Welcome to Construction & Claims, a periodic digest of the headlines, statutory and regulatory changes and court cases involving construction news, claims, bid protests, contract administration and payment-related disputes....more
On October 19, 2023, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania held that construction equipment and unpaid rental fees are not “materials” within the definition of the Pennsylvania Mechanics’ Lien Law. In R.A. Greig Equipment...more
What could possibly go wrong when drill pipe and a delivery ticket are sent to a well location? Well … The facts - In Knight Oil Tools v. Rippy Oil Company, Knight rented drill pipe to Rippy for an Eagle Ford well....more
The recent U.K. judgment Premier Engineering (Lincoln) Ltd v MW High Tech Projects UK Ltd [2020] EWHC 2484 (TCC) provides some useful practical insights into the court’s approach to handling timesheet evidence and examining...more
In what we understand to be the first state law to do so, California’s Assembly Bill 913 (AB913), which was enrolled on September 4, 2020, amends Section 850 of the Public Utilities Code to allow electrical corporations to...more
The poet, Robert W. Service once wrote that “a promise made is a debt unpaid.” The question that remains is: Who gets to collect on that unpaid debt?...more
Lost profits, not part of unpaid contract balance, may be recoverable as consequential damages in contract claim, but cannot be included in lien. TSP Services Inc. v. National-Standard, LLC, 2019 BL 340267 (Mich. Ct. App....more
Suppliers and vendors sometimes find themselves unpleasantly surprised by the bankruptcy of a customer, leaving a trail of unpaid invoices and little hope of recovery. To make matters worse, after licking their wounds and...more
On May 23, 2016, the Fifth Circuit upheld an arbitrator’s approximate $1.45 million award in favor of McKool Smith P.C., a law firm who represented Curtis International Ltd., a Canadian electronics wholesaler, in patent...more
The saga related to CMS’ policy to deny enrollments based on a history of unpaid Medicare debts continues. We first reported on the proposed regulations and corresponding policy announcement, via Transmittal 469, expanding...more
In the June 12, 2013 Payment Matters article “Enrollment Rules Continue To Provide Expanded Bases For Enforcement,” reference was made to CMS’ publication of Transmittal 469 to the Medicare Program Integrity Manual....more
Like many other states, Connecticut has appointed itself as the official “lost and found” for all money abandoned within the state’s borders. We’re not talking about coins dropped on a sidewalk. Abandoned money can include...more
A suit on an unpaid account against your customer will likely entitle you to the principal balance plus interest and attorney fees. But a suit on an unpaid account is only as good as your customer’s ability to satisfy the...more