By: Werner Sabo Most construction contracts include dispute resolution provisions, including situations where the parties decide not to use industry-standard agreements. Using custom language in such provisions poses real danger, including potential litigation regarding the meaning of the contract. Below are two recent cases that illustrate this danger. 1.    Did the […]

By: Tina M. Paries Owners who experience latent defects in their newly-constructed homes often find that they have no recourse if the developer is no longer in business. Under traditional contract principles, owners cannot seek to recover from the subcontractors who actually performed the defective work because there is no […]

By: Werner Sabo Many construction agreements, including the AIA documents, include a waiver of consequential damages. For instance, the 2017 version of B101, the owner-architect agreement states as follows: 8.1.3 The Architect and Owner waive consequential damages for claims, disputes, or other matters in question arising out of or relating to […]

By: Jennifer Cromheecke and Werner Sabo Two recent cases underscore the importance of ensuring that contractual dispute-resolution provisions are clear, unambiguous, and reflective of the parties’ intentions. In Matrix North American Construction, Inc. v. SNC Lavalin Constructors, Inc., Case No.: PWG-17-3763, 2018 WL 3707838 (D.Md. Aug. 2, 2018), a subcontractor […]

By: Werner Sabo A federal court in Georgia recently held that a limitation of liability provision in an engineer’s contract with the owner was effective and did not violate public policy. In US Nitrogen v. Weatherly, Inc., 2018 WL 4576053 (N.D. Georgia, Sept. 24, 2018), the owner hired the defendant engineer […]

By: James K. Zahn Assume for the moment that you are the architect about to begin performing “Construction Administration Services” for a project on behalf of an owner. The owner wants a smoothly run project and looks to you for advice in making that happen. The project has been bid, […]

By: Robert Bramlette Unemployment is below 4%! The second quarter GDP was above 4%! Fortune 50 companies are moving offices into downtown Chicago. Developers are building, and new office space is coming on the market. Entrepreneurial clients are searching for space in order to attract millennials who want to live […]

By: Samuel Levine Several bills affecting the construction and real estate industries have passed the Illinois General Assembly and now await Gov. Rauner’s signature. The governor has almost until the end of August to sign, veto or exercise an amendatory veto, recommending changes. CONTRACTOR PROMPT PAYMENT ACT – SB 3052 […]

By: Margery Newman Introduction to Pass-Through and Liquidating Agreements The Pass-Through Claim As is typically the case in the construction context, the project owner—whether a governmental entity or simply a private property owner—enters into a contract with the prime contractor, who is then responsible for the overall coordination of the […]

By: Werner Sabo   In this short note, we examine two recent copyright cases. The first (First World Architects Studio v. McGhee, 2018 WL 2727912 (Ct. App. Ohio, June 6, 2018)) is not actually a copyright case, but rather a case filed in state court alleging that the defendant sought […]