In Somerset Fine Home Building, Inc. v. Simplex Industries, Inc., the Appellate Division of the Second Department in New York upheld a dismissal based on the plaintiff’s breach of the parties’ forum selection clause. Somerset...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers v. John C. Grimberg Co., Inc., recently reversed an Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) decision that a federal contractor was...more
Once parties agree to arbitrate, courts generally defer to the arbitrator’s judgment regarding resolution of a dispute. The prevailing approach in many states is to not set aside an arbitration award unless the arbitrator...more
In most jurisdictions, a party may be excused from any future performance under a contract by the prior material breach of the other party. A “prior material breach” is typically defined as conduct that deprives the injured...more
Like many states, Minnesota requires subcontractors and suppliers to send pre-lien notices to owners to perfect mechanic’s lien rights. Failure to comply with the pre-lien notice statute can prove fatal to a lien enforcement...more
6/26/2020
/ Appeals ,
Construction Industry ,
Contract Terms ,
Contractors ,
Dismissals ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure to Comply ,
Homeowners ,
Mechanics Lien ,
Notice Requirements ,
Subcontractors ,
Summary Judgment ,
Suppliers
Whether an arbitration agreement is enforceable is a frequently litigated matter in construction disputes. Federal policy strongly favors arbitration. Typically, the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) will preempt any contrary...more
On May 29, 2020, in Constr. Drilling, Inc. v. Engineers Constr., Inc., the Vermont Supreme Court upheld a trial court’s judgment in favor of general contractor on an extra work payment dispute. The Supreme Court agreed with...more
On May 19, 2020, the Federal Circuit upheld summary judgment against a government contractor for failure to file a claim timely within the six-year time limit prescribed by the Contract Disputes Act (CDA). In Electric Boat...more
On May 15, 2020, in Geo-technology Associates Inc. v. Capital Station Dover, LLC, the Delaware Supreme Court dismissed an action to enforce a mechanic’s lien because the geotechnical and construction observation services...more
On May 14, 2020, in James G. Davis Constr. Corp. v. FTJ, Inc., the Virginia Supreme Court upheld a judgment on an unjust enrichment claim in favor of FTJ, a drywall supplier on a condominium project, against Davis, the...more
Like most states, Florida follows the rule that an insurer’s duty to defend is separate from and broader than its duty to indemnify for a potentially covered occurrence. Last week, in South Winds Construction Corp. v....more
On May 5, 2020, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court summary judgment ruling dismissing a residential contractor’s claims against an owner because the contractor was not properly licensed. In LFR Investments,...more
Construction claims often feature supporting testimony from design and/or scheduling experts, and exclusion of that testimony either by disqualification of the expert or a finding that the testimony is otherwise inadmissible...more
Employers long have been required to record and report work-related injuries and illnesses to OSHA. A new question in the pandemic environment is whether you have to record an employee who tests positive for COVID-19...more
On April 10, 2020, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) issued interim guidance for the enforcement of employer reporting requirements arising from COVID-19 illnesses that will remain in effect during the...more
In March, a Massachusetts federal court addressed whether a design-builder contractor could recover for breach of contract under an intended third-party beneficiary theory against a design firm hired by the project owner to...more
An Illinois appellate court recently addressed the scope of negligence liability for a slip and fall injury on a newly installed roof at the Chicago White Sox Stadium. In 2013, a maintenance employee slipped on the roof at...more
3/22/2019
/ Appeals ,
Construction Defects ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Contractors ,
Duty of Care ,
General Contractors ,
Manufacturers ,
Negligence ,
Reversal ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Summary Judgment
On January 25, 2019, a Florida appellate court certified the following question to the Florida Supreme Court...more
The Florida Arbitration Code addresses the confirmation, vacation, modification or correction, and appeal of arbitration awards in Florida. In September, a Florida District Court of Appeal addressed whether parties may expand...more
11/27/2018
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Judicial Review ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Remand ,
Subcontractors ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms ,
Vacated ,
Void Contracts
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld the application of Oregon’s anti-indemnity statute to a contractual indemnity provision requiring a sub-subcontractor’s insurer to indemnify the subcontractor for the...more
In Recurrent Energy Development Holdings, LLC v. SunEnergy1, LLC, a North Carolina Superior Court addressed a dispute between two solar developers arising out of a letter of intent/exclusivity agreement. Under the agreement,...more
7/13/2018
/ Breach of Contract ,
Cross Motions ,
Development Agreements ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Good Faith ,
Investment ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Refunds ,
Solar Energy ,
Tax Equity
If you have been involved in the construction industry for any substantial amount of time, you have likely encountered an individual or an entity on a project who appears to be completely unreasonable or irrational. You may...more
When it comes to actions arising out of damage to property by a contractor, especially in the residential real property context, Tennessee courts typically balance the cost to repair versus the diminution in value of the...more
On March 9, 2018, the Georgia Court of Appeals reaffirmed the applicability of Georgia’s contractor licensing requirements (Ga. Code, Title 43, Ch. 41) to residential and general contractors. In Baja Properties, LLC v....more
Fla. Stat. § 725.06 limits the scope of indemnification provisions in construction contracts. Specifically, the statute limits the ability of an indemnitee (e.g., owner) to require an indemnitor (e.g., contractor) to...more
2/9/2018
/ Construction Contracts ,
Construction Disputes ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Litigation ,
Construction Project ,
Florida ,
Indemnification ,
Public Improvement Projects ,
State and Local Government ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Utilities Sector ,
Utility Poles