“Manifest disregard of the law” is no longer a valid basis to challenge arbitration awards, at least not in the federal courts of Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana. Rather, according to the Fifth Circuit’s decision in U.S....more
5/6/2025
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Business Litigation ,
Construction Disputes ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Litigation ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contractors ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Subcontractors ,
Texas
We recently blogged about New Jersey’s bid protest requirements for procurements solicited under the New Jersey Division of Purchase and Property (DPP) here. As we noted, public procurements by local governmental authorities...more
1/23/2025
/ Appeals ,
Bid Protests ,
Construction Contracts ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Agencies ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Public Contracts ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
Statutory Requirements ,
Subcontractors
The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals recently reversed, in part, and affirmed, in part, a lower court decision regarding dismissal of contractual indemnity and implied indemnity claims. WW Consultants was the design...more
10/24/2023
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Defects ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Litigation ,
Contractors ,
Design Defects ,
Indemnity Claim ,
Negligence ,
State and Local Government ,
VA Supreme Court
Indiana, like other states, has a strong policy favoring arbitration agreements, and Indiana courts construe arbitration clauses broadly to make matters abitrable so long as they reasonably fit within the language of the...more
n Mid-Century Insurance Co., v. HIVE Construction, Inc., a Colorado court of appeals recently reversed the decision of a lower court that had refused to apply the economic loss rule to a negligence claim alleging wanton or...more
In Ali Heidari v. Golden Bear Insurance, a California appeals court recently affirmed a lower court’s decision to deny relief under a CGL policy, where the policy excluded from coverage work performed by subcontractors under...more
3/8/2023
/ Appeals ,
California ,
Construction Defects ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Litigation ,
Homeowners ,
Insurance Industry ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Property Insurance ,
Property Owners ,
Subcontractors
A federal district court in Washington recently rejected a subcontractor’s motion for reconsideration of a previously granted motion to stay in a Miller Act lawsuit (the Miller Act governs prime contractor bond requirements...more
12/8/2021
/ Appeals ,
Bonds ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Litigation ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Disputes Act ,
Contractors ,
Miller Act ,
Stays ,
Subcontractors ,
Subcontracts
On December 8, 2020, in Taylor Morrison of Texas, Inc. v. Kohlmeyer, a Texas Court of Appeals rejected a contractor’s appeal of a trial court order denying the contractor’s motion to compel arbitration in a home construction...more
12/18/2020
/ Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Arbitration ,
Construction Defects ,
Construction Industry ,
Contract Terms ,
Contractors ,
Estoppel ,
Homeowners ,
Motion to Compel ,
Purchase Agreement
On November 6, 2020, the Kentucky Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court’s decision dismissing a contractor’s differing site conditions claim on a sewer replacement project. In TSI Construction, Inc. v. Louisville and...more
Recently, in Cross v. L-M Asphalt Partners, Ltd., the Kentucky Court of Appeals upheld a contractor’s immunity from suit for negligence, where the contractor complied with the contract and construction specifications provided...more
11/17/2020
/ Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Terms ,
Contractors ,
Federal Contractors ,
Immunity ,
Negligence ,
Strict Compliance ,
Summary Judgment
On August 4, 2020, the Court of Appeals of Texas (First District) reversed a trial court’s denial of an engineering firm’s motion to dismiss finding that the plaintiff’s failure to attach the required certificate of merit...more
8/12/2020
/ Affidavits ,
Appeals ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Construction Site ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
Filing Requirements ,
General Contractors ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Property Owners ,
Statute of Limitations
One of the challenges of renewable energy development is managing the permitting process. Understanding how to navigate state and local laws can be integral to a developer’s permitting success, especially where a community...more
On June 24, 2020, in Sayers Constr., LLC v. Timberline Constr., Inc., et al., a Florida District Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court’s denial of a contractor’s motion to dismiss. The contractor moved to dismiss for lack of...more
7/29/2020
/ American Arbitration Association ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Industry ,
Contractors ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Subcontractors
In Somerset Fine Home Building, Inc. v. Simplex Industries, Inc., the Appellate Division of the Second Department in New York upheld a dismissal based on the plaintiff’s breach of the parties’ forum selection clause. Somerset...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers v. John C. Grimberg Co., Inc., recently reversed an Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) decision that a federal contractor was...more
In most jurisdictions, a party may be excused from any future performance under a contract by the prior material breach of the other party. A “prior material breach” is typically defined as conduct that deprives the injured...more
Like many states, Minnesota requires subcontractors and suppliers to send pre-lien notices to owners to perfect mechanic’s lien rights. Failure to comply with the pre-lien notice statute can prove fatal to a lien enforcement...more
6/26/2020
/ Appeals ,
Construction Industry ,
Contract Terms ,
Contractors ,
Dismissals ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure to Comply ,
Homeowners ,
Mechanics Lien ,
Notice Requirements ,
Subcontractors ,
Summary Judgment ,
Suppliers
On May 19, 2020, the Federal Circuit upheld summary judgment against a government contractor for failure to file a claim timely within the six-year time limit prescribed by the Contract Disputes Act (CDA). In Electric Boat...more
Like most states, Florida follows the rule that an insurer’s duty to defend is separate from and broader than its duty to indemnify for a potentially covered occurrence. Last week, in South Winds Construction Corp. v....more
On May 5, 2020, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court summary judgment ruling dismissing a residential contractor’s claims against an owner because the contractor was not properly licensed. In LFR Investments,...more
An Illinois appellate court recently addressed the scope of negligence liability for a slip and fall injury on a newly installed roof at the Chicago White Sox Stadium. In 2013, a maintenance employee slipped on the roof at...more
3/22/2019
/ Appeals ,
Construction Defects ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Contractors ,
Duty of Care ,
General Contractors ,
Manufacturers ,
Negligence ,
Reversal ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Summary Judgment
On January 25, 2019, a Florida appellate court certified the following question to the Florida Supreme Court...more
The Florida Arbitration Code addresses the confirmation, vacation, modification or correction, and appeal of arbitration awards in Florida. In September, a Florida District Court of Appeal addressed whether parties may expand...more
11/27/2018
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Judicial Review ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Remand ,
Subcontractors ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms ,
Vacated ,
Void Contracts
When it comes to actions arising out of damage to property by a contractor, especially in the residential real property context, Tennessee courts typically balance the cost to repair versus the diminution in value of the...more
On March 9, 2018, the Georgia Court of Appeals reaffirmed the applicability of Georgia’s contractor licensing requirements (Ga. Code, Title 43, Ch. 41) to residential and general contractors. In Baja Properties, LLC v....more