Practical Law, a Thomson Reuters company and division of West Publishing Corporation that produces online legal resources for attorneys, is pleased to partner with Stoel Rives LLP to present its Washington Construction Lien Practice Note and Workflow Checklist.
The resources, now published and available through Practical Law’s online services, afford access to valuable content about
In construction projects, experienced owners, contractors, or designers know that disputes will almost invariably arise — even when the parties have the best of intentions. And they understand that detailed contract provisions to resolve those disputes can have major benefits if they are properly drafted to suit the project, parties, and types of dispute most
A 2018 legal case in New York arose over the disposition of a collection of run-down warehouses in Long Island City, Queens, New York, which graffiti artists began to use as a canvas for their work after the buildings went undeveloped by the owner for many years. When the owner announced that he would demolish
In 2017, the California Legislature passed a bill that resulted in Business and Professions Code (BPC) section 7169, which ultimately would require Home Improvement Contractors, which include contractors that install solar systems on residences, to issue specific disclosures to any residential consumers who may want to purchase, finance or lease, and install a solar system on their property. Recently in August, the California Public Utilities Commission “endorse[d] the solar energy systems disclosure document as being compliant with [BPC section 7169]….” The Disclosure terms include:
The Washington Department of Labor & Industries, Division of Occupational Safety and Health, is considering changes to Washington’s fall protection regulations. These are rules intended to protect construction workers from injury caused by falls on a jobsite. The Division has been interested in this topic since 2013, when the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration
A recent Utah case, adopting a “termination clause rule,” may have tenants in Utah reconsidering condemnation provisions in leases. In UDOT v. Kmart, 2018 UT 54, the Utah Supreme Court denied a condemnation award to a tenant because the lease automatically terminated upon condemnation. The Court found the tenant had no interest for which
The nearly 60 cranes towering over Seattle’s skyline may be a sign of the building boom in the city, but they also could portend a flood of construction claims arising from the projects they help build. Despite the frequency of construction claims, many developers are not familiar with the dispute resolution methods available to them
Cross-laminated timber (“CLT”) is a leading building technology that has been employed by European developers for decades, but the product’s use in the United States only recently took hold after its adoption by the 2015 International Building Code. A type of structural timber product composed of dimensional timber layers bonded together with structural adhesives, CLT
In Nova Contracting, Inc. v. City of Olympia, No. 94711-2 (Wash. Sept. 29, 2018), the Washington Supreme Court, sitting en banc, ruled in favor of a municipality on the issue of whether the general contractor complied with a contract’s notice of claim provision. Relying on Mike M. Johnson, Inc. v. Spokane County, 150 Wn.2d 375, 78 P.3d 161 (2003), the court in Nova Contracting held that a broad notice of claim provision (waiving “any claims” for noncompliance) (a) mandates written, rather than actual, notice of claims and (b) applies not only to claims for cost of work performed, but also to claims for (i) expectancy and consequential damages and (ii) breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Slip op. at 2-3, 15.
The case arose from certain disputes between the City of Olympia (the “City”) and a contractor (“NOVA”) in connection with a public works contract in which the contractor agreed to replace an aging cement culvert. The contract contained a “notice of protest” provision from the Washington State Department of Transportation’s standard specifications. This provision required the contractor to “‘give a signed written notice of protest’ ‘[i]mmediately’ if it ‘disagree[d] with anything required in a change order, another written order, or an oral order from the [City] Engineer, including any direction, instruction, interpretation, or determination by the Engineer.’” Id. at 1-2.
The dramatic “Spheres” at the new Amazon headquarters in downtown Seattle have joined the Space Needle, downtown Seattle Library, Smith Tower, and Pacific Science Center as architectural icons of the city. The project includes meeting spaces for Amazon employees and a botanical garden with over 40,000 plants. Information about the building and its contents can