Architect Liable to an Airport Maintenance Person who was Electrocuted While Working on an Electric Switchgear Box that had No Warning Labels

by Kent Holland | Dec 28, 2012 | Newsletter Article

Approximately four or five years after completion of the Hilton Hotel at the Boston Logan Airport, an employee of the airport authority was electrocuted while attempting to repair an electrical transformer that lacked required wiring diagrams and warning signs.  The...

Federal Contracts: Attorneys Fees Incurred for REA Preparation and Negotiation are Allowable Says U.S. Court of Appeals in Tip Top Construction

by Kent Holland | Dec 10, 2012 | Newsletter Article

Article by J. Kent Holland – ConstructionRisk Counsel, PLLC In an important decision clarifying that attorneys fees incurred by a contractor in preparing and negotiating a change order or Request for Equitable Adjustment (REA) are allowable to be directly charged to...

Connecticut Supreme Court Reaffirms State’s Immunity from Statutes of Limitation

by Kent Holland | Nov 27, 2012 | Newsletter Article

Timothy Fisher, Esq.; McCarter & English — In a decision followed closely by the construction industry, Connecticut’s Supreme Court has issued a unanimous decision confirming a long-standing rule that statutes of limitations do not run against the...

Agreement to Indemnify Project Owner for Penalties due to Violations of Americans with Disabilities Act Is Void and Unenforceable

by Kent Holland | Nov 27, 2012 | indemnification clause, Newsletter Article

Where design professionals agree by contract to indemnify a project owner for “any damages arising from any act, omission, or willful misconduct”, that provision cannot be enforced when the damages at issue arise out of violations of the Americans with Disabilities...

Bidder Cannot Sue Architect for Tortious Interference with a Business Expectancy for Recommending that Project Owner Reject Its Low Bid

by Kent Holland | Nov 27, 2012 | Newsletter Article

The bidder on a public school project has no valid business expectancy of being awarded a contract, only “wishful thinking,” and in the absence of evidence of fraud, injustice or a violation of trust, it’s tortious interference claim against the owner’s architect for...

Employee Injured in Trench Collapse Cannot Circumvent Worker’s Compensation Bar Against Suing His Employer Absent Evidence of Intentional Wrong That Created Substantial Certainty of Injury or Death

by Kent Holland | Nov 27, 2012 | Newsletter Article

Where an employee of a contractor was injured in the collapse of an unshored 25 foot deep trench, he filed suit against his employer – asserting that the exclusive remedy of the workers’ compensation act did not bar the suit due to the exception that is granted under...