Playing Hot Potato: Indemnity Strikes Again
Indemnity can be like playing hot potato (for those of you closer to the Minecraft generation, in the game of hot potato, a metaphoric “hot potato”…
The Buck Stops Over There: Have Indemnitors Become the Insurers of First and Last Resort?
Insurance and indemnity are the primary risk management strategies on construction projects. Insurance, such as commercial general liability insurance, insures against third party claims for bodily injury…
Apprentices on Public Works Projects: Sometimes it’s Not What You Do But Who You Do the Work For That Counts
If you’re a public works contractor in California you’re familiar with prevailing wages. The Prevailing Wage Law, a Depression era law designed to encourage the hiring…
Court Calls Lease-Leaseback Project What it is: A Design-Bid-Build Project
First there was “Prince.” Then there was “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince.” Then there was “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (Because he Changed His Name to…
California Supreme Court Endorses City Authority to Adopt Inclusionary Housing Ordinance
The following post was written by my partner Neal Parish on the California Supreme Court’s recent (and surprising) new decision which eases the way for local…
All is Fair in Lovell and Litigation
Most California construction attorneys know, or should know, that you need to “prove” you’re a licensed contractor in a construction case. And, by “prove,” that means more…
Did the Court of Appeals Just Raise the Bar for California Contractors to Self-Report Construction-Related Judgments?
An interesting construction case just came out from the California Court of Appeals for the Second District this past month – Pacific Caisson & Shoring, Inc. v.…
Failing to Pay Prevailing Wages May Have Just Cost You More Than You Thought
Mechanics lien claims, payment bond claims, stop payment notice claims, delay claims, defect claims, abandonment claims . . . With the variety of claims unique to…
Coffee Beans, Mars and the 50 States: Civil Code 1542 Waivers and Latent Defects
A few years ago, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Charles Duhigg wrote a book that was on the New York Times bestseller list for over 60 weeks, The Power of Habit:…
School District Gets Expensive Lesson on Prompt Payment Law. But Did the Court Get it Right?
My kids don’t like riding in my car. I urge them to look outside the window (I don’t have DVD), suggest that they roll down their…
Mixing Concrete, Like Baking a Cake, is Fraught with Problems When the Recipe is Not Followed
“Mixing concrete, like baking a cake, is fraught with problems when the recipe is not followed.” – Justice Kenneth Yegan, State Ready Mix, Inc. v. Moffatt…
When a Construction Lender Steps into the Shoes of the Developer, the Door is Open for Claims by the General Contractor
Thank you to my partner Garret Murai for giving me the opportunity to post again on his excellent California Construction Law Blog. I am the author/editor…
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