When an owner requires a contractor to post a payment and performance bond, the contractor, invariably, provides a bond in the form of AIA Document A312-2010. The payment portion of the bond is primarily for the benefit of...more
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal of the case Eastern Steel Construction, Inc. v. International Fidelity Insurance Co., in which the Pennsylvania Superior Court clarified the claims that a...more
Given, well, the state of everything, private owners should seriously consider requiring the contractor to secure a performance bond (a third-party surety guaranteeing the contractor’s performance under the contractor’s...more
You’re a landowner in Utah, and fail to get a payment bond for commercial work a contractor is doing on your property, and the value of the work exceeds $50,000. To protect lien rights, contractors working on your property...more
In California, the "pay-when-paid" contract language typically found in general contractor’s subcontractor agreement may no longer be enforceable. A contract provision requiring a subcontractor to wait until the general...more
A construction project can be a breeding ground for general contractor versus subcontractor payment disputes. Whether it is payment for extra work subject to the project owner’s approval, slow pay or no pay by the project...more
Legal System - 1. Is your jurisdiction primarily a common law, civil law, customary law or theocratic law jurisdiction? Are the laws substantially derived from the laws of another jurisdiction and, if so, which? What...more
Whether you are the owner or the general contractor, dealing with mechanic’s liens filed by subcontractors or suppliers can be frustrating and, in some cases, present the very real threat of having to pay twice for work or...more
Getting paid on time is essential to running a construction business. And the bigger the job, the bigger the risk it can pose to your company. Fortunately, there are a number of tools available to help contractors,...more
Fisk Elec. Co. v. DQSI, L.L.C., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 17914 (5th Cir., June 29, 2018) - DQSI, L.L.C., (“DQSI”) a general contractor, was hired by the Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) for a pump station construction...more
Pinnacle Crushing & Constr. LLC v. Hartford Fire Ins. Co., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67965 (W.D. Wa. Apr. 23, 2018) - The Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps”), as owner, and Cherokee General Corporation (“CGC”), as prime...more
United States ex rel. Metro Mech., Inc. v. Triangle Constr. Co., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1487 (S.D. Miss. Jan. 4, 2018) - Triangle Construction Company, Inc. (“Triangle”) contracted with Mississippi Portfolio Partners III,...more
As of January 1, 2018, direct contractors in California who make or take a contract “for the erection, construction, alteration, or repair of a building, structure, or other private work” are jointly and severally liable with...more
Pritchett Controls, Inc. v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 192182, 2017 WL 5591872 (D. Md. Nov. 21, 2017) - James W. Ancel, Inc. (“JWA”) was the prime contractor on a project for the Maryland...more
United States v. Int’l Fid. Ins. Co., No. 16-0472-WS-C, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16791 (S.D. Ala. Feb. 7, 2017) - This action arose out of a payment dispute between Bay South Limited, Inc. (“Bay South”) and Stephens...more
Welcome to the winter 2016 edition of our Under Construction newsletter. We hope your year has been good to your family, your company and you as we wrap up these remaining few weeks of 2016. A recent hot topic with...more
Pennsylvania has continued to refine its mechanic’s lien law in recent years, and next year will bring the most sweeping changes ever for owners and contractors that work on larger projects....more
A recently proposed bill to reduce the retainage amount for certain public work contracts to five percent and to allow a claimant to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs from a payment bond surety that fails to timely...more
Subcontractors filing Miller Act lawsuits in the U.S. must generally do so in the federal district court where the contract from which the dispute arose was “performed and executed.” 40 USC §§ 3131-3134 However, on...more
DVBE Trucking and Construction Co., Inc. v. McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90052 (N.D. Cal. July 10, 2015) - This payment dispute case arises out of a Veterans Affairs (“VA”) construction...more
Arizona has long protected the rights of subcontractors and material suppliers to seek recovery from the payment bond surety on public bonded projects. Arizona’s Little Miller Act, A.R.S. § 34-223, provides that claimants...more
Letter from the Editor - Welcome to the summer edition of our Under Construction newsletter. In this issue, we highlight several hot topic items affecting the construction industry such as what happens when the...more
FLORIDA STATE CASES - Slavin Doctrine; Design Contracts - Under the Slavin doctrine, a subcontractor design company was not liable despite negligently designing intersection traffic lights that resulted in a fatal car...more
In a unanimous decision, the Connecticut Supreme Court has declared that a public works payment bond surety does not forfeit its substantive defenses to a bond claim by failing either to pay or deny a claim within the...more
In a recent decision, the federal appellate court encompassing nine western states and two Pacific island jurisdictions held that a California law restricting the right of non-licensed contractors to recover for unpaid...more