Contractor Wins in Arbitration Only to Lose Before the Superior Court on Section 7031 Claim

If you’re a regularly reader of the California Construction Law Blog you’re aware of Business and Professions Code section 7031 which courts have variously described as…

2023’s Bank Failures: What Contractors, Material Suppliers and Equipment Lessors Can Do to Protect Themselves

It has been a tumultuous year for the banking industry. Since the beginning of this year the industry has seen the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank…

Claim Preclusion: The Doctrine Everyone Thinks They Know But No One Really Knows What it Means in Practice

Generally, I think restraint in litigation is a good thing. Don’t go crazy on your claims, don’t go nut-so in your discovery, and don’t present your…

“Incidental” Versus “Direct” Third Party Beneficiaries Under Insurance Policies in Which a Party is Not an Additional Insured

As they say, when it rains, it pours. Indemnity and insurance are the “Big Two” when it comes to risk avoidance on construction projects. The…

Summary Judgment in Favor of General Contractor Under Privette Doctrine Overturned: Lessons Learned

It seems like we’ve been seeing a lot of Privette doctrine cases recently. Here’s another, Brown v. Beach House Design & Development, 85 Cal.App.5th 516 (2002),…

Court of Appeal: Privette Doctrine Does Not Apply to Landlord-Tenant Relationships

We’ve talked a fair bit about the Privette doctrine which provides for a rebuttable presumption that a hirer is not liable for workplace injuries sustained by…

Playing Professor for a Day

I had the unique opportunity this past week to lecture at USC at the invitation of Professor Alan Croll. Professor Croll is an attorney and former…

Show Me the Money: The Good Faith Dispute Exception to Prompt Payment Penalties

California has a number of prompt payment penalty statutes on the books. Among them is Civil Code section 8800 which requires project owners on private works…

Just Because You Caused it, Doesn’t Mean You Own It: The Hooker Exception to the Privette Doctrine

We’ve written before about the Privette doctrine, which establishes a presumption that a hirer of an independent contractor delegates to the contractor all responsibility for workplace…

2023 Construction Outlook: Construction Starts Expected to Flatten

There’s a lot to worry about going into 2023 according to Dodge Data & Analytics in its 2023 Construction Industry Outlook: Inflation More oil production cuts…

Payment Bond Surety Entitled to Award of Attorneys’ Fees Although Defended by Principal

For contractors involved in California public works projects the scenario is not uncommon: The general contractor awarded the public works project is required to obtain a…