Legal News

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 personal jurisdiction in a dispute with a subcontractor over confirmation of an arbitration award. The appellate court found the subcontractor sufficiently pled personal jurisdiction in accordance with Florida’s long-arm statute and that the contractor’s consent to...By...

Liens represent one of the primary mechanisms by which contractors, subcontractors, and other downstream parties secure payment rights under a construction contract. When utilized properly, filing a lien may induce an owner to release funds that are undisputedly owed to the lienor......By: Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

The Miller Act protects subcontractors from nonpayment on federal projects by requiring prime contractors to issue payment bonds. To obtain relief under the Miller Act, a subcontractor must (1) give the prime contractor written notice of its claim within 90 days of the date it last performed work on a federal project and (2) file suit against the bond for any outstanding nonpayment within one year of the date work was last performed......By: Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

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 Fine Home Building entered into a sales contract with a modular home supplier for the purchase of a home. The sales contract included a forum selection clause specifying Pennsylvania as the location for any lawsuit or arbitration......By: Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

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 entitled to an equitable adjustment on a differing site conditions claim. The Federal Circuit held that the contractor, in developing its proposal, did not demonstrate that its interpretation of government subsurface data was reasonable — a condition precedent to entitlement....

When crafting a liquidation or “pass-through” agreement for a subcontractor claim against the government, the key provision from the prime contractor’s perspective is a release from any liability for the subcontractor’s claim with the exception of amounts recovered from the government related to that claim. If the release language is too broad, however, the agreement may provide the government a legal defense to the pass-through claim known as the Severin doctrine. The Severin doctrine prohi...

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 action as one masonry supplier recently learned. In Timberwall Land & Masonry Products, Inc., the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s summary judgment dismissing a masonry supplier’s lien enforcement action against a homeowner......By: Bradley Arant Boul...

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) spread around the world, most businesses were forced to close their doors temporarily and take steps towards working virtually. However, the U.S. construction industry, deemed “essential” by nearly every stay-at-home order issued throughout the country, kept operating and kept building. After all, construction does not occur “virtually.” While many viewed the…...By: Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Whether an arbitration agreement is enforceable is a frequently litigated matter in construction disputes. Federal policy strongly favors arbitration. Typically, the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) will preempt any contrary state law that might...By: Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

On May 29, 2020, in Constr. Drilling, Inc. v. Engineers Constr., Inc., the Vermont Supreme Court upheld a trial court’s judgment in favor of general contractor on an extra work payment dispute. The Supreme Court agreed with the trial court’s...By: Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP