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DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Understanding Entitlement to Delays and Proper Support

December 10, 2024 — Andrew G. Vicknair - The Dispute Resolver
In a previous post, we discussed delays on construction projects including (1) critical versus non-critical delays, (2) excusable versus non-excusable delays, and (3) compensable versus non-compensable delays. We also reviewed the common methods of delay analysis include (1) the Total Cost Method, (2) the Modified Total Cost Approach, and (3) the Measured Mile Method. Once you have determined the type of delay and the method to be used to analyze and quantify the delay, it is important to understand the type of documents/evidence needed to support your claim for delay. If a party determines that they are entitled to some type of recovery for the delay, the party making a claim for delay, such as a contractor, must have the proper documentation/evidence to assist in proving entitlement for damages from the delay. Without the proper back-up, contractors are generally unable to recover all of the additional costs and expenses associated with the delays or, at best, recover only an “equitable” amount. Generally, damages must be proved with reasonable certainty and may not be based on speculation or conjecture. Thus, it is crucial for a party asserting a delay to have the proper documentation to support a delay claim, if the goal is to recover the damages associated with the delay. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Andrew G. Vicknair, D'Arcy Vicknair, LLC
Mr. Vicknair may be contacted at agv@darcyvicknair.com

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Candis Jones Named to Atlanta Magazine’s 2025 “Atlanta 500” List

March 04, 2025 — Candis Jones - Lewis Brisbois Newsroom
Atlanta, Ga. (February 13, 2025) – Atlanta Partner Candis R. Jones has been named to Atlanta Magazine’s 2025 “Atlanta 500” list of the most powerful law professionals in Atlanta. This is the fifth year in a row she has received this recognition. According to Atlanta Magazine’s editor Jacqueline Holness, “captains of industry continue to be captivated by our city—we are the capital of the Hollywood of the South, Southern Hip Hop as a staple was created here, the FIFA World Cup is coming here, and the Super Bowl continues to come here.” She added, “I’ve always loved one of New York City’s catch phrases: If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. But I would like to submit this catch phrase for Atlanta: If you can’t make it anywhere, you can make it here.” Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Candis Jones, Lewis Brisbois
Ms. Jones may be contacted at Candis.Jones@lewisbrisbois.com

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Michigan Bid-Rig Plea Lands Former Asphalt Paving Executive in Prison

May 06, 2025 — Elaine Silver - Engineering News-Record
A federal judge has sentenced one of several people charged in a Michigan asphalt paving price-fixing scheme to prison. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Elaine Silver, Engineering News-Record

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The Benefits of Incorporating AI Into the Construction Lifecycle

December 23, 2024 — Ian Warner - Construction Executive
Interest in artificial intelligence has been spreading like wildfire over the past few years. AI is not a new term for Trimble, which has been capturing and leveraging construction data for decades. From hardware to software, the field to the office or among stakeholders, harnessing and making meaning out of data is the crux of Trimble’s business. Generative AI is simply a new set of tools that provide a richer narrative around data, making it more insightful and actionable. As a company that helps connect stakeholders across the entire construction lifecycle—design, construction and operations/ maintenance—AI has been woven in and leveraged across a number of Trimble solutions to help contractors do more with less, while also giving them greater decision-making power and the ability to focus on other key challenges. While the use cases for AI are diverse and ever-changing, below are a few key areas where Trimble has doubled down on AI, with the goal of making contractors’ jobs less cumbersome and repetitive, safer and more capable of being upskilled—efforts which will only continue to grow in the coming years. Reprinted courtesy of Ian Warner, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the full story...

