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Groundbreaking Law Construction & Design Industry Legal Commentary

Monthly Archives: February 2012

When Is A Bid Received On Time?

Posted in Uncategorized

When the Federal Highway Administration changed the location for receiving bids from Colorado to Arizona, it didn’t change the deadline from “1:00 p.m. MST” (Mountain Standard Time).  Although both Colorado and Arizona are in the MST time zone, a problem arose because, during the months of daylight saving time, Arizona is one hour behind the… Continue Reading

Historic Construction Defects

Posted in Uncategorized

The New York Times has recently reported that, after engineers successfully completed extensive renovations to reduce the tilt of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, sharply reducing its tilt, the repairs ended its status as leaning-est tower. A few years ago, the Guinness World Records awarded the title of “Farthest Leaning Tower” to a… Continue Reading

AGC Survey Results: Use of Building Information Modeling is Prevalent and Growing

Posted in BIM, Construction Contracts

In preparation of its 2012 Construction Hiring and Business Outlook, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) received survey responses from over 1,300 construction firms in December 2011. The survey results show a dramatic increase in the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM).  While construction firms reported using BIM on only 8% of projects in… Continue Reading

Subcontractors: Read Your Email, Especially When the Email Addresses Specifications

Posted in Subcontractors

The Alaska Supreme Court recently held that the implied warranty of adequate specifications does not protect a subcontractor who fails read a transmittal email that clarifies the scope of work.  In this case, a the prime contractor solicited a bid by email from a subcontractor to build foundation piers.  The contractor attached the plans and… Continue Reading

Debarred Contractors

Posted in Prevailing Wages

Chapter 39.12 of the Revised Code of Washington requires that the hourly wages paid to workers on all public works contracts of the state or any county, municipality or political subdivision must equal or exceed the prevailing rate of wage in the same trade or occupation in the locality where the labor is performed.  A contractor… Continue Reading