Blake Robinson | Davis Wright Tremaine Historically in California, professional negligence cases were limited to parties who had contracted with each other.[1] The theory was that if a professional didn’t have a contract with the plaintiff, then the professional did not owe the plaintiff a duty of care and could not be liable in negligence. That… Continue reading Uncharted Territory: Are Geotechnical Inspectors Liable to Non-Contracting Parties – Including Property Owners?
Category: Construction Contracts
Contractors Beware: Licensure Foot-faults Could Make Your Construction Contract Unenforceable
Brandon Cory and Jonathan Lauderbach | Warner Norcross + Judd Under the Michigan Occupational Code, residential building, maintenance and alteration contractors must be licensed to perform certain types of work. The Michigan Supreme Court held in Stokes v. Millen Roofing, 649 N.W.2d 371 (2002) that under MCL 339.2412(1), a residential building contractor cannot sue an unpaying… Continue reading Contractors Beware: Licensure Foot-faults Could Make Your Construction Contract Unenforceable
Litigation or Arbitration: Which is Better for Adjudicating Contract Disputes?
Todd M. Conley | Womble Bond Dickinson Ask anyone with experience on construction projects, particularly large, complex “mega-projects,” and they will tell you that disputes are an expected part of doing business. It is rare that these projects come in on schedule and on budget; when they do not, the contractor and owner often vigorously… Continue reading Litigation or Arbitration: Which is Better for Adjudicating Contract Disputes?
Offset, Setoff, and State Trends in Withholding Clauses
Susan White | Frantz Ward States have been slowly clawing back at a higher-tier’s ability to withhold payments owed to its lower-tier subcontractors, aiming to protect subcontractors from undue financial hardship and ensure that payment disputes are handled more equitably. A standard withholding clause looks something like this: The subcontractor agrees that contractor shall have… Continue reading Offset, Setoff, and State Trends in Withholding Clauses
JCT 2024 Contracts – Good Faith in Practice
Shy Jackson | Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner Summary In this Insight, Shy Jackson considers the scope and implications of the parties’ obligation to work together in good faith under the Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) 2024 contracts. Not everyone will be familiar with the 1994 Latham Report that advocated the use of good faith, but the… Continue reading JCT 2024 Contracts – Good Faith in Practice