In Ali Heidari v. Golden Bear Insurance, a California appeals court recently affirmed a lower court’s decision to deny relief under a CGL policy, where the policy excluded from coverage work performed by subcontractors under...more
3/8/2023
/ Appeals ,
California ,
Construction Defects ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Litigation ,
Homeowners ,
Insurance Industry ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Property Insurance ,
Property Owners ,
Subcontractors
A federal district court in Washington recently rejected a subcontractor’s motion for reconsideration of a previously granted motion to stay in a Miller Act lawsuit (the Miller Act governs prime contractor bond requirements...more
12/8/2021
/ Appeals ,
Bonds ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Litigation ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Disputes Act ,
Contractors ,
Miller Act ,
Stays ,
Subcontractors ,
Subcontracts
It is the rare construction project that is completed without any change in the work. In most sophisticated construction projects, the contractual mechanism for managing these changes involves the issuance of a change order....more
On October 15, 2020, in EMTA Insaat Taahhut ve Ticaret A.S. v. Cosmopolitan Incorporated, a federal district court held that the federal Prompt Pay Act (PPA) (31 U.S.C. §§ 3901, et al.) does not create a private right of...more
On June 24, 2020, in Sayers Constr., LLC v. Timberline Constr., Inc., et al., a Florida District Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court’s denial of a contractor’s motion to dismiss. The contractor moved to dismiss for lack of...more
7/29/2020
/ American Arbitration Association ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Industry ,
Contractors ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Subcontractors
Liens represent one of the primary mechanisms by which contractors, subcontractors, and other downstream parties secure payment rights under a construction contract. When utilized properly, filing a lien may induce an owner...more
The Miller Act protects subcontractors from nonpayment on federal projects by requiring prime contractors to issue payment bonds. To obtain relief under the Miller Act, a subcontractor must (1) give the prime contractor...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 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
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
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
In October, a Florida jury found a general contractor liable for $45 million for the death of a motorist killed by one of the contractor’s trucks pulling out of a road construction job site. The case highlights the importance...more
11/9/2017
/ Bodily Injury ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Site ,
Construction Workers ,
Contractors ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Contractors ,
Florida ,
Public Projects ,
Safety Standards ,
Subcontractors ,
Transportation Industry ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety ,
Wrongful Death
In Florida, to perfect its right to lien a property, a subcontractor is required to submit a Notice to Owner (NTO) within 45 days of commencing its work. Among other requirements, the NTO must list the contractor’s name and...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