Public Nuisance Suit against A/E Liable for Failing to Design Protective Fencing for a Retaining Wall Dismissed

by Kent Holland | Dec 19, 2016 | Newsletter Article

A man who fell from a retaining wall at a streetscape project being built for a city filed suit against the city as well as the architect (BL Companies, Inc.) for the project. The legal theory against the architect was that he had created a public nuisance by failing...

Settling Suit without Prior Approval of Insurance Carrier Causes Insured to Forfeit Coverage Regardless of Whether the Carrier was Harmed

by Kent Holland | Dec 19, 2016 | Newsletter Article

The “no-voluntary payments” condition of an insurance policy was violated by an insured subcontracting concrete company, when it entered into a settlement with its prime contractor and paid damages for contractual liability for construction delays as well as for an...

Economic Loss Rule Barred Claim against Contractor’s President

by Kent Holland | Dec 19, 2016 | economic loss doctrine, Newsletter Article

An error was made by a surveyor in setting the level for a foundation pad for a church building.   A construction contractor then proceeded to excavate dirt from the foundation area, believing the resulting level would be higher than required by the base flood...

Contractor Not Responsible for Foundation Failure Since Change Order Revised the Design

by Kent Holland | Dec 19, 2016 | Newsletter Article

Where a contractor sought a request for clarification to the project architect concerning whether rebar was to be tied from the floor slab to the pile caps, the architect responded with a clarification, that ultimately became a change order, directing the slab rebar...

Why A/E Firms Should Opt to Litigate instead of Arbitrate

by Kent Holland | Sep 6, 2016 | Newsletter Article

By: Terrence M. McShane, Esquire Lee & McShane, PC Among the critical clauses in design professional contracts are the Dispute Resolution Clauses. For over twenty years, we have advised our clients to opt for Litigation rather than Arbitration as a means of...

Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act Strictly Enforced to Bar Personal Injury Claim against a Subcontractor by an Injured Employee of General Contractor

by Kent Holland | Sep 6, 2016 | Newsletter Article

By: J. Kent Holland ConstructionRisk, LLC The U.S. Federal District Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over a suit by a general contractor’s employee against a construction subcontractor who was engaged in the general contractor’s trade, business and occupation....