By: Jim Zahn, Of Counsel Every business owner should be concerned about eventual ownership transition. This is especially true for architects planning to retire in the near future. Too often, the architect will fail to plan for eventual retirement and will not think about the sale or ownership transfer of […]

By: Juan Anderson, Income Member In many respects, the design profession is no different than most other construction-­related industries. For example, the computer revolution has had a significant impact on the way in which design services are rendered and delivered. As computer-aided design (CAD) software becomes more advanced, more and […]

By: Jeanne Hoffmann, Capital Member The Illinois Construction Contract Indemnification for Negligence Act (Anti–Indemnification Act) (740 ILCS 35/0.01 et seq. (West 2000), essentially voids any agreement in a construction contract to indemnify or hold harmless a person from that person’s own negligence. The statute on its face clearly applies “with respect to […]

By: Jim McConkey, Special Counsel Contractors sued in personal injury litigation are certainly aware of their responsibility to honor workers’ compensation liens, particularly where the workers’ compensation carrier has intervened in the lawsuit in which the contractor is a defendant. They should give the same deference to liens served under […]

By: Robert Bramlette, Income Member The Declaration sets the rules that owners must abide by. These rules include establishment of monthly maintenance amounts, limitations on animals and pets in a unit, parking restrictions, rental of units, Annual Meeting, election of a Board of Directors and other issues associated with condominium life. […]

By: Werner Sabo; Of Counsel If a worker is injured and receives benefits under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, the liability of the injured worker to other parties is limited to the amount of the workers’ compensation benefits it had paid to the employee. This is known as the Kotecki […]

By: Geoff Bryce, Managing Partner Empress Casino Joliet Corp. v. W.E. O’Neil Construction, et al; 2016 Ill.App (1st) 151166 and 151184, November 16, 2016 This case demonstrates that regardless of whether you are building something new or making a substantial remodel of an existing building, builder’s risk insurance is an […]

By: Tina Paries, Income Member A major concern of any general contractor on a project is whether its subcontractors will perform their work adequately and in a timely manner. In the past, general contractors relied on performance bonds to protect themselves in the event a subcontractor defaulted on its obligations. […]

By: Jim Zahn, Of Counsel All Illinois architects, professional engineers, and structural engineers who practice within the state of Illinois as a business entity, rather than under their individual name, must apply for “Design Firm Registration.” All individual and professional design firm registration licenses are issued for a two-year period. […]

By: Werner Sabo, Of Counsel A recent Illinois Appellate Court opinion, Sandlin v. Harrah’s Illinois Corp, 2016 IL App (3d) 150018 (Ill.App. 3d Dist., Sept. 2, 2016), addressed an indemnification provision contained in a contract between an owner and architect. The architect was hired in 1999 to design a hotel […]