Utah's lien statute is intricate, unique, and oft amended by the legislature. And how Utah courts have interpreted the definitions and deadlines in the lien statute are frequent subjects of trial court best efforts and,...more
Construction transactions are characterized by many contracts involving multiple parties. While the terms of the parties’ individual contracts generally govern their relationships, parties should be aware that, intentionally...more
Construction relationships are usually governed by multiple contracts, such as various form AIA contracts, addenda, real estate purchase contracts, and financing agreements. Scores of different entities can be involved. A...more
Construction contracts generally provide that the loser in a construction dispute must pay the attorneys’ fees of the prevailing party. But construction contracts, by their nature, can lead to outcomes in which it is hard to...more
In the construction arena, there is a constant dialogue between owners, builders, and designers about changes to original deal terms. It’s natural and expected. And sometimes those dialogues lead to disagreements, and...more
A recent Utah Court of Appeals opinion, HKS Architects, Inc. v. MSM Enterprises Ltd. 2021 UT App. 70, puts contractors and designers on notice that they need to pay attention to receivables and excuses for non-payment. The...more
4/15/2022
/ Appeals ,
Bad Actors ,
Cause of Action Accrual ,
Contractors ,
Due Diligence ,
Fraud ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Non-Payment Clauses ,
Single-Asset Debtor ,
Summary Judgment ,
Third-Party
In a February 3, 2022 opinion by the Utah Court of Appeals, the struggle that courts have in distinguishing between employees and independent contractors continues. In Jensen Tech Services and Sentinel Insurance Company,...more
2/14/2022
/ Appeals ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Remand ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Injury
Utah courts continue to strengthen both the common law and statutory economic loss rule by limiting what duties are independent of those in a typical buyer/seller contractual relationship and thus limiting the common law...more
In December 2020, the Utah Court of Appeals found that, because a contractor’s preliminary notice contained the statutorily required information, although in unconventional order, the notice was valid.
In Zion Village...more
On October 29, 2019, the Utah Supreme Court issued a rare decision reversing the Utah Court of Appeals. At issue was whether an at-will salesperson who had completed six contracts for sale of television services, and who was...more
11/1/2019
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Express Contract Terms ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Implied Covenants ,
Reversal ,
Sales Commissions ,
Salespersons ,
UT Supreme Court
In its 55th opinion this year, the Utah Supreme Court clarified that worker’s compensation applies to an employee who is injured not only on the employer’s premises, but also on the premises of another “in such proximity and...more
The Utah Court of Appeals recently decided Camco Construction, Inc., et al. v. Utah Baseball Academy, Inc., et al., 863 Utah Adv. Rep. 58, 2018 UT App 78. The case involved the plan of Athletic Performance Institute LLC...more
9/28/2018
/ Appeals ,
Bad Faith ,
Bench Trial ,
Borrowers ,
Construction Disputes ,
Construction Project ,
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress ,
Jury Trial ,
Jury Waivers ,
Loan Agreements ,
Loans ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trial Preparation
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
6/15/2015
/ Amended Legislation ,
Appeals ,
Architects ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Defects ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Liens ,
Contractors ,
General Contractors ,
Liens ,
Little Miller Act (LMA) ,
Payment Bonds ,
Performance Bonds ,
Public Projects ,
Service of Process ,
Subcontractors ,
Subcontracts
On December 19, 2014, the Utah Supreme Court issued its opinion in Lane Myers Construction, LLC v. National City Bank, et al. 2014 UT 58 (UT 2014). In this case, a total of nine Utah jurists considered the question of whether...more