The American Institute of Architects (AIA) recently released seven updated documents in its design-build family. According to AIA, the 2014 Design-Build documents enhance the early interaction between the Owner and the Design-Builder, calling for clearly defined and mandated Owner’s Criteria for the Project and requiring submission of a Preliminary Design by the Design-Builder.
AIA Documents
Earlier this week, a settlement was reached in dispute where the contractor and designer were alleged to have filed false claims with the U.S. Government on two road projects in South Carolina. The issue raises an important question: What should a contractor do during negotiations to allow for some “bargaining room” so as to avoid
It’s Friday morning and there are probably better things you would like to do with your remaining day than read a 22-page government contracts decision.
But if you have ever experienced a differing site condition on your project, then here is why you should read pages 17-20 of the recent decision in Metcalf Construction Company v. United States (pdf). On February 11, 2014, the Federal Circuit released its decision in the Metcalf Construction case, which addressed in part a differing site condition claim.
Although the appeal was based primarily on the standard for a breach of duty of good faith (and the opinion talks mostly about that issue), there is some good language in the second part of the opinion about how the trial court wrongly interpreted the differing site conditions provision in the public contract (pages 17-20).Continue Reading Differing Site Conditions and Why You Should Read Pages 17-20 of the Metcalf Decision
Who’s the Man? Ever heard of that phrase? Well, in a recent construction dispute in Maryland, “the Man” was the owner’s insurance company. And the lesson learned was: don’t settle your construction dispute without first checking with the man!
In Perini/Tompkins Joint Venture v. ACE American Insurance Company (pdf), applying Maryland and Tennessee law, the Fourth Circuit held that the joint venture contractor violated the terms of both the primary insurance and excess insurance policies by not obtaining the insurer’s consent before settlement. Accordingly, the joint venture could not claim reimbursement under the policies.Continue Reading Don’t Settle Your Construction Dispute Without Checking with the (Insurance) Man
As parents of seven young children, my wife and I work hard to keep order, and schedules, and boundaries, and rules for daily activities. So when Courtney and I went out of town last month, the kids (and their sitters) did not have same order, schedule, boundaries, and rules for an entire week. Our return
Two weeks ago, I was scheduled to leave town for an out-of-country trip. But the snow storms in the Southeast crippled my layover city (Atlanta) on the eve before my travel date. So when I received a call from my airline indicating that my flight had been cancelled, the only option was to leave earlier
Increasingly, two or more contractors may each have a separate contract with the owner for different portions of the work on a single project.
Interference may arise, for example, from one contractor’s storage of materials on a site where the other has work to perform, or from one contractor’s failure to progress with work that
My good friend and mentor Cordell Parvin once suggested that planning done by contractors for a successful construction project is not unlike the planning done by football coaches for a successful season. He is right!
Coaching football. Successful football organizations consist of specialized teams or units: (a) the offense; (b) the defense; and (c) and special
You probably saw last month’s report about a second work-related fatality at the construction site of the San Francisco 49er’s new football stadium. Police and fire investigators have determined that the truck driver’s death was a workplace accident and not a crime.
The delivery truck driver was reportedly crushed by a bundle of rebar