Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Construction Contract Clauses That May or May Not Have Your Vote – Part 3

November 23, 2016 — Garret Murai – California Construction Law Blog
Scope, time and cost provisions may be the most important clauses in your construction contract but they’re not the only ones which can impact your bottom line. The third in a multi-part series, here are some other important construction contract clauses that may determine whether you come out a winner.

Provision: Supervisory Personnel, Employees, and Authority to Bind Provisions

Typical Provision: ”At all times during performance of the Work, Subcontractor shall have at the job site a competent supervisor approved by Owner. Subcontractor’s supervisor shall be deemed a representative of Subcontractor and all communications given to Subcontractor’s supervisor shall be as binding as if such communications were given to Subcontractor. Should Contractor object to Subcontractor’s supervisor’s presence at the job site, or the presence at the job site, or the presence at the job site of any other employee or agent of Subcontractor or any employee or agent of Subcontractor of Subcontractor, Subcontractor shall cause such persons to be replaced immediately as directed by Contractor.”
What it Means: Higher-tiered parties have a legitimate interest in ensuring that only competent individuals are allowed to perform work on a project and in ensuring that there are peaceable relations at a job site. Higher-tiered parties also have an interest in ensuring that directives and agreements made and reached in the field are followed. However, it is unreasonable for higher-tiered party or to require that such personnel be able to bind that lower-tiered party to agreements best decided by others.
What You Can Do: Lower-tiered parties should seek to include language which provides that only “reasonable” changes to personnel are allowed and, as necessary, limit by category or issue the types of items on-site personnel can bind the lower-tiered party to.

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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@wendel.com

Colorado Court Holds No Coverage for Breach of Contract Claim

March 14, 2018 — Traub Lieberman Straus & Shrewsberry LLP
In its recent decision in Ctr. For Excellence in Higher Ed., Inc. v. Travelers Prop. Cas. Co. of Am., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25424 (D. Col. Feb. 16, 2018), the United States District Court for the District of Colorado had occasion to consider whether a breach of contract claim could qualify for coverage under a general liability policy. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Traub Lieberman Straus & Shrewsberry LLP

Update Your California Release Provisions to Include Amended Section 1542 Language

April 02, 2019 — Amy L. Pierce & William S. Hale, P.E. - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Blog
Most companies have been involved in a situation where they want to end their relationship with another company, or with an employee, and to permanently terminate their mutual obligations (e.g., a settlement agreement resolving end-of-project litigation). In 1992, a California Court of Appeals, in Winet v. Price, confirmed that upholding general releases is “in harmony… with a beneficial principle of contract law: that general releases can be so constructed as to be completely enforceable.” In California, agreements with a release of claims (or s general release) include what is often referred to as a California Civil Code § 1542 waiver for the purpose of ensuring that the releasing party is consciously releasing both known and unknown claims that may be later discovered. Such a waiver provision generally confirms that the Releasing Party acknowledges that it understands and waives the provisions of Section 1542, followed by the quoted text of Section 1542 (typically in all capital letters). Reprinted courtesy of Amy L. Pierce, Pillsbury and William S. Hale, Pillsbury Ms. Pierce may be contacted at amy.pierce@pillsburylaw.com Mr. Hale may be contacted at william.hale@pillsburylaw.com Read the court decision
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Capitol View-Corridor Restrictions Affect Massing of Austin’s Tallest Tower

October 17, 2023 — David M. Brown - Engineering News-Record
The stepped-back profile of a 66-story skyscraper in Austin, which will be the state capital’s tallest building when completed this fall, is a consequence of the city's height and massing limits to keep the view corridor to the capitol's dome unblocked. Reprinted courtesy of David M. Brown, Engineering News-Record ENR may be contacted at enr@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Hospital Settles Lawsuit over Construction Problems

December 04, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The Medical Arts Hospital in Lamesa, Texas has settled a lawsuit against its general contractor, roofing contractor, and two insurance companies for $3.7 million, over alleged construction problems. Ray Stephens, president of the hospital’s board said, “we got enough to fix the major problems and that was our goal in the beginning.” With the settlement, the lawsuit has been dismissed by the court. Read the court decision
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Cold Weather Causes Power Blackouts, Disruptions on Jobsites

February 22, 2021 — Autumn Cafiero Giusti - Engineering News-Record
A February cold snap in the central U.S. has created record power demand, resulting in outages from Texas to North Dakota and contractors bracing for delays and damage from weather impacts. Reprinted courtesy of Autumn Cafiero Giusti, Engineering News-Record ENR may be contacted at ENR.com@bnpmedia.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Kiewit and Two Ex-Managers Face Canada Jobsite Fatality Criminal Trial

October 12, 2020 — Scott Van Voorhis - Engineering News-Record
Canada appears set to try a rare criminal case against a major company—U.S. contractor Kiewit Corp.—for a workplace fatality stemming from a more than decade-old accident on a remote British Columbia hydroelectric project that killed a 24-year-old field employee. Reprinted courtesy of Scott Van Voorhis, Engineering News-Record ENR may be contacted at ENR.com@bnpmedia.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Does the Recording of a Mechanic’s Lien Memorandum by Itself Constitute Process? Read to Find Out

August 04, 2021 — Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law Musings
As a Virginia construction attorney representing those in the construction industry, mechanic’s liens are near and dear to my heart. The enforcement of mechanic’s lien rights in Virginia is a two-step process. The first step is the recording of a properly-timed memorandum of lien that includes all of the statutorily required information. The second step is a suit to enforce that memorandum of lien filed in Circuit Court. A recent case out of Norfolk, VA examined the first of these steps. In Central Radio Co. v. Warwick Builders, et al., and as Count III of a three-count Complaint, the Plaintiff, Central Radio Co., alleged that the Defendant, Warwick Builders, recorded a memorandum of lien that Warwick knew to be without merit and therefore committed an abuse of process. However, Warwick did not file any Circuit Court suit to enforce that lien. Central Radio Co. essentially alleged that the filing of the memorandum by itself constituted an attempt to extort payment and therefore was an abuse of process. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

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