Legal News

You’ve attended the webinars on navigating COVID-19. You’ve read the trade publication tips. You have implemented measures to protect your workers. So, you’re ahead of the game, right? Well, you’re certainly ahead of the Florida sheriff who reportedly instructed his employees not to wear masks in the office. If a visitor entered Sheriff Billy Wood’s office with a mask, they were reportedly instructed to remove it... Originally published in Construction Business Owner Magazine - February 20...

The Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act) requires that parties to mergers, acquisitions, or other transactions of a certain size notify the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) prior to consummation. Each year, the FTC amends the thresholds that trigger this premerger notification requirement to reflect changes in the gross national product......By: Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in BGT Holdings LLC v. United States, recently held that the government does not have the discretion to deny a contractor’s request for equitable adjustment (REA) under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.245-1 (Government Property) where the conditions specified in that clause are present and the contractor is able to show financial loss. As discussed below, the Federal Circuit’s decision in this regard is a welcome development for...By: ...

The North Carolina Court of Appeals recently determined that a builder who fails to comply with state licensing requirements may still pursue a negligence claim against design professionals. In Wright Construction Services, Inc. v. The Hard Art Studio, PLLC, the owner contracted with architecture firm Olive Architecture to develop plans for a mixed-use complex in Raleigh, North Carolina. Olive, in turn, contracted with Collins Structural Consulting and Scott A. Collins (the “Collins defendants”...

An important update to Georgia’s statutory lien waiver laws took effect on January 1, 2021. The amendment to Georgia’s mechanic’s lien law alters the form for interim and final lien waivers. Essentially, the new statute clarifies that lien waivers only waive lien or bond rights against the property and do not waive the right to file a lawsuit for nonpayment or other claims. The law also extends the deadline to file an affidavit of nonpayment from 60 days to 90 days......By: Bradley Arant Boul...

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued to Congress its annual bid protest report. As discussed below, this year’s report is noteworthy for multiple reasons, including that it shows that protesters received some form of relief from the procuring agency in more than half of the protests filed with the GAO in FY 2020, and the GAO’s use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) increased by 210% in FY 2020. The report is also noteworthy in that it includes, for the first time,......

It is the rare construction project that is completed without any change in the work. In most sophisticated construction projects, the contractual mechanism for managing these changes involves the issuance of a change order. However, managing change orders is not something project teams are always well-trained on, which can cause issues for small and big contractors alike. Let’s walk through some of the items a contractor should keep in mind when negotiating a change order with an owner......By...

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 defect dispute. The appellate court concluded that the theories of direct benefits estoppel and implied assumptions did not permit the contractor to bind a subsequent purchaser to mandatory arbitration required under the original purchase agreement......By: Bradley Arant B...

All eyes were on health care in 2020, as the industry faced unprecedented challenges presented by the global coronavirus pandemic. Stories and images of overburdened frontline health care workers dominated the news cycle for most of the year, and the rapid development of one or more seemingly effective vaccines has engendered a cautious optimism for a return to normalcy in 2021......By: Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

A few months ago, we wrote about how the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC) had defined when the protest clock starts running for a stay of contract performance pending a bid protest if the Department of  Defense’s (DOD) enhanced post-award debriefing procedures are used. The case was NIKA Technologies, Inc. v. United States, and…...By: Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP