Will S. Bennett and Ali H. Jamwal | Saxe Doernberger & Vita The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts recently expanded plaintiffs’ rights to bring construction defects suits in the state.[1] The ruling allows plaintiffs in Massachusetts to now bring suit even after the statute of repose for construction defect claims has passed if the cause of… Continue reading Massachusetts High Court Allows Plaintiffs to Bring Contract-Based Construction Defects Claim After Expiration of Statute of Repose
Category: Construction Defects
Iowa Supreme Court Reaffirms Rule That Faulty Workmanship Is Not an Occurrence, Leaving Question of Statutory Fraud for Another Day
Dylan Magruder | Carlton Fields In Dostart v. Columbia Insurance Group, the Iowa Supreme Court reaffirmed the rule — in Iowa, and many other jurisdictions — that faulty workmanship by a contractor does not constitute an “occurrence” as defined in a standard commercial general liability (CGL) policy. And the court extended this rule to damages caused… Continue reading Iowa Supreme Court Reaffirms Rule That Faulty Workmanship Is Not an Occurrence, Leaving Question of Statutory Fraud for Another Day
Oklahoma Limits Claims for Construction Cases
Liam Skaf | The Subrogation Strategist Often times, subrogation practitioners take the “kitchen sink” approach when pursuing claims: they name all potentially liable parties under all available legal theories and whittle down from there. With construction defect cases in particular, the difficulty of identifying exactly who did what and which contractual provisions have which effect… Continue reading Oklahoma Limits Claims for Construction Cases
Indemnity Lessons From Mass. Construction Defect Ruling
Christopher Sweeney | Conn Kavanaugh In Trustees of Boston University v. Clough Harbour & Associates LLP, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court considered anew whether a construction defect claim tendered under the terms of a bespoke contractual indemnity provision is subject to Massachusetts’ six-year statute of repose.[1] On April 16, the court held that under the parties’ specifically negotiated… Continue reading Indemnity Lessons From Mass. Construction Defect Ruling
Bidders Beware! Design-Builders Are at Risk Not Only for Defective Design Documents, But Possibly for Defective Bidding Documents, Too
Robert J. Symon and Owen E. Salyers | BuildSmart Historically, the Boards of Contract Appeals and Courts have reviewed design-builders’ reliance on government-provided conceptual drawings or bridging documents in support of constructive change claims under a reasonableness standard (see M. A. Mortensen Company, ASBCA No. 39978, 93-3 BCA ¶ 26,189). However, in two recent cases, the Spearin doctrine… Continue reading Bidders Beware! Design-Builders Are at Risk Not Only for Defective Design Documents, But Possibly for Defective Bidding Documents, Too