It has long been the law in Florida that a Plaintiff alleging faulty design or construction is entitled only to the reasonable cost of bringing the structure back to its “original condition,” plus costs of business interruption and/or loss of use – i.e. “delay damages.” See e.g. Grossman v. Sea Air Towers, Ltd., 513 So…. Continue Reading
Category Archives: Contractors
Subscribe to Contractors RSS FeedEconomic 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
Florida Statute § 768.0425: Who do we protect?
Posted in Construction, Contractors, Lien, RooferThe failure to have a proper license as a contractor, where a license is required, may have adverse consequences to the party performing the work. Work done by an unlicensed contractor may result in the inability to collect, loss of lien rights, prosecution for a crime, and treble damages resulting from injury arising out of the… Continue Reading
Liability Releases with Warranty Repairs – A Proactive Defense
Posted in Construction, Contractors, Design Professionals, Developers, Engineers, Insurance, SubrogationFlorida’s First District Court of Appeal recently issued an important opinion regarding a Developer’s and Contractor’s liability for claims by an Condominium Association’s property insurance carrier for a subrogation claim after the Developer and Contractor entered into a release with the Association pursuant to certain warranty repairs. The appellate court affirmed the decision of the… Continue Reading
The “Fiscal Cliff” and the Construction Industry
Posted in Architects, Construction, Contractors, Design Professionals, Engineers, Florida LegislationAfter a spirited election season and as we wind down toward the end of the year, the elected officials in Washington D.C. are in the midst of a strong debate regarding the tax increases and budget cuts that will begin in 2013. Although the impact is largely debatable, discussions about the “fiscal cliff” are rampant… Continue Reading
Insurer’s Total Pollution Exclusion Valid According to U.S. Southern District of Florida Court
Posted in Construction, Contractors, InsuranceDue to the use of Chinese drywall in construction projects, there has been an advent of class action litigation against contractors and suppliers of Chinese drywall for personal injuries and property damage. Recently, insurers have started the process to deny coverage for the contractors who installed Chinese drywall. Since the mid‐1980s virtually all Commercial General… 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
A Federal Court Takes Soft Stance on Offensive Language and Conduct on Construction Sites
Posted in Construction, ContractorsOften times, sexual harassment in the workplace involves a male employee making inappropriate comments or gestures to another female employee. However, a construction site is a unique working environment and workers, unfortunately, use foul language and act inappropriately towards each other, as well as bystanders passing by the construction site. Recently, a male construction worker… Continue Reading
A Tale of Two Districts: Florida Courts Split on the Application of Relation Back To Add Third Party Defendants As Direct Defendants After Expiration of the Statute of Limitations
Posted in Architects, Construction, Contractors, Negligence, Statutes of Limitations, Subcontractors, UncategorizedThe situation is a familiar one. An Owner of a completed construction project notifies the Architect and/or General Contractor of alleged construction deficiencies at a Project. Review by the Architect reveals that the alleged deficiencies, if true, relate to the work of its sub-consultants (or in the case of a General Contractor his subcontractors). The… Continue Reading
The Slavin Doctrine is Alive and Well – Ask CSK’s Clients!
Posted in Architects, Construction, Contractors, Design Professionals, Engineers, Professional Liability, SubcontractorsCole, Scott and Kissane (“CSK”) recently won two very significant personal injury cases arising from construction projects on behalf of design professionals based on the Slavin Doctrine. The Slavin doctrine prevents an injured Plaintiff from holding a contractor liable for injuries caused by a patent, or obvious, defect in construction after control of the property… 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
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
S.O.L on Claims Against Subcontractors for Latent Defects
Posted in Construction, Contractors, Statutes of LimitationsThe case of Joel and Marcia Hochberg v. Thomas Carter Painting, Inc., 36 Fla.L. Weekly D1200f, addresses the point of time at which the statute of limitations begins to run in latent defects cases. In 2000, homeowners, Joel and Marcia Hochberg, hired a general contractor to construct a new home for them, and the general contractor… Continue Reading
The Dark Side of Building Green
Posted in Construction, Contractors, Design ProfessionalsBuilding green is the practice of reducing the negative effects construction has on the environment by increasing the efficiency with which buildings use and consume resources (energy, water, and materials). In addition to reducing the impact the building has on the environment, green building is also intended to reduce the project’s impact on human health… 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
A Florida Federal Trial Court Suggests That Contribution Between Comparatively At-Fault Parties Is Obsolete
Posted in Architects, Construction, Contractors, Design Professionals, Developers, Engineers, Indemnification, Professional Liability, Subcontractors, SubrogationIs the cause of action for Contribution still a viable claim? A recent federal court suggested that Contribution between comparatively at-fault parties is no longer a viable claim in light of the availability of comparative fault defenses to liability. In Mendez-Garcia v. Galaxie Corp., 8:10-CV-788-T-24 EAJ, 2011 WL 5358658 (M.D. Fla. Nov. 3, 2011), the… Continue Reading
Sixty Years of Potential Liability? – Long Term Contracts and Florida’s Statute of Repose
Posted in Construction, Contractors, Design Professionals, Design-Build, Professional Liability, Public-Private PartnershipsDesign-Build Operation and Maintenance Concession Agreements through public-private partnerships are becoming more common for major infrastructure improvement projects. Florida courts have recently ruled that design professionals and contractors participating in the design-build portion of those types of projects may be exposed to several decades of exposure to liability after their respective services and work have… Continue Reading