Construction
Contract Scope Limits Tort Liability
October 26th, 2018
From the Massachusetts Appeals Court comes a reminder that a contract scope of services may serve to control or limit the scope of tort liability. New homeowners sued the contractor and designer, hired by the former homeowner for a replacement septic…
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Categories: Construction
Failure to Promptly Reserve Rights on Coverage = Loss of Ability to Disclaim
October 2nd, 2018
From the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal comes a reminder that undertaking defense of a claim without any reservation of rights can bar an insurer from disclaiming coverage nine months later – even if the claim was not within the policy language from t…
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Complete and Strict Compliance, or Substantial Performance? The Legal Standard Is . . .
September 19th, 2018
Yes. The Massachusetts high court, with an opportunity to address construction contract performance standards, has held that the contractor must provide “complete and strict performance” with respect to design and construction matters, but that c…
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Violation of Home Improvement Contractor Act is Subject to Statute of Repose
September 1st, 2018
A sharply divided Supreme Judicial Court has held that claims by a homeowner against a contractor, under the state home improvement contractor law, are subject to the statute of repose. Thus, when improper work done in 2001 was not discovered until 2…
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An Unfortunate Reminder About Statutes of Limitation: The Triggering Event!
June 13th, 2018
A developer sought to recover $749,000 in fees it claimed should not have been charged by a town. The fees were paid on October 18, 2013, and the developer filed suit to recover the fees on October 17, 2016. The statute of limitations for the develop…
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Categories: Construction
Contract Ambiguity Affected Accrual of Claim, and Statute of Limitations Analysis
June 2nd, 2018
A seemingly minor ambiguity in contract terms, probably unnoticed at the time, has affected the timeliness of a claim for construction defects. The contract was signed in 2008, after the 2007 updates to the AIA contract forms had been published. The…
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Categories: Construction
Rental Agreement Indemnity – A Setback for Rental Companies
April 27th, 2018
Readers of this blog know that the terms and conditions in equipment rental agreements favor the rental company. Those agreements typically have one-sided indemnity clauses, on the basis that the rental company expects the renting contractor to carry…
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Construction Wage Law Protections – Good Intentions Run Amok!
April 24th, 2018
We can all agree that workers should be paid their wages. And the rank and file worker should not suffer if her employer goes under. But when a company fails, should there be any “usual suspects” to make amends to unpaid workers? And how wide a n…
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Categories: Construction
Unfortunate (and Unexpected) Restriction on Additional Insured Status
March 28th, 2018
The New York Court of Appeals, in a split decision, has focused on one word in deciding that a owner’s construction manager was not entitled to additional insured status on the general contractor’s policy. The contract required the GC to include…
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Payment Bond Does Not Cover Claim for Lost Work Opportunity
March 8th, 2018
A subcontractor claiming that the general contractor failed to use and pay for a minimum number of workers made a claim against the GC’s payment bond, for the value of the workers not hired. A federal court has held that the Miller Act bond does no…
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About Stan Martin
Stan Martin holds a law degree and an undergraduate degree in architecture. He has been involved with the construction industry for more than 45 years, working in construction prior to law school and beginning his construction law practice. During his career, he has been actively involved with the Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts, the Boston Society of Architects, the American Arbitration Association, and the Massachusetts Building Congress.