California Supreme Court Declines Request to Expand Exceptions to Privette Doctrine for Known Hazards
First things first. Happy New Year! Hope you had a good one. To start things off in the new year we’ve got an employment-related case for…
Planes, Trains and Prevailing Wages. Ok, No Planes, But Trains and Prevailing Wages Yes
The California Supreme Court doesn’t often delve into construction-related issues, but this year we’ve got two cases, both related to the payment of prevailing wages on…
California Supreme Court Holds that Prevailing Wages are Not Required for Mobilization Work, for Now
In the midst of the Great Depression the federal government enacted the Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. section 32141 et seq.) to help workers on federal construction projects. Under…
Contractor’s Assignment of Construction Contract to Newly Formed Company Before Company Was Licensed, Not Subject to B&P 7031
Add one more to the Business and Profession Code section 7031 archives. In Manela v. Stone, Case No. B302660 (July 1, 2021), the 2nd District Court…
Homeowner’s Claims Defeated Because “Gravamen” of Complaint was Fraud, not Breach of Contract
Be careful what you wish for or, as in the next case, what you plead. In Vera v. REL-BC, LLC, Case Nos. A155807, A156823, and A159141 (June…
Court of Appeals Finds Arbitration Provision Incorporated by Reference Unenforceable
Subcontractors have gotten accustomed to incorporation clauses in their contracts. While an incorporation clause can incorporate any document, most typically, it’s the prime contract between the…
Developer Pre-Conditions in CC&Rs Limiting Ability of HOA to Make Construction Defect Claims, Found Unenforceable
The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act (Civ. Code §4000, et seq.), also known simply as “Davis-Stirling,” is a statute that applies to condominium, cooperative and planned…
Agreement Authorizing Party’s Own Engineer to Determine Substantial Compliance Found Binding on Adverse Party
When it comes to resolving construction disputes it’s a bit like the “31 Flavors” of Baskin Robins. There’s a flavor for nearly everyone. From mediation, to…
One-Upmanship by Contractors In Prevailing Wage Decision Leads to a Bad Result for All . . . Perhaps
Fights between contractors can be a bit like Mad magazine’s “Spy vs. Spy” with each side trying to out outwit and one-up one another. The…
1st District Joins 2nd District Court of Appeals and Holds that One-Year SOL Applies to Disgorgement Claims
We’re beginning to see a trend. This past year, the 2nd District Court of Appeals, in Eisenberg Village of the Los Angeles Jewish Home for the…
You Can Litigate a Dispute. Just Don’t LITIGATE a Dispute.
Litigation can get personal. But when you’re an attorney as well as the litigant, things can get both personal as well as nasty, and this can…
Court of Appeals Discusses the Difference Between “Claims-Made” and “Occurrence-Based” Insurance Policies
As most contractors know, scope, price and time are the “big” three in any construction contract. Nearly as important, however, are the insurance provisions. Patricularly, when…
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