Hurricane Warning: Florida and Southeastern US Companies – It is Time to Activate Your Hurricane Preparedness Plan and Review Key Insurance Deadlines
November 01, 2022 —
Andrea DeField, Walter J. Andrews, Michael S. Levine, Lawrence J. Bracken II & Cary D. Steklof - Hunton Insurance Recovery BlogHurricane Ian is rapidly approaching the west coast of Florida and is expected to make landfall as a Category 4 hurricane near the Tampa area within the coming days. While the exact track is still being determined, there is a chance the storm may also impact insureds in Georgia and South Carolina. Now is the time to activate your disaster plan and ensure that you have your relevant insurance policies in your possession and that you review them for critical deadlines.
We put together an
alert here with tips to help you and your business mitigate potential storm loss and maximize coverage.
Reprinted courtesy of
Andrea DeField, Hunton Andrews Kurth,
Walter J. Andrews, Hunton Andrews Kurth,
Michael S. Levine, Hunton Andrews Kurth,
Lawrence J. Bracken II, Hunton Andrews Kurth and
Cary D. Steklof, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Ms. DeField may be contacted at adefield@HuntonAK.com
Mr. Andrews may be contacted at wandrews@HuntonAK.com
Mr. Levine may be contacted at mlevine@HuntonAK.com
Mr. Bracken may be contacted at lbracken@HuntonAK.com
Mr. Steklof may be contacted at csteklof@HuntonAK.com
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Lien Law Unlikely To Change — Yet
May 26, 2011 —
Melissa Brumback, Construction Law in North CarolinaFor those of you following the proposed revisions to the NC lien law that is currently at the NC House Judiciary Subcommittee B, a quick update: the proposed bill (HB 489) is unlikely to be voted on this legislative session due to its unpopularity with several constituency groups, including both the AIA-North Carolinaand the NC Home Builders Association.
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Reprinted courtesy of Melissa Brumback of Ragsdale Liggett PLLC. Ms. Brumback can be contacted at mbrumback@rl-law.com.
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Performing Work with a Suspended CSLB License Costs Big: Subcontractor Faces $18,000,000 Disgorgement
September 17, 2015 —
Steven M. Cvitanovic & David A. Harris – Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLPIn what could lead to a draconian result, the Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District held that a contractor who performs work without a valid license can be required to disgorge all payments received, even if the contractor perfectly performed its work. The case, Judicial Council of California v. Jacobs Facilities, Inc. (Ct. of Appeal, 1st App. Dis., Div. One, A140890, A141393), involved an $18,000,000 contract between Jacobs Facilities, Inc. (“Jacobs Facilities”) and the Judicial Council of California (“Judicial Council”). In April 2006, Jacobs Facilities, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. (“Jacobs Engineering”) entered into a three year contract with the Judicial Counsel to maintain 121 courthouses and other judicial branch buildings throughout Southern California (the “Contract”). Jacobs Facilities contracted to provide maintenance and oversight services, while retaining subcontractors to perform the actual maintenance and repair work.
In December 2006, as part of a corporate reorganization, Jacobs Engineering started winding up Jacobs Facilities and transferred its employees to Jacobs Engineering and then subsequently to another wholly owned subsidiary called Jacobs Project Management Co. (“Jacobs Management”). The work that was performed by Jacobs Facilities was taken over by Jacobs Management. As part of the windup, Jacobs Facilities’ Contractor’s State License Board license was allowed to lapse and the license expired by operation of law in November 2008. Although Jacobs Management was now performing the work, it was not added as a party to the contract. Although it appears Judicial Council was aware of the corporate changes, it was not until November 2009 that the parties assigned the contract to Jacobs Management.
Reprinted courtesy of
Steven M. Cvitanovic, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP and
David A. Harris, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP
Mr. Cvitanovic may be contacted at scvitanovic@hbblaw.com
Mr. Harris may be contacted at dharris@hbblaw.com
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Big League Dreams a Nightmare for Town
April 03, 2013 —
CDJ STAFFThe town of Gilbert, Arizona had their own big dreams for Big League Dreams Gilbert, which the town was convinced would bring in financial benefits. Now the amateur sports complex is plagued by defects and failing infrastructure. The town was wondering how to create sufficient recreation facilities when Big League Dreams made a proposal that would bring tax revenue from a new stadium complex.
Ten years later, Gilbert says it’s not getting enough of the revenue from the parks. The proposal, created by Big League Dreams, estimated an economic benefit of $40 million over 30 years with a construction cost of $22.7 million. Instead, construction ran to $42.7 million and over the last two years the town has received only $250,570.
Then there are the construction defects. The structure was warranteed for only one year. That warrantee long over, the complex has problems with various concrete surfaces and has generated injury claims. The town did not inspect the park after Big League Dreams started operating it. They later found out that some parts did not conform to code, with 39 problem areas referenced in a report. Some of these included safety issues like missing handrails.
