Time is of the Essence, Even When the Contract Doesn’t Say So
January 11, 2021 —
Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law MusingsWelcome to 2021! As often happens here at Construction Law Musings, the year starts with a few posts on notable construction law cases that dropped in the past year or so. Not only does this review hopefully help you keep up, but helps me keep up with the latest developments (one of the reasons why I keep blogging).
The first of these cases is Appalachian Power Co. v. Wagman Heavy Civil, Inc. out of the Western District of Virginia federal court. In this case, Wagman Heavy Civil, Inc. (“Wagman”) and the Virginia Department of Transportation (“VDOT”) contracted for the design and construction of a highway interchange project (the “Project”). Wagman and the Appalachian Power Company (“APCO”) entered into a written contract (the “Written Contract”) for APCO to remove and relocate its utility structures (the “Work”) in order to facilitate construction for the Project.
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The Law Office of Christopher G. HillMr. Hill may be contacted at
chrisghill@constructionlawva.com
Obama Says Keystone Decision May Be Announced in Weeks or Months
March 05, 2015 —
Justin Sink – Bloomberg(Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama said a decision on whether to approve the Keystone XL pipeline is possible in weeks or months.
The president told Reuters in an interview Monday that the decision definitely “will happen before the end of my administration.” Asked to be specific, he said, “Weeks or months.”
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Justin Sink, BloombergMr. Sink may be contacted at
jsink1@bloomberg.net
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up (11/02/22) – Flexible Workspaces, Sustainable Infrastructure, & Construction Tech
November 15, 2022 —
Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law BlogThis week’s round-up dives into digital transformation in the construction industry, renewed interest in flexible workspaces, and how the infrastructure sector can become more resilient and sustainable, both economically and environmentally.
- Digital transformation in the construction industry is top of mind for many firms, but most are still in the beginning and intermediate phases of implementing new digital capabilities. (Ursula Cullen, PBC Today)
- Companies could mitigate climate hazards and build resilience into the life cycle of their infrastructure and capital projects by facilitating a comprehensive approach to understanding risk. (Brodie Boland and Daphne Luchtenberg, McKinsey & Company)
- The use of drones in project planning, as well as the incorporation of other technology, is proposed as an alternative solution to addressing the construction industry’s labor shortage. (Shaun Passley, For Construction Pros)
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Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team
Be Careful When Walking Off of a Construction Project
November 24, 2019 —
Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law MusingsI am truly grateful that my buddy Craig Martin (@craigmartin_jd) continues his great posts over at The Construction Contractor Advisor blog. He is always a good cure for writer’s block and once again this week he gave me some inspiration. In his most recent post, Craig discusses a recent Indiana case relating to the ever present issue of termination by a subcontractor for non-payment. In the Indiana case, the court looked at the payment terms and determined that the subcontractor was justified in walking from the project when it was not paid after 60 days per the contract.
This result was the correct, if surprising. Why do I say surprising? Because I am always reluctant to recommend that a subcontractor walk from a job for non payment if it is possible to continue. This is not so much for legal reasons (not paying a sub is a clear breach of contract by a general contractor) but practical ones. The practical effect of walking from the job is that the subcontractor is put on the defensive. Instead of arguing later that it performed but was not paid, that subcontractor is put in the position of arguing that the general contractor cannot collect its completion related and other damages because it breached first. This is a more intuitively difficult argument and one that is not as strong as the first.
Of course, all of this is contingent on the language in your contract (is there a “pay if paid” or language like that in the Indiana case?).
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The Law Office of Christopher G. HillMr. Hill may be contacted at
chrisghill@constructionlawva.com
Colorado’s Need for Condos May Spark Construction Defect Law Reform
January 29, 2014 —
Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFFOn January 6th, Ed Sealover of the Denver Business Journal reported that Denver Mayor Michael Hancock has asked Colorado legislators “to pass a reform law that will make it easier to build condos without fear of getting sued.” Hancock is one of several mayors “to advocate for a construction defects reform proposal that was killed by Democrats in a committee last year.”
