Expert Witness Adequately Testified to Consensus Opinion on Applicable Standard of Care

by Kent Holland | Dec 31, 2010 | Newsletter Article, standard of care

A plaintiff’s expert witness was challenged by the defendant on the basis that the expert’s testimony failed to adequately demonstrate that there was a consensus within the architectural community for the standard of care that he asserted applied in the case. The...

Subcontractor Barred from Appealing Federal Government Decision on a Prime Contract Dispute Even though it was 3rd Party Beneficiary

by Kent Holland | Dec 31, 2010 | Newsletter Article

Subcontractor is not permitted under the Contracts Disputes Act (CDA) to bring an action against the federal government where the prime contractor failed to pay the subcontractor for its work. This is true even though the federal department (U.S. Navy) committed to...

Liquidated Damages Enforced Against Road Re-Striping Contractor on Federal Highway Project

by Kent Holland | Dec 31, 2010 | Newsletter Article

The liquidated damages (LD) provision in a federally funded contract to re-stripe an interstate highway was held to be enforceable against the contractor that failed to complete a project on time. When the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT or MDOT) assessed...

Unlicensed Contractor forced to Refund all Payments back to the Homeowners

by Kent Holland | Dec 31, 2010 | Newsletter Article

A homeowner in California that contracted with a construction company to build a house filed suit for breach of contract and negligence, and violations of the state licensure requirements – seeking to recover sums it had paid to the contractor. The construction...

Professional Services Exclusion of Engineer’s CGL Policy Properly Applied to Bar Coverage for Wrongful Death Action Resulting from Trench Collapse

by Kent Holland | Dec 31, 2010 | Newsletter Article

An employee of a contractor died due a trench collapse during installation of a sewer line. His wife filed a wrongful death action against the project engineer, alleging that the firm overseeing the project owed a duty to the worker to perform its professional...

Expert Testimony is Required to Prove Construction Management Failed to Meet the Standard of Care

by Kent Holland | Dec 31, 2010 | Newsletter Article, standard of care

A Court of Appeals in Texas ruled that expert testimony is required to establish the standard of care of a construction management firm since a lay person would not have sufficient knowledge of the duties of a construction management firm. Judgment was entered for the...