Insurance Carrier Had No Duty to Defend Engineer in Wrongful Death Action Based on Trench Collapse

by Kent Holland | Feb 8, 2011 | duty to defend, Newsletter Article

An engineer’s general liability insurance carrier (“Utica Insurance”) refused to defend a suit against the engineer arising out of the death of a laborer (“Lindsley”) in a trench collapse. It contented that the claim was excluded from coverage....

Failure to Attend Pre-Bid Site Visit Proves Fatal to Contractor’s Differing Site Conditions Claim

by Kent Holland | Feb 8, 2011 | differing site conditions, Newsletter Article

A government repair and alteration contract required installing new shower units to existing supply piping. Upon demolishing the shower wall, the contractor discovered that due to the location of the existing supply lines it would have to remove and replace the pipes....

Engineer Not Liable for Breach of Implied Warranty of Design

by Kent Holland | Feb 8, 2011 | differing site conditions, Newsletter Article

When an engineer designed a road that failed because the impermeability of the underlying soil caused water to accumulate between the soil and the asphalt, resulting in the road floating and the asphalt cracking, the project owner sued  for negligence and breach of...

Risk of Differing Site Condition Not Shifted to Contractor

by Kent Holland | Feb 8, 2011 | differing site conditions, Newsletter Article

Contract provisions requiring contractors to perform site investigation and inspection prior to bidding did not impose the risk of subsurface conditions on the contractor, and therefore, did not preclude a claim for equitable adjustment.  When the contractor began...

Differing Site Conditions and Lost Productivity Entitle Contractor to Additional Compensation

by Kent Holland | Feb 7, 2011 | differing site conditions, Newsletter Article

A construction contractor was entitled to change orders where it encountered differing site conditions that required the use of form footings instead of trench footings as has been planned. The plans and specifications incorporated into the contract contained...

Differing Site Conditions: Can You Recover Increased Costs?

by Kent Holland | Feb 7, 2011 | differing site conditions, Newsletter Article

In some parts of the country, subsurface conditions create great financial risks for contractors.  The Differing Site Conditions clause is one of the tools owners use to remove some of the risk and, therefore, maintain competition in the bidding process. Generally, a...