Thoughts on construction law from Christopher G. Hill, Virginia construction lawyer, LEED AP, mediator, and member of the Virginia Legal Elite in Construction Law

Category Archives: Business of Construction

Where Insurance and Contracts Collide in Construction

As has been said a “few” times here at Construction Law Musings, the courts of the Commonwealth of Virginia strictly interpret the actual terms of a construction contract.  A recent case in the Circuit Court for the City of Richmond provides yet another example of this fact. In Fixture Specialists Inc. v. MGT Construction Mgmt.

Reminder: Your MLA Notice Must Have Your License Number

Remember a couple of years ago when the Virginia mechanic’s lien rules changed to require inclusion of a claimant’s contractor’s license number (where a license is required)?  If not, then this is a reminder of that particular wrinkle in the strictly interpreted mechanic’s lien statute.  This requirement applies to all mechanic’s lien memoranda and, like

Just How can a Virtual Assistant help A Construction Attorney Get More Clients?

This week, Musings welcomes Michelle Mangen to the Guest Post Friday fold.  Michelle’s vast talents and expert skills in accounting, bookkeeping and Excel, far exceed the average virtual assistant’s scope of knowledge; thereby further enhancing not only her back-end office, but those of her clients.   Extending administrative and other remote admin services to her global

Should a Subcontractor provide bonds to a GC who is not himself bonded? (Bonding Agent Perspective)

Guest Post Friday is back, and for this week, Construction Law Musings welcomes Steve Moore.  Steve has been the Construction & Surety Manager for Towne Insurance Agency-Invincia, in Chesterfield, VA since 2010.  Steve’s experience in the Virginia surety bonding marketplace started in 1985 with USF&G.  His underwriting travels took him from USF&G to starting National

Private Project Payment Bonds and Pay if Paid in Virginia

One of the many items of construction law that has always been about as clear as mud has been the interaction between a contractual pay if paid clause and payment bond claims either under the Federal Miller Act or Virginia’s “Little Miller Act.”  While properly drafted contractual “pay if paid” clauses are enforceable by their