Annie Dike, Esq. | IMS ExpertServices® | February 2, 2016 Did anyone catch that NPR bit? Apparently, when you label someone an expert, you can make him behave close-mindedly. The theory is, the mere label itself bolsters the person and makes him more confident in his opinions but also more engrained, more dogmatic in his… Continue reading Experienced Experts – Confident Vs. Dogmatic
Month: February 2016
Reference to AAA Construction Industry Rules means that Parties Agreed to have Arbitrator Determine Arbitrability
Stan Martin | Commonsense Construction Law LLC | January 28, 2016 A Florida Court of Appeal has concluded that an arbitration clause incorporating the AAA Construction Industry Arbitration Rules means that the parties intended to submit issues of arbitrability to the arbitrator and not to the courts. The parties had used a standard AIA contract… Continue reading Reference to AAA Construction Industry Rules means that Parties Agreed to have Arbitrator Determine Arbitrability
New Appraisal Clauses Change Appraisal
Chip Merlin | Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog | January 27, 2016 State Farm and Farmers have created new property insurance policy forms which significantly change the rules of appraisal. One of the trends of insurance coverage is that new policies are not being written with standard language, where years of case law have interpreted… Continue reading New Appraisal Clauses Change Appraisal
A New Twist to Construction Fraud
Trey R. Kelleter | Vandeventer Black LLP | January 20, 2016 Virginia Code §18.2-200.1 makes it a crime to commit construction fraud, that is, to take an advance of funds in return for a promise to perform a job with no real intention of performing and indeed, failing to substantially perform. It is a felony… Continue reading A New Twist to Construction Fraud
Contractors can be Liable for Following Owners’ Directives
Drew W. Colby and James Heffernan | Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP | January 2016 In Downey v. Chutehall Construction Co. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-001-16), the Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled a contractor can be liable for violating building codes despite the fact that the party suing it directed the contractor to perform the non-compliant work.… Continue reading Contractors can be Liable for Following Owners’ Directives