Columbus Ohio Building Expert Directory

With Vice President's Tie-Breaker, US Senate Approves Far-Reaching Climate Bill

August 29, 2022 — Pam McFarland & Debra K. Rubin - Engineering News-Record
With Vice President Kamala Harris casting the decisive vote, the U.S. Senate passed 51-50 an economic package on Aug. 7 that authorizes $369 billion to address climate change. The bill now moves to the U.S. House of Representatives, which is expected to pass the bill later this week, and then to the White House for President Joe Biden's signature. Reprinted courtesy of Pam McFarland, Engineering News-Record and Debra K. Rubin, Engineering News-Record Ms. McFarland may be contacted at mcfarlandp@enr.com Ms. Rubin may be contacted at rubind@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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When Is Mandatory Arbitration Not Mandatory?

August 19, 2015 — Christopher G. Hill – Construction Law Musings
I have discussed my views on mandatory mediation in construction contracts at other places here at Musings and also discussed how the contract is king here in Virginia. A recent Charlottesville, Virginia Circuit Court case combined these two concepts to allow a subcontractor to proceed straight to litigation despite various ADR provisions in the contract between it and the general contractor. In ProBuild v. DPR & Continental Casualty, the Court looked at a series of ADR steps that were to be followed in the contract between the parties in order to allow DPR, the general contractor to require arbitration as opposed to litigation. The Court considered the surety’s motion to stay the litigation against it pending arbitration between ProBuild and DPR. In ProBuild, the Court looked at a contractual provision that provided certain steps to be followed in the event of a dispute, starting with a notice of dispute, followed by negotiation, followed by mediation should the disputing party request it, and in the event that mediation was tried and failed, the disputing party or general contractor could require arbitration. The Court determined that ProBuild, the subcontractor, was the disputing party under the contract, had pursued unsuccessful formal negotiations and that neither ProBuild nor DPR requested mediation. The Court then held that because unsuccessful mediation was a prerequisite to required arbitration and because mediation was never pursued, the mandatory arbitration clause did not apply. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Christopher G. Hill, Law Office of Christopher G. Hill, PC
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

A Look at Business and Professions Code Section 7031

July 09, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Garret Murai, on his California Construction Law Blog, stated that California’s Business and Professions Code Section 7031 has often been described as draconian, harsh, and unjust—but still enforceable. The section does two things: first, it “prohibits unlicensed or improperly licensed contractors from suing to recover compensation for construction work requiring a license,” and second, it “permits property owners to sue such contractors for disgorgement of all compensation paid for such work.” According to Murai, the “strict enforcement of Section 7031” is thought to ensure “that contractors meet the minimum qualifications necessary for licensure.” Murai analyzed the case E. J. Franks Construction, Inc. v Sahota, which “carved out a limited exception to Section 7031 for contractors who form business entities and transfer their existing contractor’s license to such entities.” Read the court decision
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Counter the Rising Number of Occupational Fatalities in Construction

April 19, 2021 — Joshua Jacobsen - Construction Executive
Prior to the pandemic, the construction industry was experiencing mental and behavioral health stressors and increasing fatalities. The pandemic is contributing to these underlying conditions threatening the safety and wellbeing of the construction workforce:

Workers in construction occupations experienced 1,066 fatalities, a 6.3% increase and the highest total since 2007. Across all industries slips, trips and falls resulted in 880 deaths, a 11.3% increase from the previous year;
Increasing mental health challenges as evidenced by growing percentage of Americans starting therapy; and
Rising risk of relapse to substance use disorders and especially opioid overdoses. Deaths from unintentional overdoses of non-medical drug or alcohol use while at work climbed slightly to 313, marking the seventh straight annual increase in this category.

Reprinted courtesy of Joshua Jacobsen, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Mr. Jacobsen may be contacted at jjacobsen@holmesmurphy.com

2016 Updates to CEB’s Mechanics Liens and Retail Leasing Practice Books Now Available

November 10, 2016 — Garret Murai – California Construction Law Blog
For a number of years we have been honored to be asked by California’s Continuing Education of the Bar (“CEB”) to serve as update authors for several of their well-regarded construction and real estate practice books. Updates to two of those books were published in October and November:

The 2016 Update to the CEB’s California Mechanics Liens and Related Construction Remedies was published in October. Covering both private and public works, the practice guide details the statutory payment remedies for unpaid work, including, mechanics liens, stop payment notices and construction bonds. Wendel Rosen served as update author for Chapters 2 and 3 which covers private works projects.

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Garret Murai, Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLP

gmurai@wendel.com