The Design Professional Limitation of Liability Act, that we have been following and discussing here and here, outlined in the version of SB 286 that ultimately passed both the Senate and House has been approved by Governor Scott. Governor Scott signed the act on April 25th. The act creates § 558.0035, Florida Statute, and will… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Construction Contracts
Subscribe to Construction Contracts RSS FeedCSK’s Capitol Report – Update on the Design Professional Limitation of Liability Bills
Posted in Architects, Construction, Construction Contracts, Design Professionals, Engineers, Florida Legislation, Professional LiabilityAs we have previously posted, we have been closely monitoring Senate Bill (“SB”) 286 and House Bill (“HB”) 575, which have moved quickly through their respective committees and chambers with little opposition. On March 27, 2013, the Senate passed SB 286 by a 37 to 1 vote. SB 286 was then substituted in place of HB… Continue Reading
Economic Loss Rule – A Narrowed Approach
Posted in Construction, Construction Contracts, Contractors, Negligence, SubcontractorsThe Florida Supreme Court has finally taken the Economic Loss Rule head-on and has attempted to address an issue that has created much litigation. On March 7, 2013, the Court released its opinion in the case of Tiara Condominium Association, Inc. v. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. , 2013 WL 828003, significantly narrowing the application… Continue Reading
CSK’s Capitol Report – Senate Bill 286; House Bill – 575
Posted in Architects, Construction, Construction Contracts, Design Professionals, Engineers, Florida Legislation, Professional LiabilityFlorida’s 2013 Legislative session kicks off tomorrow, Tuesday March 5, 2013. This legislative session, CSK’s Construction Law Division is closely following Senate Bill (“SB”) 286 titled Design Professionals and its identical companion bill in the House, House Bill (“HB”) 575. Both bills were introduced and filed in January of 2013. The bills intend to alter the… Continue Reading
Florida’s Broken Lien Law Attorney Fee Statute Desperately in Need of Repair
Posted in Construction, Construction Contracts, LienFlorida’s Lien Law statute generally provides in Section 713.29 that the prevailing party in a lien foreclosure or bond enforcement action shall be entitled to its reasonable attorney’s fees. The sense of certainty that appeared on the face of this Statute historically weighed favorably on a party’s evaluation of whether and how to prosecute or… Continue Reading
The Benefits of Written Arbitration Agreements in an Online World
Posted in Construction, Construction ContractsIn an increasingly digital and cost-conscious business environment, many companies in the construction industry may desire to provide its terms and conditions for dispute resolution in arbitration to its customer electronically by posting those terms on the Internet, rather than providing a hard copy of same. This practice may also enable businesses to achieve better… Continue Reading
Massive Cost Overruns at World Trade Center Project – Unfortunate Situation for Contractors on a Meaningful Project
Posted in Bids, Change Orders, Construction, Construction Contracts, Contractors, Delays, SubcontractorsThousands gathered on September 11, 2012 at the World Trade Center site in New York, which marked the 11th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Although the construction of the World Trade Center project is not nearly complete, the construction of the One World Trade Center, a 104-story building, has begun to fill the… Continue Reading
CSK Trial Win
Posted in Architects, Construction, Construction Contracts, Contractors, Design Professionals, Engineers, Insurance, UncategorizedGeorge Truitt and Daniel Levin recently defended an architect and his firm against a claim by a homeowner relating to the design of the HVAC system in an 8,000 square foot, custom home on the Intracoastal Waterway in Miami, Florida. The owner claimed that the system was deficiently designed so that it was not able… Continue Reading
Appellate Rights for Arbitration Litigants
Posted in Architects, Construction, Construction Contracts, Contractors, Design Professionals, Developers, Engineers, SubcontractorsAs those in the industry are aware, the standard AIA documents – as well many of the other form contracts in construction – include arbitration provisions, the result of which is that many construction matters are litigated in arbitration fora. While arbitration is theoretically not as expensive a means of dispute resolution as the… Continue Reading
Subpoenas in Arbitration: Not as Easy as One Would Think
Posted in Construction, Construction ContractsNumerous construction contracts and subcontracts include provisions requiring the parties to arbitrate their disputes, either in lieu of litigation or as a condition precedent to trial. Arbitration is a preferred means of alternative dispute resolution as it minimizes the time and expense of litigation and, in some cases, a jury trial. One example of costs… Continue Reading
Bid Shopping Still in Vogue, Ask the Subcontractor
Posted in Architects, Bids, Construction, Construction Contracts, Contractors, SubcontractorsThe crude reality for most construction subcontractors is that after expending much time, effort and resources in preparing the lowest bid for a general contractor that is, itself, bidding a construction project, the general contractor will take the lowest subcontractor bid and go bid shopping after it is awarded the contract. A subcontractor’s conditional… Continue Reading
Is the Futility Doctrine Futile?
Posted in Construction, Construction Contracts, Contractors, LienThe construction industry is not only riddled with a web of technical rules, regulations, and contractual scenarios, the lawyers in this industry often rely on such technicalities to prevail in litigation on behalf of their clients – occasionally contrary to what appears just and fair. However, from time to time, the courts step up and… Continue Reading
Insulating Design Professional from Individual Liability
Posted in Construction, Construction Contracts, Design Professionals, Professional LiabilitySince the mid 1980s, the design professional community relied upon Florida Power & Light Company v. Mid-Valley, Inc., 763 F. 2d 1316 (11th cir. 1985) as an accurate statement of Florida law allowing individual design professionals to limit their liability for professional negligence by contract. The design professional world was turned on its head with… Continue Reading
Contractor’s Home Office Overhead Likely Unrecoverable
Posted in Construction, Construction Contracts, Contractors, Delays, SubcontractorsWhen public construction projects are delayed by the government, contractors are often unable to bid on additional jobs and perform other work during the delay period. As a result, contractors often seek damages from the government for extended home office overhead during this delay, commonly referred to as Eichleay damages. However, courts have continually limited contractors’ ability to recover these costs by imposing burdensome requirements, which… Continue Reading
Difficulties a Contractor Faces When Dealing with Change Work
Posted in Architects, Change Orders, Construction, Construction Contracts, Contractors, Design Professionals, Professional Liability, SubcontractorsThe Magazine of University of Florida’s School of Building Construction recently published an article written by David Salazar. The article is a primer on the difficulties a contractor faces when dealing with change order work. Additionally, the article sets forth the inevitable problems a contractor encounters and provides some risk management tips that can help… Continue Reading
An Alleged Breach of a Promise to Deliver a Completed Condominium Is Measured From the Date of Filing A Surveyor’s Certificate of Substantial Completion, Not the Certificate of Occupancy
Posted in Condominiums, Construction, Construction Contracts, Design Professionals, DevelopersDevelopers must take precaution when making promises regarding completion of construction, especially in light of new Florida case law holding that a claim against a developer for breach of promise to deliver a completed condominium is measured from the date of filing a surveyor’s certificate of substantial completion and not the certificate of occupancy. In Tranquil Harbour Dev., LLC v. BBT, LLC, 79 So. 3d 84… Continue Reading