There have been 22 trenching and excavation fatalities in the first six months of 2022 compared to 15 in all of 2021. Given this alarming increase, OSHA announced the launch of an “enhanced enforcement initiative” to...more
Recently, the First Appellate District confirmed that a failure to contact Ohio Utility Protection Service (OUPS) is a breach of an excavator’s duty of care and the plaintiff was entitled to recover the amount of damages...more
In Vet4U, LLC v. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals awarded costs and attorney fees to the small business contractor that won its appeal pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA),...more
The White House will again slap tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Argentina and Brazil in an apparent reaction to “massive devaluation” of currencies in both South American nations....more
Excavations and trenches have become so commonplace on worksites that some employers and employees have developed a sense of complacency with some of the most basic requirements of excavation safety. To counter this, the...more
On May 22, 2019, the Dallas City Council passed an ordinance that places new requirements on contractors working in the public right-of-way. The ordinance seeks to address concerns of pedestrians and vehicular traffic when...more
On Monday, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality issued determinations with respect to six Duke Energy coal plants, requiring that Duke close coal combustion residual surface impoundments at the plants by...more
Dear YouDig? We are owed mid-six figures for excavation work we finished six months ago. The general contractor is playing dodgeball and claims it hasn’t been paid. We want to make a claim to get our dough. Problem, it...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA has recently released its National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavation, CPL 02-00-161 (October 1, 2018), which requires OSHA to open inspections against any contractor involved in trenching or...more
The odds of OSHA showing up at your worksite have increased for construction employers engaged in excavation and trenching. OSHA recently announced an update to its National Emphasis Program (“NEP”) to prevent trenching and...more
OSHA says it will increase enforcement with a revised National Emphasis Program (NEP) for trenching and excavation because of an increase in fatalities. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, trenching and excavation...more
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced an update to its National Emphasis Program (NEP) on preventing trenching and excavation collapses....more
Peoples Gas Sys. v. Posen Constr., Inc., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 106427 (M.D. Fla. June 26, 2018) - In 2009 Posen Construction, Inc. (“Posen”), a road construction contractor, entered into a general contractor agreement with...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (“5th Circuit”) addressed in a July 11th opinion a challenge to mitigation requirements imposed by the United States Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) as a condition for...more
The Holding - In Teufel v. Am. Family Mut. Ins. Co., 244 Ariz. 383, 419 P.3d 546 (2018), the Arizona Supreme Court recently held that a Contractual Liability Exclusion in homeowner policies did not apply to a claim for...more
Underground utilities and pipelines pose potential problems for excavators and other contractors performing work below ground. Whether your business involves the construction of buildings primarily above ground or running...more
United States of America v. Osage Wind, LLC et al., 871 F.3d 1078 2017 WL 4109940 (10th Cir. Sept. 18, 2017). Causing heartburn for project applicants developing on tribal land, the Tenth Circuit reversed the District Court...more
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf recently signed Senate Bill 242 into law, a legislative initiative designed to make significant changes to Pennsylvania’s “One Call System,” a warning system for excavators that helps them avoid...more
Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that excavation work performed by a private company when installing wind turbines constituted “mining” under the federal regulation governing mineral...more
A U.S. federal district court recently granted Peerless Insurance’s summary judgment motion, concluding that, as a matter of law, under Virginia law, a property policy insuring a building under renovation would not provide...more
Federal control over private lands would be expanded significantly under a proposed rule reportedly drafted by the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ("Corps"). Industry groups...more
In a November 16, 2012 alert, we discussed the New Hampshire Supreme Court’s November 9, 2012 decision in Town of Carroll v. Rines. That decision concluded that state law preempts certain municipal restrictions on excavation...more