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Construction Law

Construction Law Blog

Coverage of construction litigation and legislation, particularly in Washington state.
By Brett Hill, Ryan Sternoff and John Ahlers

Post Frequency: 10/day

Last Entry: March 30, 2011 at 21:00:00

Court of Appeals reaffirms limited review of arbitration awards

Posted on April 07, 2008
The Division Two Court of Appeals denied an owner's request to modify an arbitration award entered in favor of a contractor. The case demonstrates the limited review of an arbitration award that a court will perform.

Government Contractor Collects Consultant’s Fees incurred in Preparing a Request for Equitable Adjustment

Posted on April 06, 2008
In government contracting, claim preparation costs (attorneys' fees and consultant costs) are generally not recoverable by the contractor when pursuing a claim. On the other hand, if consultant costs are incurred in preparing a "request for equitable adjustment," the consultant costs and attorneys' fees may be recoverable...

Proposed Oregon Natural Gas Pipeline Raises Environmental Concerns

Posted on April 03, 2008
The proposed Palomar Pipeline to be built across the state of Oregon shows a freeway wide clearcut slicing through 73 miles of public forest and crossing 50 rivers and streams. At peak construction, Palomar Gas Transmission plans to employ up to 1,000 workers to clear the right-of-way, level terrain and bury the pipe in a trench 7 ft...

Heads Up Contractors and Subcontractors – Doing Business with the Federal Government

Posted on April 02, 2008
New federal acquisition regulation changes have been made which require all contractors to adopt "codes of business ethics and conduct" which impose substantially new duties on contractors aimed at preventing and revealing fraudulent criminal activities...

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Civil Engineers Accused of Disaster Probe Cover-Ups

Posted on April 01, 2008
After the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York and the levy failures in New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the federal government paid the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) to investigate what went wrong...

Clark County "clean water charge" ruled constitutional

Posted on April 01, 2008
The Division Two Court of Appeals recently ruled that a clean water charge assessed by Clark County against property owners was not an unconstitutional property tax.

Port of Anchorage Overhaul to Cost $700 Million

Posted on March 31, 2008
Alaskans are questioning the $700M price tag for a huge expansion for the Port of Anchorage. The Port of Anchorage is the main conduit for 75% of all goods sold statewide. The present plan for the new Port calls for doubling the land mass of the Port by erecting a long steel wall in the bay and then filling in the area with gravel...

Homeowner's Bill of Rights: Is it Dead?

Posted on March 25, 2008
Rep. Mark Ericks, D-Bothell, sounded off in an editorial in the Seattle PI that a new task force will be established to propose new remedies for homeowners during the next legislative session.

Seattle Axes Plan for Floating Bridge Light-Rail

Posted on March 25, 2008
Seattle officials have nixed plans for the light-rail system on the new SR 520 floating bridge, despite design specifications that call for pontoons strong enough for a rail line. The transit authorities indicated that beyond cost considerations, technical issues made the light-rail line all but impossible...

A Release in a Settlement Agreement is Not Effective Until All Amounts Due are Paid

Posted on March 25, 2008
An employee and his employer entered into a settlement agreement concerning a severance and salary dispute that required the employer to pay $50,000. When the employer failed to make the payment due under the settlement agreement, the employee filed a lawsuit claiming the settlement agreement was void because the consideration specified in the agreement had never been paid and sought to recover the original claim amount rather than the $50,000...

A Contractor Faulty Estimate Should Not Trigger False Claims Act Violation

Posted on March 21, 2008
A threshold requirement under the False Claims Act is that a "false claim" exists, that is, that the claim be objectively "false." Expressions of opinion, scientific judgments or statements as to conclusions about which reasonable minds may differ cannot be false as required by the False Claims Act...

Three year statute of limitations for claims against dissolved LLCs begins to run on date of administrative dissolution

Posted on March 18, 2008
The Court of Appeals ruled this week that the three statute of limitations for claims against LLCs that have been administratively dissolved begins to run on the date the LLC is administratively dissolved.

Division One Court of Appeals clarifies application of discovery rule in breach of contract cases

Posted on March 18, 2008
In Harmony at Madrona Park Owners Assoc. v. Madison Harmony Dev., Inc., the Court of Appeals clarified when the discovery rule applies in breach of contract actions where construction defects are alleged.

“Pay When Paid” vs. “Pay If Paid” Clauses: Mystery vs. Myth

Posted on March 17, 2008
A "Pay When Paid" clause provides that payment to the Subcontractor will be made within a certain period of time after the contractor has been paid by the owner, rather than within a period of time after the subcontractor has performed its work. Generally, "Pay When Paid" clauses are interpreted to merely postpone payment for a reasonable time...

Negligent construction bill dies in House of Representatives

Posted on March 17, 2008
Senate Bill 6385 which sought to create a cause of action for homeowners against contractors for negligent construction failed to reach the House floor for debate and approval.

