Subcontract Bidder Excused from Executing Contract with Prime Contractor

by Kent Holland | Jan 19, 2017 | Newsletter Article

Where a subcontractor submitted a glazing work bid to a general contractor to be considered and used in the general contractor’s bid to construct a new building for a college, it contained numerous terms and conditions that the general contractor (GC) rejected when it...

Teaming Agreement is Unenforceable: Merely an Agreement to Agree in the Future

by Kent Holland | Jan 19, 2017 | Newsletter Article

Once again a Teaming Agreement subject to the law of State of Virginia has been declared unenforceable because it did not contain any requirement that the prime member of the team award subcontracts to the other team members, and it did not contain contract sum or...

Engineer Liable for Rainwater Tank Collapse Where it Failed to Provide Appropriate RFI Responses to Contractor

by Kent Holland | Jan 19, 2017 | Newsletter Article

Engineering firm designed site plans for a rain tank system to be buried under a parking lot for a new church sanctuary. As a contractor began constructing the project, it inquired of the engineer via a Request for Information (RFI) about concerns about the...

Contractor May Recover on Differing Site Condition Despite Not Following the Notice Requirements of Contract

by Kent Holland | Dec 19, 2016 | differing site conditions, Newsletter Article

After final payment was made under its contract, a utility construction contractor submitted a written request for additional payment to the project owner seeking payment for extra work it performed as well as increased costs due to delays and disruptions during the...

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...