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These Roads Aren’t Built for Wilder Weather Driven by Climate Change

February 25, 2025 — Kendra Pierre-Louis - Bloomberg
California’s Highway One, stretching more than 650 miles along the Pacific Coast, is one of America’s most popular roadways because of its breathtaking views. Yet, since 2023, large chunks of it have been closed. That year, a series of atmospheric rivers pummeled the state with rain, triggering landslides and rockslides that the iconic thoroughfare wasn’t built to withstand. “When they engineered these roads, they made big assumptions that we weren’t going to have big changes in precipitation,” says Paul Chinowsky, professor emeritus of civil engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Planners also didn’t anticipate severe erosion that’s become more common on a warmer planet. “We literally built the roads on the edge of land,” he says. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Kendra Pierre-Louis, Bloomberg

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Make Sure You Comply with Florida’s Pre-Suit Notice Requirements for Construction Defects

March 18, 2025 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
Welcome to Florida! If you deal with construction defects in Florida, then you know, or certainly should know, about Florida Statutes Chapter 558. Chapter 558 contains the pre-suit notice requirements before instituting a construction defect lawsuit. They are a “must know” if you practice in the construction defect world. While I may not be a huge proponent for the Chapter or view it as value-added when you factor in numerous considerations, how I feel is of no moment. The pre-suit requirements are still the governing “law of the land” for Florida construction defects lawsuits. A recent case demonstrates this point. In Moss & Associates v. Daystar Peterson, 50 Fla.L.Weekly D509a (Fla. 3d DCA 2025), a condominium unit owner sued the condominium association and general contractor in a lawsuit grounded on construction defects. The unit owner claimed his unit was damaged by water intrusion due to the contractor’s faulty workmanship regarding renovations and repairs to common areas of the condominium. There was not a dispute as to the unit owner’s failure to comply with the pre-suit notice requirements of Florida Statues Chapter 558. The general contractor moved to stay the lawsuit pending the unit owner’s compliance with the pre-suit notice requirements. The trial court denied the stay request. On appeal, the Third District Court of Appeal held that Chapter 558’s pre-suit notice requirements were a statutory requirement that the unit owner had to comply with in order to institute a construction defect lawsuit. Thus, the Third District quashed the trial court’s order and granted the stay. (“By [the trial court] instead concluding that no stay was yet required, the trial court failed to apply the plain language of section 558.003, thereby departing from the essential requirements of the law.”). Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris, P.A.
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

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California Levies $1 Billion Assessment on Insurers for LA Fires

February 12, 2025 — Leslie Kaufman, Michelle Ma & Eliyahu Kamisher - Bloomberg
California’s insurance commission plans to impose a $1 billion assessment on private insurers to shore up the FAIR Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort, after last month’s devastating Los Angeles wildfires. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said the assessment is necessary for the FAIR Plan to continue paying out claims to survivors of the fires, which destroyed more than 16,000 structures and resulted in insured losses of as much as $75 billion, according to one analysis. “The FAIR Plan must pay claims just like any other insurance company,” Lara said in a statement Tuesday. Reprinted courtesy of Leslie Kaufman, Bloomberg, Michelle Ma, Bloomberg and Eliyahu Kamisher, Bloomberg Read the full story...

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Who Decides Who Can Arbitrate? The Court . . . Sometimes

April 01, 2025 — Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law Musings
I have often discussed alternate dispute resolution (ADR) here at Construction Law Musings. In most of those posts, I’ve either discussed the advantages and/or disadvantages of arbitration or mediation. In any of the other ADR-related posts, the assumption was that the question about the arbitrability of the claim (namely that the claim was either properly before the court or properly in arbitration). A relatively recent case from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals is an exception. In Isernia. v. Danville Reg’l Med. Ctr., the Court was faced with deciding who decides the question of where the claim is to be resolved. In Isernia, the court looked at an appeal from a district court order granting a motion to compel arbitration by third parties that were, critically, non-signatories to the contract containing the arbitration provision. Further, that same arbitration provision gave the arbitrator the final say on whether the claim made was in fact one that was to be decided in arbitration (yes, such provisions are enforceable. . . mostly). The Fourth Circuit reversed and remanded the district court’s decision, holding that a court, not an arbitrator, must determine whether a non-signatory can enforce an arbitration agreement. Arbitration agreements are governed by contract law, so a party must establish its entitlement to enforce an agreement before invoking its provisions. Absent such a showing, an arbitrator has no authority to make any determinations in such matters. Because the Appellees were non-signatories to the Agreement, the district court was required to determine whether Appellees were entitled to enforce the Agreement under Virginia law before compelling arbitration. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

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