2021 California Construction Law Update
This Christmas looks to be a Blue Christmas as the nation grapples with rising infection, hospitalization and death rates due to COVID. But there’s always 2021…
Deadlines. . . They’re Important. Project Owner Risks Losing Claim By Failing to Timely Identify “Doe” Defendant
Earlier this year I filed a complaint in a court which I won’t identify other than to say that it wasn’t the San Francisco Superior Court.…
Contractor Haunted by “Demonized” Flooring
The most un-Halloween of Halloweens has come and gone. If you ask me though, between COVID, protests, fires, hurricanes, the passing of a Supreme Court Justice,…
Court of Appeal Holds That Higher-Tiered Party on Construction Project Can be Held Liable for Intentional Interference with Contract
In Caliber Paving Company, Inc. v. Rexford Industrial Realty and Management, Inc., Case No. G0584406 (September 1, 2020), the 4th District Court of Appeal examined whether…
A Primer on Insurance for Construction Projects
People who live in glass houses should have insurance (in addition to not throwing stones). So too should your construction project. The risks inherent on a…
Court Holds That One-Year SOL Applies to Disgorgement Claims Under B&P Section 7031
We’ve talked before about Business and Professions Code section 7031 which courts have referred to as “harsh[ ],” “unjust[ ]” and even “draconian.” Under Section 7031,…
You May Be Able to Dodge a Bullet, But Not a Gatling Gun
In the days before cable, and long before Netflix, I watched my fair share of spaghetti westerns on lazy weekend afternoons. Bullets zinging past cowboys, knocking…
Insurance Policies and Indemnity Provisions Are Not the Same
Just because you own a pair of Air Jordans doesn’t make you Michael Jordan. In the next case, Carter v. Pulte Home Corporation, Case No. A154757…
The Construction Industry Lost Jobs (No Surprise) but it Gained Some Too (Surprise)
The announcement this week by major airlines and then by Disney that they will be laying off tens of thousands of workers is just the latest…
Court of Appeal Puts the “Equity” in Equitable Subrogation
Subrogation as a concept is well understood in insurance circles. According to the Institute of Risk Management Institute’s glossary of insurance terms subrogation is “the assignment…
Is it the End of the Lease-Leaseback Shootouts? Maybe.
It’s the case that has turned into a modern day Hatfield versus McCoy – McGee v. Torrance Unified School District, Case No. 8298122, 2nd District Court…
Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams. Unlicensed Contractor Takes the Cake
Before the Kardashians, before Empire, before Crazy Rich Asians there was Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with Robin Leach. The next case, Moore v. Teed,…
