Law Brief®: David Pfeffer and Richard Schoenstein Discuss the Legal Implications of Infrastructure Collapses
An issue of great importance to all construction project parties, including design professionals and contractors, is pending before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC). In the matter of Trustees of Boston...more
The Arizona Supreme Court recently issued an opinion on the scope of the implied warranty of workmanship and habitability (the “implied warranty”) in contracts between homebuyers and builder/vendors that provides clear...more
The Texas Legislature recently passed a new law concerning owner-furnished designs for construction projects, thereby overturning more than 100 years of precedent in Texas previously holding that contractors bore the risk of...more
On September 1, 2021, Texas S.B. 219 went into effect. This new law incorporates Chapter 59 into the Texas Business and Commerce Code. In short, when a client provides plans or specifications containing design defects to a...more
The offshore wind sector continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, particularly in Europe, and increasingly in Asia and North America. The construction phase of any project is vulnerable to delay. That is particularly the...more
DAK Americas Mississippi, Inc. v. Jedson Engineering, Inc. et al, No. 1:18cv31-HSO-JCG, 2019 BL 208838 (S.D. Miss. June 6, 2019) - This dispute arose out of the design and construction of a concrete storage slab at DAK’s...more
In a recent Missouri appellate decision, the court recognized and reaffirmed the Spearin Doctrine which provides that an owner impliedly warrants the adequacy of plans and specifications it provides to a contractor. In Penzel...more
Although the federal courts have followed the Spearin doctrine since 1918, it took Missouri just shy of a century to come on board. Under U.S. v. Spearin, it was held that when a government entity includes detailed...more
I read in my Twitter feed this morning about a recent case where the Missouri Court of Appeals formally adopted the Spearin Doctrine. I immediately wondered if I could explain the Spearin Doctrine in less than 140...more
The legal doctrine of implied fitness of design warranty, recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court, provides that a contractor bound to build according to plans and specifications prepared by an owner will not be responsible for...more
LaShip, LLC v. Hayward Baker, Inc., 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 3694 (5th Cir. Mar. 1, 2017) - Beginning in 2007, LaShip, LLC (“LaShip”) undertook the construction of a large shipbuilding facility in Houma, Louisiana (the...more