The problem, Sealover notes, is that only “2 percent of new housing in the state is multifamily units made for ownership—far lower than the 20 to 25 percent of such housing stock in other states represented by condos.”
There is some dissent as to whether reforming construction defect laws is the solution to the housing problem: “Taking away rights of homeowners to get shoddy construction fixed in what is likely the most expensive purchase in their life is not the way to fix the lack of affordable housing,” Lynea Hansen, spokeswoman for a group of construction defect homeowners told Sealover.
Furthermore, on January 7th, Sealover reported that Democrats “expressed skepticism” about a need to reform the laws, saying “they need more data on what is causing owner-occupied multifamily housing to be such a small part of the new housing market.” Moreover, Senate President-elect Morgan Carroll stated that she “wants to look into issues like why it is so hard to get insurance for building condominiums or examine why some areas of Colorado are seeing condo development and others aren’t.”
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Car Crashes Through Restaurant Window. Result: Lesson in the History of Additional Insured Coverage
December 29, 2020 —
Randy J. Maniloff - White and Williams LLPBack in the day, additional insureds were oftentimes afforded coverage for liability “arising out of” the named insured’s work for the additional insured. When confronted with such language, courts often concluded that it dictated “but for” causation. In other words, but for the named insured doing the work for the additional insured, the additional insured would not be in the liability-facing situation that it is in. The result in some cases: additional insureds were entitled to coverage for their sole negligence. Decisions reaching such a conclusion were generally not well-received by insurers. This was especially so when you consider that the premium received by insurers, for the AI coverage, may not have been enough to buy a package of Twizzlers.
Insurer frustration with such decisions -- which insurers did not believe expressed the intent of additional insured coverage -- led ISO to make revisions to additional insured forms in 2004 (later revisions followed). At the heart of these revisions was an attempt to require fault on the part of the named insured before coverage could be afforded to the additional insured. (This is a very brief and simple history of this complex issue.)
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Randy J. Maniloff, White and Williams LLPMr. Maniloff may be contacted at
maniloffr@whiteandwilliams.com
Nicholas A. Thede Joins Ball Janik LLP
October 02, 2015 —
Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFFAs of September 1st, Nicholas A. Thede, an insurance recovery litigator, joined Ball Janik LLP’s Insurance Recovery, Construction Defect, and Litigation practices. According to the release, Mr. Thede “has advised clients in a wide variety of insurance disputes, including claims arising under general liability, professional liability, directors and officers, employee dishonesty, homeowners, and automotive insurance policies. Thede has successfully represented clients in trials, arbitrations, and appeals, and has obtained numerous favorable settlements for his clients. He has handled insurance disputes throughout Oregon and Washington, along with several other jurisdictions. Mr. Thede has substantial experience litigating claims for insurance ‘bad faith’ and recovery of attorney fees in a variety of settings.”
Ball Janik LLP is headquartered in Portland, Oregon.
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Victoria Kajo Named One of KNOW Women's 100 Women to KNOW in America for 2024
May 13, 2024 —
Lewis Brisbois NewsroomLos Angeles, Calif. (April 30, 2024) – Los Angeles Partner Victoria Kajo has been named to global media company KNOW Women's 2024 100 Women to KNOW in America list, which honors the top 100 female leaders across North America. The honorees were recognized at the annual KNOW Women Summit, held from April 21-23 at The Palomar Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona.
The annual 100 Women to KNOW in America award, presented by JPMorgan Chase, recognizes women entrepreneurs, executives, creatives, and philanthropists who "exemplify what it means to be high achieving and ambitious on the next level and who continue to pour into their communities as they do so," according to KNOW Women. Ms. Kajo was selected as one of this year's honorees following a nomination and interview process.
Ms. Kajo is a member of Lewis Brisbois' Professional Liability Practice. She has extensive experience with professional liability litigation, having defended lawyers, design professionals and real estate professionals against claims of alleged negligent acts and omissions in the performance of their professional services. Ms. Kajo also has broad experience in general civil litigation matters involving errors and omissions, real estate, wrongful foreclosures, labor and employment law, civil rights, fraud, personal injury, breach of contract and unlawful detainer matters, amongst others.
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Lewis Brisbois