Indemnity Obligation Not Owed to Client for Claims Partially Caused by Client’s Negligence. Duty to Defend Only Applies to Claims Directly Attributable to Indemnitor’s Actions within Scope of Work

by Kent Holland | Apr 11, 2012 | indemnification clause, Newsletter Article

Where an indemnity clause did not expressly state that the subcontractor was required to indemnify its client, the prime contractor, for all damages including those caused partially by the client’s own negligence, the subcontractor’s indemnification obligations were...

No Common law Indemnification Duty Owed by General Contractor to Project Owner for Subcontractor Employee Injuries Where GC Did Not Control and Supervise the Subcontractor’s Work

by Kent Holland | Apr 11, 2012 | indemnification clause, Newsletter Article

Where a general contractor performing a build-out for a store tenant (not the project owner) retained the services of a subcontractor for certain work and an employee of the subcontractor was injured by falling from a ladder, the project owner sued the contractor for...

Default Termination of Contractor Defective for Failure of Owner to Provide Architect’s Certificate of Good Cause for Termination

by Kent Holland | Mar 28, 2012 | Newsletter Article

Where City terminated its contractor for cause, the contractor moved for summary judgment arguing that the termination was defective for lack of an architect’s certificate of good cause for termination as required by the applicable AIA A201 contract document.  On the...

Economic Loss Doctrine Applied in Guam to Bar Design-Build Contractor’s Negligence Claim against its Design Professional Subcontractor for Purely Economic Losses

by Kent Holland | Mar 28, 2012 | Newsletter Article

Design-Build contractor (Maeda Pacific Corp) engaged a design firm to prepare a cost estimate that it used in preparing a bid to the U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command (“Navy”) for a water supply system at the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.  After being...

Contractor Owed Liquidated Damages Where it Failed to Timely Seek Change Order for Owner Caused Delay

by Kent Holland | Mar 28, 2012 | Newsletter Article, time limits

Where a general contractor failed to follow contract procedures to submit a time extension request, a city was entitled to collect liquidated damages from the contractor despite the fact that the city caused the delay.  Since the contractor failed to follow the...

Hirer of an Independent Contractor Implicitly Delegates Site Safety Responsibility Other than for Its Own Employees

by Kent Holland | Mar 28, 2012 | Newsletter Article

The general rule that that employees of an independent contractor that are injured in the workplace cannot sue the party that hired the contractor to do the work applies even when the party that hired the contractor failed to comply with workplace safety requirements...