Port of Seattle Reorganizes Construction Division

Posted on March 13, 2008
Engineers and construction managers at the Port of Seattle will join a Development Division aimed at preventing the kind of waste and fraud which auditors assert have plagued the Port authority for months. A recent audit concluded the Port's construction program wasted millions of dollars, failed to rigorously negotiate with contractors, appeared to favor certain businesses and sometimes broke state law when awarding contracts...

Impact of Shift Work on Labor Productivity for Labor Intensive Contractors

Posted on March 13, 2008
Generally, a contractor has three options in accelerating a construction schedule: working longer hours, increasing the number of workers, or creating an additional shift of workers.

Pew Research Gives Washington State An “A” For Infrastructure Government Performance

Posted on March 12, 2008
From the great news for the state of Washington, bad news for Dino Rossi, a new 50 state report card released on May 4, 2008 gives Washington an "A" grade for government performance for infrastructure maintenance. Pew Research gave 23 states a grade lower than C+ for the way they maintained bridges, roads, and other infrastructures, while a B- grade was the overall average...

Cement Demand Expected To Soar 43% By 2030

Posted on March 12, 2008
According to the Portland Cement Association, US demand for cement will increase 43% by 2030, driven by both population growth and environmental concerns. With the population expected to increase by 63 million, "construction will boost demand for cement to record levels," according to Edward J...

MCA Takes On University of Washington Emergency Regulations for Renovation of Husky Stadium (February 2008)

Posted on March 12, 2008
The Mechanical Contractors' Association (MCA), in a strongly worded letter, has taken issue with the University of Washington's (University) decision to declare an emergency and adopt regulations that would permit the Husky Stadium renovation to proceed without the safeguards of competitive bidding...

Job Satisfaction of Women in Construction Trades

Posted on March 11, 2008
Tradeswomen in the Cincinnati, Ohio area were surveyed to assess to their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with construction work. The study showed that pay, benefits and job security are most important to women in their occupation. Although the tradeswomen are satisfied with the nature of the work in the construction trades, but are less satisfied with the pay, benefits, job security and availability of separate, hygienic/sanitary facilities...

AAA Takes On The New AIA 207 documents and ConsensusDOCs Contracts – Arbitration Clauses

Posted on March 11, 2008
The new AIA 201 2007 form departs with almost a century of American Institute of Architects (AIA) tradition of arbitrating disputes in American Arbitration Association (AAA) arbitration. Up until 2007, the exclusive dispute resolution process under AIA documents was AAA arbitration...

Public Works Projects In Washington Get Funded By The Legislature:

Posted on March 11, 2008
The Washington State Senate Approved The A $7.5 Billion Highway Budget: The Washington State Senate approved new funding for Washington highways, including replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle, and the new 520 floating bridge across Lake Washington...

A Design Omission Does Not Automatically Create a Contract Ambiguity

Posted on March 05, 2008
Dick Pacific/GHEMM, JV ("Dick Pacific") was the general contactor for the $138.3 Bassett Hospital at Fort Wainwright, AK. The owner of the project was the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers. Dick Pacific subcontracted the installation of the medical case work to ISEC, Inc...

Allocation of Concurrent Delay Damages on Construction Projects

Posted on March 03, 2008
When delay events interact, that is when two events or parties cause a delay to the critical path at the same time, the issue is often whether the concurrent delays can be apportioned between causes or parties.

Contractor Uses Measured Mile Method to Calculate Loss of Efficiency Cause by Differing Site Conditions

Posted on March 03, 2008
The Army Corps of Engineers ordered a dredging contract to Bay West, Inc. to remove and transport 170,000 CY dredged materials from the Mississippi River. The specifications provided that although the contractor was responsible for determining the character of the existing material "for its own purposes," the materials relocated could be assumed to consist of "predominantly previously dredged sand from the River channel...

Mechanic's lien filing period not tolled indefinitely when claimant joins in another foreclosure action

Posted on February 29, 2008
This week, in Van Wolvelaere v. Weathervane Window Co., the Washington Court of Appeals ruled that the 8 month statute of limitations for mechanic's liens was not tolled indefinitely after a lien claimant joins an existing lawsuit filed by another claimant to foreclose on the property at issue.

Miller Act Recovery Can Depend Upon Whether the Claimant is a “Subcontractor” or “Supplier”. (Federal Bond Claim)

Posted on February 29, 2008
The Miller Act provides recovery from the general contractor's bond for only first and second tier claimants. A first-tier claimant is one who has a direct contract with the prime contractor, a second-tier claimant is a claimant who has a direct contract with the prime contractor's (first tier) subcontractor...

Court of Appeals rules that additional terms in paint supplier's invoices that materially alter the parties' agreement do not form a part of contract with purchaser

Posted on February 28, 2008
The Court of Appeals ruled that the warranty disclaimers and other terms in a paint supplier's invoices that materially altered its agreement with the purchaser did not form a part of the parties' contract and were not enforceable.

Court of Appeals rules on wages required for electrical workers on public projects

Posted on February 27, 2008
The Court of Appeals in D.W. Close v. Department of Labor and Industries ruled that electrical workers who pull low voltage wiring through conduit of more than 10 feet in length on construction projects are required to be compensated as "inside wireman"...

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