“You love your home and then it turns on you,” The New York Times reports one homeowner said when he discovered the foundation of his home was cracking, crumbling and moving. Repairing unstable foundations costs homeowners around $4 billion a year and that cost often is not covered by insurance. Frequently, the shifting is the… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Construction Claims
Subscribe to Construction Claims RSS FeedHow Some Homebuilders and Developers Comitted Mortgage Fraud Schemes
Posted in Construction Claims, Construction Industry News, Public PolicySome homebuilders and developers regrettably were involved in the massive mortgage fraud that helped trigger the present recession. A Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) White Paper (PDF) labels one common scheme the "Builder Bailout." and describes it as follows: A builder bailout occurs when a builder, who has unsold units in a tract, subdivision,… Continue Reading
Mississippi High Court gets it right (again) in Insurance Coverage Dispute
Posted in Construction ClaimsIn a long awaited decision, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled last week in Architex Association, Inc. v. Scottsdale Insurance Company (PDF) that construction defects caused by subcontractor negligence are occurrences(accidents) triggering coverage under the terms of a general contractors’s commercial general liability policy. The Court’s decision is a huge victory for all the major players… Continue Reading
Continued Performance Clause Held Unenforceble
Posted in Construction Claims, Construction Contracts, Construction LawThe Real Estate and Construction Blog summarizes a Califonia appellate court recently held a "continued performace clause" is not enforceable when the owner commits a material breach.
The Supreme Court decides to revisit the issue of constitutional limits on punitive damages (UPDATED)
Posted in Construction Claims, Construction LawThe Court will decide whether its earlier decision in State Farm v Campbell (i) mandates a reasonable ratio between compensatory and punitive damages when the defendants conduct was outrageous and (ii) prohibits the jury from considering the harm done to persons other than the plaintiff in making its award.
The Federal Prompt Pay Act sets time limits for payment of government construction contractors
Posted in Construction Claims, Construction Contracts, Construction LawThe provisions of the Act are summarized and linked to over at Construction Lawyer-Utah.
The effect of giving an insurer late notice on a otherwise covered construction claim
Posted in Construction Claims, Construction Contracts, Construction Law, InsuranceMarc Mayerson over at the Insurance Scrawl does his usual masterful job discussing recent case law on when late notice results in forfeiture of insurance coverage.
Construction Litigation–the Paper Chase no more
Posted in Construction Claims, Construction Industry NewsI’ve joined the debate over the wisdom of the paperless office over at The Illinois Trial Practice Weblog.
The Election-Doctrine under the Contracts Disputes Act
Posted in Construction Claims, Construction LawUnder the federal Contract Disputes Act, a construction contractor seeking to overturn a contracting officer’s final decision must either file a notice of appeal to a board of contract appeals within 90 days of the decision or file a complaint in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims within a year after the decision.
Visual timeline shows the levee failures that caused New Orleans to flood during hurricane Katrina
Posted in Construction Claims, Construction Defects & Defective Construction, Hurricane KatrinaThe Times-Picayune presents an amazing animated graphic showing the time line for the levee failures and flooding in New Orleans during Katrina.
Punitive damages in construction litigation
Posted in Construction Claims, Construction LawPunitive damages sometimes are awarded in construction claim cases and often awarded in insurance bad faith cases so I note with interest that yesterday the Oregon Court of Appeals overturned a $100 million punitive damages award in a tobacco case.
Other states unlikely to sue lead paint manufacturers
Posted in Construction Claims, Construction Defects & Defective Construction, Construction Industry News, Construction LawPoint of Law Forum points to an article indicating other states are unlikely to follow Rhode Island’s lead.
Jury should not be allowed to interpret warranty against faulty materials and workmanship
Posted in Construction Claims, Construction Contracts, Construction Defects & Defective Construction, Construction LawThe ContractsProf Blog summarizes an appellate decision holding the trial court erred in allowing the jury to decide the intent of an unambiguous one year warranty of materials and workmanship.
$22 million earned by one engineering expert
Posted in Construction Claims, Construction LawNext time a client complains about a construction expert’s fees and expenses, I’m going to send him or her a copy of “Expert Witness Industry Booming” from the Star-Telegram.
Logical arguments for winning construction claims
Posted in Construction Claims, Construction LawThe presentation of construction claims sometimes suffers because not enough attention is given to whether the claim holds together logically.
Mike Wallace’s unqualified rating by the American Bar Association baffles me too
Posted in Construction Claims, Construction Industry NewsMike Wallace’s unqualified rating took me by surprise. He is a fine man and an outstanding lawyer, and I say that though politically we come from different places.
Changes to the Federal Rules of Evidence unlikely to affect construction law cases
Posted in Construction ClaimsDay on Torts summarizes changes to the Federal Rules of Evidence that will go into effect on December 1 unless Congress overturns them.
Violation of gag order results in contemp finding in lead paint case
Posted in Construction Claims, Construction Defects & Defective Construction, Construction LawThe trial judge in the Rhode Island lead paint case cited the Rhode Island Attorney General for civil contempt and ordered him to pay a $5,000 fine reports the WSJ.com’s Law Blog.
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