's Lien Law - Notices from the Secretary of State

Recently, I have had several people ask me about the notices that homeowners will receive under the new Mechanic's Lien Law applicable to residential projects. Under the new law, the Secretary of State's office will send out...more

Key Changes to California Construction Law

The most significant changes to California construction law in decades will become law on July 1, 2012. Owners, builders, developers, design professionals, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and laborers rely on...more

Construction Law Alert: Lien Waivers Sink Bond Claim

If you're not being paid, then don't provide lien waivers saying that you are. That's the clear lesson in a recent case, J.H. Larson Electrical Company v. Rochon Corporation. In J.H. Larson, the Minnesota Court of Appeals...more

Significant Changes to California's Mechanics Lien Law Coming July 1, 2012

Effective July 1, all of the existing statutes governing mechanics liens, stop notices and payment bonds in California will be repealed and replaced by updated statutes. In September 2010, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr....more

New Law Means Major Changes to Iowa's Mechanic's Lien System

On Friday, April 27, 2012, the Governor signed House File 675 into law. This new law will significantly change Iowa's mechanic's lien system and implements numerous amendments to Iowa Code Chapter 572, which governs...more

11TH Circuit Upholds $1.7 Million Jury Verdict Against Carpenters Union for Illegal Secondary Boycott Campaign Against Non-Union...

The Southeastern Carpenters Regional Council mounted a campaign against Fidelity Interior in Atlanta, GA. The union sent letters to owners and general contractors warning them of adverse consequences if they used Fidelity, a...more

Choice Deprives Public Entity of Attorneys’ Fees on Stop Notice

The California Court of Appeal clarified the law on a public entity’s right to recover attorneys’ fees in connection with its withholding of funds from a general contractor because of a stop notice filed by a subcontractor. ...more

Construction Alert: NOTICE! Pending Changes to Pennsylvania's Mechanics' Lien Law

In order to promote full disclosure and identification of subcontractors (defined as both first and second tier subcontractors) who potentially might have a lien claim on a commercial construction project in Pennsylvania,...more

Engineer: Immune or not in Sewer collapse? (Part 2) (law note)

When last we left off, the causes of the Spokane wastewater treatment disaster were revealed to be a combination of three things: 1) a blocked overflow pipe; 2) a malfunctioning monitoring system inside the digester; and 3) a...more

International Industrial Park, Inc. v. The Unites States

Opinion & Order re: Motion for Reconsideration; Attorney's Fees; Waiver of Sovereign Immunity; Fee-Shifting Provision; Contract...

A federal U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge holds that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers waived sovereign immunity and is obligated to pay attorneys’ fees to plaintiffs in a contract case by virtue of a fee-shifting provision...more

California Anti-Indemnity Statutes and Contractual Additional Insured Requirements

Contractual agreements between owners and general contractors and/or between general contractors and subcontractors routinely include “indemnity” and/or “additional insured” provisions. Indemnity provisions typically require...more

Recent Developments under Colorado's Homeowner Protection Act of 2007

Effective April 25, 2007, the Colorado General Assembly enacted the Homeowner Protection Act (HPA) "[i]n order to preserve Colorado residential property owners' legal rights and remedies." C.R.S. § 13-20-806(7)(a). The...more

The Annual Round With Utah's Mechanics' Lien Laws

Death and taxes aren't the only sure things in this life. Another event you can take to the bank is the annual tweaking and twisting of Utah's mechanics' lien laws in the legislature. It is always a dynamic process to watch,...more

What Is In A Name? It May Not Matter As Much As You Think If You Are An Individually Licensed Contractor

The Contractor's State License Law (“CSLL”), found at Business and Professions Code sections 7000 et seq., provides a comprehensive licensing scheme that requires all contractors doing business in California to possess a...more

The UK's Construction Act Gets Its First Face-Lift

The Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act (the "Act") was enacted in 1996 and came into force in May 1998. The Act was a long awaited attempt to address some of the fundamental problems facing the construction...more

Under Construction - June 2011

In This Issue: - A Letter From the Editor - The Federal Prompt Payment Act Provides Interest Penalties for Agencies and Contractors - Arizona’s Prompt Payment Law - California Prompt Payment Requirements -...more

Pennsylvania Court Digs New Ground for Excavator's Lien Claim: Firmer Foundation or Deeper Hole?

Particularly with the recent amendments to the Pennsylvania Mechanics' Lien Law of 1963 (49 P.S. § 1101–1902, the "Lien Law"), any appellate decision construing the meaning of the Lien Law and its original and amended...more