Worker’s Compensation Exclusivity Rule Gets “Trumped” by Indemnity Provision
Sorry, I couldn’t help myself with the title. The next case, Aluma Systems Concrete Construction of California v. Nibbi Bros., Inc., California Court of Appeals for…
How Construction Contracts are Made. Hint: It’s a Bit Like Making Sausage
Construction can be a messy affair. In a sense, that’s to be expected when you’re building a complex structure, involving the coordination of several parties and numerous…
Insurer’s Attempt to Shift Cost of Defense to Another Insurer Found Void as to Public Policy
While construction can sometimes be risky, construction litigation is almost always expensive. This volatile mix of risk and expense has made risk shifting, through indemnity and…
California’s Prompt Payment Laws: Just Because an Owner Has Changed Course Doesn’t Mean It’s Changed Course on Previous Payments
We’ve written before about California’s prompt payment laws which are designed to help contractors get paid in a timely and orderly fashion, which is always nice,…
The Quiet War Between California’s Charter Cities and the State’s Prevailing Wage Law
Behind the scenes a quiet war is raging. A war pitting local sovereignty, on one hand, against a Depression-era law intended to help those working on state…
Contractors: A Lesson on Being Friendly
I know. You’re just trying to be friendly. Don’t. Particularly when you’re a contractor bidding on a public works project. Those dinners at swanky restaurants, tickets to The…
The Project “Completion” Paradox in California
We’ve written before about why the date of “completion” on a California construction project is important, and why, if I may be blunt, determining that date…
Construction Payment Remedies: You May be Able to Skate by, But Why?
My grandfather used to say that “anything worth doing, is worth doing well.” It wasn’t until later that I learned the quote wasn’t his, but a quote…
One Very Good Reason to Make Sure Your Contractor is Licensed
I know how the thinking goes . . . Other than providing you with some marginal assurance that the work performed by your contractor (or subcontractor,…
A Construction Case for the Rats: Now Ain’t That a Kick in the Head
Usually, I write about cases because I find them “interesting.” And by interesting, I mean that in the most clinically (to most) boring way because they…
California Court of Appeals Says, “We Like Eich(leay)!”
Time is money. And nowhere can than be best observed than on a construction project. Project delays can mean lost profits for owners, liquidated damages for…
Is it the Dawning of the Age of Strict Products Liability for Contractors in California?
It was the Age of Aquarius. And everything was changing. Politically, socially . . . and legally. Through the 19th Century the doctrine of caveat emptor,…
