Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Terminating Notice of Commencement Without Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit

October 23, 2018 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
Prior to construction work being performed on your property, a Notice of Commencement should be recorded. Among other things, construction liens will relate back in time to an effective Notice of Commencement (meaning it has not expired). For this reason, lenders or others will want the Notice of Commencement to be terminated when the job is complete by recording in the official records a Notice of Termination of the Notice of Commencement. There is a statutory procedure to terminate a Notice of Commencement pursuant to Florida Statute 713.132. Frequently, a clerk will want the Notice of Termination of the Notice of Commencement to be accompanied with a Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit because 713.132 says, in material part:

(2) An owner has the right to rely on a contractor’s affidavit given under s. 713.06(3)(d), except with respect to lienors who have already given notice, in connection with the execution, swearing to, and recording of a notice of termination. However, the notice of termination must be accompanied by the contractor’s affidavit.

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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

Lauren Motola-Davis Honored By Providence Business News as a 2021 Leader & Achiever

August 04, 2021 — Lauren Motola-Davis - Lewis Brisbois
Providence Managing Partner Lauren Motola-Davis was recently named a 2021 Leader & Achiever by Providence Business News (PBN). Ms. Motola-Davis, along with 21 other honorees, will be recognized during an in-person ceremony on August 26 at 5:30 p.m. ET at the Aldrich Mansion in Warwick, Rhode Island. The Leaders & Achievers Award Program recognizes individuals for their notable success and strong leadership both in their fields and to the region. Honorees were chosen based on their long-standing commitment to the business community as well as a sustained demonstration of leading others, community service, and mentoring. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Lauren Motola-Davis, Lewis Brisbois
Ms. Motola-Davis may be contacted at Lauren.MotolaDavis@lewisbrisbois.com

Homebuilder Confidence Takes a Beating

October 21, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Homebuilder confidence dropped to fifty-five percent in October, the lowest percentage seen in the last four months. The score had been rising on the strength of renewed home sales. The current slump is attributed to increases in interest rates, which have made home purchases more expensive for prospective buyers, and the uncertainty of the budget struggle in Washington. John Stumpf, the chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo said that “home price appreciation remains strong and affordability remains excellent.” Mr. Strum has “guarded optimism” over the effects of the budget struggle. Read the court decision
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Hunton Insurance Head Interviewed Concerning the Benefits and Hidden Dangers of Cyber Insurance

December 04, 2018 — Michael S. Levine - Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog
The head of Hunton Andrews Kurth’s insurance practice, Walter Andrews, was interviewed earlier this week by ABC 7 (WJLA) concerning the need for cyber insurance and the benefits that it can provide to government contractors and other businesses that are impacted by a cyber event. Andrews explains the diverse spectrum of benefits that are available through cyber insurance products, but cautions that a serious lack of uniformity exists among today’s cyber insurance products, making it crucial that policyholders carefully analyze their cyber insurance to ensure it provides the scope and amount of insurance they desire. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Michael S. Levine, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Mr. Levine may be contacted at mlevine@HuntonAK.com

Construction Lien Does Not Include Late Fees Separate From Interest

December 30, 2019 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
Construction liens can include unpaid finance charges. But, what about late fees? You know, the late fees that certain vendors like to include in their contract or purchase order unrelated to finance charges. An added cost for being delinquent with your payment. Can a late fee be tacked onto the lien too? In a recent case, Fernandez v. Manning Building Supplies, Inc., 2019 WL 4655988 (Fla. 1st DCA 2019), a residential owner hired a contractor for a renovation job. The contractor entered into a contract with a material supplier. The terms of the supplier’s contract with the contractor provided that there would be a 1.5% delinquency charge for late payments and it seemed apparent that the delinquency charge was separate from finance charges. Florida Statute s. 713.06(1) provides in relevant portion:

A materialman or laborer, either of whom is not in privity with the owner, or a subcontractor or sub-subcontractor who complies with the provisions of this part and is subject to the limitations thereof, has a lien on the real property improved for any money that is owed to him or her for labor, services, or materials furnished in accordance with his or her contract and with the direct contract and for any unpaid finance charges due under the lienor’s contract.

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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris, P.A.
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

California Supreme Court Finds that When it Comes to Intentional Interference Claims, Public Works Projects are Just Different, Special Even

November 21, 2017 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
Originally published by CDJ on April 20, 2017 Earlier, we reported on a California Court of Appeals decision – Roy Allan Slurry Seal, Inc. v. American Asphalt South, Inc. – which held for the first time that a second-place bidder on a public works contract could sue a winning bidder who failed to pay its workers prevailing wages, under the business tort of intentional interference with prospective economic advantage. Fast forward nearly two years, several amicus briefs, and “one doghouse”* later and the California Supreme Court has . . . reversed. The Roy Allan Slurry Seal Case To catch you up, or rather, refresh your recollection . . . Between 2009 and 2012, American Asphalt South, Inc. was awarded 23 public works contracts totaling more than $14.6 million throughout Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and San Diego counties. Two of the losing bidders on those projects – Roy Allan Slurry Seal, Inc. and Doug Martin Contracting, Inc. – sued American in each of these counties for intentional interference with prospective economic advantage as well as under the Unfair Practices Act (“UPA”) (Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17000 et seq.) and the Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”) (Bus. & Prof. Code §17200). Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@wendel.com

Supreme Court Eliminates Judicial 'Chevron' Deference to Federal Agency Statutory Interpretations

July 31, 2024 — Jane C. Luxton - Lewis Brisbois
Washington, D.C. (July 1, 2024) – In a much-anticipated decision, on June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court issued a sweeping opinion “overrul[ing]” a 40-year old precedent that required judges to defer to federal agency interpretations of their governing statutes when those laws were ambiguous or silent. Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, et al. No. 22-451 (2024), overruling Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984). The decision means that courts will no longer give special weight to an agency’s view of the scope of its regulatory powers but must apply independent judgment in deciding “whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority.” Loper Bright, slip op. at 35. Taking pains to explain that the new ruling would not allow for reversals of cases previously decided under the Chevron doctrine, the Court left no doubt that, in the words of Justice Neil Gorsuch, “[t]oday, the Court places a tombstone on Chevron no one can miss.” Id., Gorsuch Concurring Opinion at 1. Writing for a 6-2 majority, Chief Justice Roberts forcefully condemned the Chevron-based principle that courts should defer to a federal agency’s interpretation of the scope of its legal authority, rejecting the concept that agencies have any special expertise in statutory interpretation, a field reserved to the courts, not the executive branch, under Article III of the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 551 et seq. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Jane C. Luxton, Lewis Brisbois
Ms. Luxton may be contacted at Jane.Luxton@lewisbrisbois.com

2018 Spending Plan Boosts Funding for Affordable Housing

April 11, 2018 — Emily Bias – Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
On March 23, President Trump signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, a $1.3 trillion spending package that includes a 12.5% increase in low-income housing tax credit allocations over the next four years, along with funding increases for several affordable housing programs. This is welcome news to affordable housing developers who have been facing funding gaps as a result of reductions in the corporate tax rate under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted in late 2017, which led to reduced pricing from equity investors. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Emily Bias, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Ms. Bias may be contacted at emily.bias@pillsburylaw.com

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