The big legislative news in Illinois this spring concerned the passage of a law permitting marijuana for recreational use, beginning January 1, 2020. This development overshadowed other news affecting the construction...more
Design delegation—when a construction contractor assumes responsibility for project design—can expose contractors to increased liability. In this episode, Randy Ruff and Jonathan Mraunac discuss how design delegation can...more
12/14/2018
/ Architects ,
Best Practices ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Terms ,
Contractors ,
Design-Build ,
General Contractors ,
Professional Liability Insurance ,
Risk Management ,
Subcontractors
On October 18, 2018, the Illinois Supreme Court clarified when the statute of limitations begins to run on a claim for negligent procurement of insurance by an insurance agent or broker. In American Family Mutual Insurance...more
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed Senate Bill 3052, commonly known as the retainage reform bill, on August 24, 2018. This bill was drafted and supported by the subcontractors lobby, was only lukewarmly embraced by the...more
The basic requirements for proving a change order are firmly established under Illinois law. To obtain relief for a disputed change order, a contractor must show five things:...more
There are roughly 30,000 people with medical marijuana registry identification cards in Illinois, and marijuana dispensaries are becoming a more common sight. As the popularity of this treatment continues to grow, contractors...more
Construction projects that have a mixture of union and non-union trades are becoming more prevalent. A contractor undertaking a mixed-trade project must understand that harmonizing these two groups may present challenging...more
While both relatively simple concepts, allowances and contingencies are often confused with one another. Conflating the two can lead to pitfalls. ...more
Because change orders are ubiquitous in the construction industry, they are often prepared with less scrutiny and attention to detail than is needed. Each change order is intended to be a modification to the original (prime...more
Contractors often prepare internal investigative reports concerning situations that could lead to future litigation. Like most other internal business records, internal reports are discoverable in litigation. Once disclosed...more
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is changing the way construction projects are delivered.
BIM is a process for creating and using three-dimensional electronic models to represent the physical characteristics of...more
It is common knowledge among construction litigators that in order for a contractor to recover attorneys’ fees from a subcontractor, the subcontract must specifically state that attorneys’ fees are recoverable. However, in...more
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently introduced relaxed regulations concerning the use of drones for commercial purposes. The new regulations could have a significant impact on drone usage in the construction...more
7/19/2016
/ Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Commercial Use ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Drones ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
General Contractors ,
Invasion of Privacy ,
New Regulations ,
Pilots ,
Popular ,
Registration Requirement ,
Subcontractors ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems