Matthew DeVries | Best Practices Construction Law Construction contracts are full of protections. No-damage-for-delay clauses. Consequential damage waivers. Rights to supplement a subcontractor’s work. Broad scheduling provisions. But a recent Tennessee construction case provides an important reminder: the best contract in the world may not save you from bad project facts. In Commercial Painting Company,… Continue reading Your Construction Contract Won’t Always Save You From a Bad Project Record
Mediation Endgame: How Experienced Practitioners Can Best Use the Mediator’s Proposal to Settle Hard Cases
Gene M. Witkin and Matthew W. Argue | American Arbitration Association In this article, the authors, both full-time neutrals, share success strategies to help civil litigation practitioners, insurance professionals, and in-house counsel with the mediation of higher-value, complex litigation, particularly as it pertains to construction claims. We address helpful tips to avoid common pitfalls and… Continue reading Mediation Endgame: How Experienced Practitioners Can Best Use the Mediator’s Proposal to Settle Hard Cases
No Bar to Entry: The Case for the Non-Attorney Mediator
Luke Taylor | American Arbitration Association When one of my businesses has a legal question, I hire a lawyer. I don’t hesitate, I don’t shop around, and I don’t second-guess the answer. Lawyers spend their careers mastering the law, and when I need the law, I want the best-trained legal mind in the room. But… Continue reading No Bar to Entry: The Case for the Non-Attorney Mediator
When Is the Government Responsible for Damaging My Property?
David Robinson | Holland & Knight Suppose a city repaves a street, puts in new storm drains or builds a flood channel nearby. Soon after, a nearby building floods for the first time. Is the government responsible? In California, the answer is often yes, even if no one at City Hall was careless. But there… Continue reading When Is the Government Responsible for Damaging My Property?
When the Contractor Lies About the Lumber: Bankruptcy Court Carves Out a $129,948.72 Non-Dischargeable Judgment
Jacob A. Zahniser | Miller Nash A Washington bankruptcy judge just held that a contractor’s lie about buying materials makes the resulting debt non-dischargeable. The judge also refused to extend that holding to the rest of the project. The decision, In re Sleater, Adv. No. 25-01062-CMA, Doc. 88 (Bankr. W.D. Wash. Oct. 22, 2026) (Alston,… Continue reading When the Contractor Lies About the Lumber: Bankruptcy Court Carves Out a $129,948.72 Non-Dischargeable Judgment