{"id":904901,"date":"2025-10-10T16:04:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T22:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=904901"},"modified":"2025-10-10T16:04:22","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T22:04:22","slug":"mechanics-liens-and-contracts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-liens-and-contracts\/","title":{"rendered":"Mechanic\u2019s Liens and Contracts: A Roundup"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Christopher G. Hill | Construction Law Musings<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musings thought that it would step away from its discussion of \u201cgreen\u201d construction to discuss a few interesting construction cases that came down recently in the Commonwealth of Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first of these is another warning to contractors that arbitration provisions<\/a> can be waived by conduct.\u00a0 In\u00a0Shoosmith Bros., Inc. v. Hopewell Nursing Home<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0the Hopewell Circuit Court of Virginia found that Kenbridge Construction Company\u2019s waived its right to arbitration by its use of the Courts for a substantial period of time and its use of the discovery \u201cmachinery\u201d of the Court.\u00a0 In short, if you want to enforce an arbitration clause, do it early to avoid an argument that you have waived arbitration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second case is in relation to mechanic\u2019s liens.\u00a0 I find this one interesting because the Court actually refused to invalidate a lien for a minor inaccuracy in the description of the work performed.\u00a0 In\u00a0B.P. Realty LP v. Urban Eng\u2019g Associates, Inc. et. al.<\/a><\/em>, the Fairfax, Virginia Circuit Court refused to invalidate a lien because the engineering firm and defendant in the case failed to include the word \u201csurveying\u201d in its description of the work.\u00a0 The court held that this is an excusable inaccuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is significant because, as I have discussed on numerous occasions\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0at Musings, Virginia mechanic\u2019s liens are extremely picky in their enforcement.\u00a0 While I would not take this case to allow any inaccuracy that is more significant than that described here, it needs to be pointed out that you are not without arguments against claims that your lien is invalid due to a minor inaccuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third case I felt needed a mention is\u00a0S. B. Ballard Construction Co. v. LGS Group, LLC, et. al<\/a>..\u00a0<\/em>In this case, the Court give a quick reminder that, in Virginia, it is very hard to make a contract claim into one for fraud, negligence or conspiracy.\u00a0 The economic loss rule in Virginia prohibits any claim that could arise from the contract from being prosecuted as a tort claim instead of a contract claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a fourth set of\u00a0consolidated cases<\/a>, the Norfolk Circuit Court held that the language found in Va. Code Sections\u00a043-11<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a043-7<\/a>\u00a0invalidated a subcontractor\u2019s mechanic\u2019s lien<\/a>, despite non-payment to the general contractor, where an owner expressly conditioned payment to the general contractor upon its obtaining financing, diligently sought financing and was unable to obtain that financing.\u00a0 The Norfolk Circuit Court also discussed estoppel and waiver and I commend reading this case to all who are interested in construction contracts and liens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

When one of your cases is in need of a construction expert, estimates, insurance appraisal or umpire services in defect or insurance disputes – please call Advise & Consult, Inc. at 888.684.8305, or email experts@adviseandconsult.net<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christopher G. Hill | Construction Law Musings Musings thought that it would step away from its discussion of \u201cgreen\u201d construction to discuss a few interesting construction cases that came down recently in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The first of these is another warning to contractors that arbitration provisions can be waived by conduct.\u00a0 In\u00a0Shoosmith Bros.,… Continue reading Mechanic\u2019s Liens and Contracts: A Roundup<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10772],"tags":[9895,184,357],"class_list":["post-904901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mechanics-lien-law","tag-advise-consult","tag-mechanics-lien-law","tag-virginia","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nMechanic\u2019s Liens and Contracts: A Roundup - 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