The Most [Fill in the Blank] Bid Dispute, Ever

We’ve all heard of those lawsuits which cause us to scratch our heads wondering, what were they thinking? Think woman sues fast food restaurant for serving…

Rumble in the Construction Defect Jungle

Lately, reading the advance sheets of construction defect cases has been like watching one of the Rocky movies. There’s the punches (owww!). Then there’s the counter-punches…

And So it Begins . . .

This past year I wrote about a case which caused a bit of an uproar in the homebuilding industry – Liberty Mutual Insurance Company v. Brookfield Crystal…

Google’s Mysterious Floating Boxes

It was moored quietly in the Bay. But when a four story structure made up of shipping containers was erected, questions began to be asked. Elected…

To Be or Not to Be – Subdivision Bonds Does Not a Public Works Project, Make it Be

“To be, or not to be, that is the question— whether ’tis Nobler in the mind to suffer the Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune, or…

California Building Energy Efficiency Standards Delayed to July 1, 2014

The California Contractors State License Board (“CSLB”) has issued an Industry Bulletin providing further information regarding the delayed implementation of the California Building Energy Efficiency Standards…

Got a Problem With Olympic Construction in Sochi?

In the days leading up to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia the press was writing about . . . well . . . the…

There’s a Reason Why It’s Called a “Stop Payment” Notice Not a “Let Me Pay Myself First” Notice

In a decision published January 31, 2014 (Brewer Corp. v. Point Center Financial, Inc.), the California Court of Appeal (Fourth District) affirmed a trial court’s…

The Big “B” – Bankruptcy on the Construction Project

It’s not often that I find myself in bankruptcy court, but there I was. A lone construction attorney surrounded by bankruptcy lawyers speaking in a foreign…

The Not So Fine Print

It seems like there’s been a lot of labor law news lately. From the California Labor Commissioner’s crackdown on labor law violations this past year to new…

The 49ers May Not Be Going to the Superbowl . . . But Their Consolation Prize Ain’t Bad

I’m not much of a sports guy, but like many in the San Francisco Bay Area, I watched the 49ers-Seahawk game over the Martin Luther King,…

Playing NSA at the Job Site. Just Less Sneakily

The U.S. National Security Agency (“NSA”) been getting a lot of bad press lately. From backdoor hacking into Google and Yahoo to the mass data collection…