Recent California Decision Erodes Certainty of 10-Year Statute of Repose Against Construction Defect Claims

by Kent Holland | Feb 9, 2011 | Newsletter Article

For many years, contractors and construction lawyers in California understood that a bright line existed regarding potential liability for construction defects – no liability 10 years after substantial completion of the project. The recent decision by the California...

Hurricane Katrina’s Impact on Existing U.S. Government Contracts

by Kent Holland | Feb 9, 2011 | Newsletter Article

For contractors performing work on existing federal contracts in affected areas, assessing the impact of the hurricane on their contracts raises a number of issues and concerns.  Federal construction and supply contracts typically provide for a non-compensable time...

Contractor Forfeited Right to Payment by Performing Work without a License

by Kent Holland | Feb 9, 2011 | Newsletter Article

Where a contractor executed a contract before having its license and then obtained the license shortly after performance began, the contractor forfeited all right to payment for either the work performed before licensure or the work performed after licensure.  Under a...

Contractor Complaint against Engineer Dismissed for Failure to File Expert Identification Affidavit

by Kent Holland | Feb 9, 2011 | Newsletter Article

Where a contractor that was sued by a project owner for failing to comply with contract specifications filed a claim to implead the project engineer into the suit, it failed to serve an expert identification affidavit within 180 days as required by state statute.  As...

Don’t Touch That “Forward” Button! Attorney-Client Privilege in an E-Mail Age

by Kent Holland | Feb 9, 2011 | Newsletter Article

The attorney-client privilege is an important protection to enable businesses to seek open and frank legal advice in conducting their business affairs.  When the privilege applies, statements and documents that normally would be open to inspection and discovery remain...

Indemnity Clause Requires Subcontractor to Indemnify Prime for Injuries Arising out of the Prime’s own Negligence

by Kent Holland | Feb 9, 2011 | Newsletter Article

Where the indemnity clause of a contract expressly exculpated a prime contractor from the consequences of its own negligence that resulted in injury to a subcontractor’s worker, the prime was entitled to be indemnified by the subcontractor because the claim arose out...