Like many of you, I stayed up late on Tuesday night / Wednesday morning to watch the 2016 election returns. I dragged myself into the office after only a few hours of sleep and my phone was immediately ringing. Some clients. Some association contacts. Some reporters. They all wanted to talk about the same thing:
What I Learned from My Kids About Delay Claims
This past week, I came home to a complete mess in our backyard—it was littered with debris, trash, plates and utensils, and overturn patio furniture. My instruction to the kids yesterday morning was stern: “Clean up this mess by the time I get home…or else!”
One kid fixed the furniture in 15 minutes. One kid
How To Track Increased Construction Costs For Proving Claims
I previously blogged about the importance of using daily reports to prove construction claims.
In addition to daily reports, the following records should be prepared and maintained in the normal course of business to help prove claims and effectively manage the project:
- Correspondence file containing all correspondence relating to a specific claim, including letters
Between A Rock and A Hard Place: How the Severin Doctrine May Relate to Your Statute of Limitations Period
I previously blogged about the rules relating to pass-through claims, where a prime contractor’s recovery from an owner for damages suffered by its subcontractor is limited in certain circumstances. In the post, I talked about a “past-through-plus” claim based upon the Severin doctrine, which provides a prime contractor cannot sue an owner on behalf
Who Assumes the Risk of Material Cost Increases? As Always, It Depends!
When a client asks me about a particular contract provision and why it is “unfair” or “uneven”, we began a discussion about risk allocation. You see, the contract is used to shift the various risks on the project to the party most appropriate to handle it. In other words, you are negotiating about who takes
Proceed Wisely, Ninja Contractor, Because Suing Your DOT May Have Limitations
No self-respecting Ninja goes into battle without a plan, right? You need to know your environment, your opponent and the rules of the battle. For you Ninja contractors, it’s a good thing to fully understand your potential recovery before you spend countless months and thousands of dollars pursuing a claim against your state DOT for
Opening Up the Doors (Roads) for Design-Build Contracts on Highway Projects
The Department of Transportation in my home state of New Mexico is the latest to allow the design-build delivery method for highway projects. Although design-build had been approved in New Mexico on limited public projects, road and highway construction had been previously excluded. That changed on March 9, 2016, when Governor Susana Martinez signed into
Do Your Employees and Construction Laborers Belong to You? Depends.
When walking through the mall or the grocery store with my children, I inevitably get asked, “Are they all yours?” Depending on my mood, I may or may not claim them all. As a general contractor, you will want to know the law on whether laborers hired through a staffing company will be considered “yours”
No Lump on the Head for One Contractor’s Failure to Follow Public Bid Instructions
In our house of chaos, rules are especially important. And when you don’t follow the rules—like no jumping on the furniture—you could end up with a lump on your head. Just ask Jackson.
In the world of government contracts, you know that rules, instructions, and directions should be followed precisely. In the case of Silver
Top 10 Compliance Laws for Federal Highway Contractors
Following up on my post about the Yates Memo, I started to think more about the areas of compliance that federal highway contractors must face. Contractors certify many things and interact with a wide variety of governmental agencies. Similar to what occurred after the bid-rigging scandals, governmental scrutiny has increased because of a loss