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Construction and the Neighbors
California Court of Appeal Opens Doors for Construction Defect Claims Outside of the Right to Repair Act
An Idaho court has confirmed an arbitration award for a general contractor who left a project and did not return after being told by the owner to “get the f*** off my site.” The case involves the construction of five...more
All breaches are not created equal. A minor, technical breach may be deemed “immaterial.” Other breaches – so-called “material” breaches — deprive the non-breaching party of something important or essential to the purpose of...more
Last week, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed an international arbitration award in a case involving a failed hydroelectric project in Guatemala. The project involved an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction...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
A novel question arose over the past few years in residential construction law as to whether minors were subject to the contractual provisions in their parents’ purchase or construction contract. The contract typically has a...more
The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion extending application of the economic loss doctrine to certain construction claims. Among other things, the economic loss doctrine prevents a party from recovering on...more
Most state and federal courts have expressed a strong preference for parties to resolve their legal disputes via binding arbitration when there is an arbitration clause applicable to the dispute, but there are instances where...more
The British Columbia Court of Appeal recently held that a professional liability insurance policy provided potentially unlimited coverage, at least in respect of one area of coverage. In Surespan Structures Ltd. v Lloyds...more
Are the regimes of construction adjudication and insolvency incompatible? Recent Court of Appeal authority suggested that they are, but in Meadowside Building Developments Ltd (In Liquidation) v 12-18 Hill Street Management...more
Often times, both contract and tort claims co-exist in a subrogation matter and the line between the two can be blurred. This is especially true in the context of damages resulting from new home construction defect claims....more
(SC 20131) Department of Transportation v. White Oak Corporation (collateral estoppel and statutory off-sets) - In this decision, the Supreme Court concluded that the State could reduce the amount of damages it was ordered...more
McMillin Homes Constr., Inc. v. National Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 35 Cal.App.5th 1042 (2019); Fourth Appellate District Court of Appeal, Division One, Case No. D074219 (June 5, 2019). McMillin Homes Construction, Inc....more
• The Court of Appeal has held that a clause denying an extension of time to a Contractor if there is concurrent delay is enforceable and is not contrary to the so-called “prevention principle.” • The Court of Appeal...more
Fisk Elec. Co. v. DQSI, L.L.C., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 17914 (5th Cir., June 29, 2018) - DQSI, L.L.C., (“DQSI”) a general contractor, was hired by the Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) for a pump station construction...more
It's an unfortunate fact that many construction projects end in disputes, driving the parties into some form of dispute resolution. Many of these construction disputes are resolved through arbitration, which is a process...more
Ambac Assur. Corp v. Knox Hills LLC, 2018 Ky. App. Lexis 188 (June 15, 2018) - This case involves a February 1, 2007 design/build agreement governing the rights of the several parties involved with a military housing...more
Manley Architecture Grp., LLC, v. Santanello, 2018 Ohio App. LEXIS 2372 (June 7, 2018) - Dr. Steven A. Santanello (“Santanello”) contracted with Manley Architecture Group, LLC (“MAG”) to design and manage the construction...more
Sovereign immunity is the legal doctrine, dating back to the days of the British monarchy, that a sovereign or state cannot commit a legal wrong and is immune from suit: in essence, “the king can do no wrong.” ...more
Koudela v. Johnson & Johnson Custom Builders, LLC, 2017 Ohio App. Lexis 5800 (December 29, 2017) - In this case, Nicolas and Monica Koudela (the “Koudelas”) entered into a construction contract with “Johnson & Johnson...more
Tomlinson v. Douglas Knight Constr., Inc., 2017 Utah Lexis 132 (August 29, 2017) - This case arises out of the construction of a residential property. Lot 84 Deer Crossing (“Lot 84”) purchased the property and contracted...more
D.W. Wilburn, Inc. v. K. Norman Berry Assocs., No. 2015-CA-001254-MR, 2016 Ky. App. Lexis 206 (Ky. Ct. App. Dec. 22, 2016) - This case arose out of a construction project in which the Oldham County Board of Education...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has issued an important opinion that is good for contractors making claims on general liability policies, and not so good for the insurers issuing those...more