In a ruling supporting common sense, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled that a county could not avoid the application of a broad force majeure clause in its development agreement with a developer based on the county’s denial of the rezoning required for the very development.
The key facts in Burns Concrete, Inc. v. Teton County
On November 4, 2016, my colleague, Andrew Gibson (from the Portland office of Stoel Rives), and I will co-chair a joint OSBA/WSBA construction law CLE, entitled Two States of Construction Law: Working in Both Washington and Oregon, located at the Heathman Lodge in Vancouver, Washington. This seminar will include a panel of knowledgeable lawyers
When engaging in a new construction project, the primary focus is frequently on the immediate issues — plans, permits and the build-out itself. But building good risk management procedures and techniques into the front end of your project planning can have bottom-line business benefits. In my recent article for the Daily Journal of Commerce, written
During the last month or two there has been a rise of news reports regarding potential earthquakes in California at a greater magnitude than in recent history: see here and here. These risks have even been reported recently in a London newspaper. While the unusual Southern California “big one” warning is now past
Many times I hear from people who want to “save money” and serve as their own “owner-builder” under the exemption to the California Contractor’s Licensing law, which generally requires that any “construction” work over $500 to be performed by a licensed California contractor in the absence of an exemption. (Bus. & Prof. Code section
Recent rulings indicate that courts across the country view project owners’ and developers’ liability for ADA claims differently than they do other compliance violations. Owners’ attempts to raise questions of contractor negligence, breach of contract or breach of warranty are being rejected. So what can a project owner do? In my recent article for the
A common insurance question asked by our owner/developer clients when they discover that their completed project has defects is whether their own insurance will cover the cost to fix the defect or any damage from the defect. While trying hard not to sound like the proverbial lawyer, we often have to say “it depends.” What
On May 3, 2016, Division 2 of the Washington Court of Appeals issued a decision that renders seemingly moribund the economic loss rule and extends the reach of the independent duty doctrine (“IDD”) against design professionals. The case of Pointe at Westport Harbor Homeowners’ Association v. Engineers Northwest, Inc. P.S., 193 Wn. App. 695,
Continuing a disturbing trend, another recent case finds that an architect is not liable for a design that failed to comply with the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (RA). In Chicago Housing Authority v. DeStefano & Partners, Ltd. (here), an Illinois appellate court followed several other federal and state decisions
Whether you call it SDI or SubGuard, subcontractor default insurance is yet another consideration for public and private project owners as they look at protection from subcontractor default. But what exactly is this relatively new option and when is it most appropriate? In my recent article for the Daily Journal of Commerce, I discuss