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Recent Bribery and Anti-Corruption Enforcement Trends in Global Construction Industry
August 26, 2019 —
Ralph A. Finizio & Anthony Finizio - ConsensusDocsBribery and corruption have long plagued the construction industry, particularly in the developing world and emerging markets. Large contracts often trickle down through layers of subcontractors, presenting opportunities for corruption at each level. The risk is enhanced in certain foreign jurisdictions, where large corporations may be wholly or partially state-owned enterprises and public officials may expect payment in exchange for state-issued licenses or government contracts.
Recent enforcement trends indicate that both the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are increasingly targeting the construction industry for anti-bribery and corruption actions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Several former DOJ officials also recently commented that the construction industry has become a focus of anti-corruption enforcement efforts.
The FCPA is a formidable tool for regulators, making it unlawful to influence a foreign government official with any type of payment or personal reward. While certain safe harbors apply — including de minimis payments made to expedite routine governmental action or the payment being lawful in the foreign jurisdiction — these exceptions are construed narrowly and can be difficult to apply in practice.
Reprinted courtesy of
Ralph A. Finizio, Pepper Hamilton LLP and
Anthony Finizio, Pepper Hamilton LLP
Mr. Finizio may be contacted at finizior@pepperlaw.com
Mr. Finizio may be contacted at finizioa@pepperlaw.com
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Two Worthy Insurance Topics: (1) Bad Faith, And (2) Settling Without Insurer’s Consent
February 20, 2023 —
David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal UpdatesThe recent Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision, American Builders Insurance Company v. Southern-Owners Insurance Company, 56 F.4th 938 (11th Cir. 2023), is an insurer versus insurer case that touches on two important insurance topics: (1) common law bad faith against an insurance company, and (2) an insurer’s affirmative defense that an insured settled a claim without its consent. The Eleventh Circuit provides invaluable legal discussion on these topics that any insured (and an insured’s counsel) need to know and appreciate. While this article won’t go into the granular facts as referenced in the opinion, it will go into the law because it is the law the facts of a case MUST cater to and address.
In this case, a person performing subcontracting work fell from a roof without fall protection and became paralyzed from the waist down. The general contractor had a primary liability policy and an excess policy. The general contractor’s primary liability insurer investigated the accident and assessed the claim. The subcontractor’s liability insurer, which was the primary insurance policy (the general contractor was an additional insured for work the subcontractor performed for the general contractor), did little to investigate and assess the claim and then refused to pay any amount to settle the underlying claim or honor its defense and indemnity obligation to the general contractor.
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David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris, P.A.Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at
dma@kirwinnorris.com
Tallest U.S. Skyscraper Dream Kept Alive by Irish Builder
May 01, 2014 —
Brian Louis – BloombergGarrett Kelleher, the Irish developer trying to restore Chicago’s status as home to the tallest building in the U.S., has one last chance to keep his dream alive.
The planned lakefront skyscraper is nothing more than a hole in the ground six years after the financial crisis derailed Kelleher’s ambitions. To salvage the project, he must line up money to get out of bankruptcy, then obtain financing for the 2,000-foot (610-meter), Santiago Calatrava-designed Chicago Spire condominium tower, which would surpass New York’s 1 World Trade Center by 224 feet.
“I never understood how that project was going to work, frankly,” said Alan Lev, chief executive officer of Belgravia Group Ltd., a Chicago-based housing developer uninvolved in the project. “It’s a real eyesore sitting in the ground, so I hope somebody does something with it.”
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Brian Louis, BloombergMr. Louis may be contacted at
blouis1@bloomberg.net
Resolving Subcontractor Disputes with Pass-Through Claims and Liquidation Agreements
May 13, 2024 —
Stephanie Cooksey - Peckar & Abramson, P.C.Imagine a project where you are unable to reach final completion due to an unresolved subcontractor claim. If the project owner is responsible for the claim, and both the owner and subcontractor are entrenched in their positions, how would you resolve this dispute?
The default option is a three-party lawsuit where the subcontractor sues you in your capacity as general contractor. By denying the claim, you bring the owner into the lawsuit as a liable party to the subcontractor’s claim. This option is efficient from the judicial system’s perspective, as it means one lawsuit instead of two. The subcontractor cannot sue the owner since the two have no contract between them. Thus, the subcontractor’s recourse is limited to suing the contractor. In the three-party lawsuit, you argue that if the subcontractor prevails in its claim against you, the owner is liable. If the owner successfully defends against the claim, the subcontractor takes nothing.
Putting judicial economy aside, it may not make economic sense for contractors to have a lawyer involved in litigating a case where they have no skin in the game. Fortunately, there is a better option than the three-party lawsuit on multi-party construction projects.
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Stephanie Cooksey, Peckar & Abramson, P.C.Ms. Cooksey may be contacted at
scooksey@pecklaw.com