Originally posted 2017-12-25 10:00:02. Punitive damages are hard to come by in construction law cases. This is because almost all construction contract cases are exactly that: contract cases. Between the economic loss rule and the Virginia Courts’ almost (though not completely) impregnable wall between tort and contract, punitive damages may seem completely out of the […]
Don’t Breach Your Contract, but If You Do, Don’t Breach First
Well, it’s been a while since my last post here at Musings due to travel, work, Thanksgiving, etc. so I thought I’d let a recent case remind us all that while breaching a construction contract is bad, doing it first is even worse. This is the so called “doctrine of first breach” that basically states […]
Flow Down! What Flow Down?!?!
Originally posted 2013-08-26 09:10:19. Thank goodness for my pal and fellow blogger, Craig Martin (@craigmartin_jd). Whenever I hit a bout of writer’s block, he comes through with a great idea for a post that I am more than ready to play off of here at Construction Law Musings. This time his post is on that […]
Terms of Your Teaming Agreement Matter
Originally posted 2019-01-07 09:00:13. These days in construction, and other pursuits, teaming agreements have become a great method for large and small contractors to work together to take advantage of various contract and job requirements from minority participation to veteran ownership. With the proliferation of these agreements, parties must be careful in how they draft […]
Miller Act Bond Claims Subject to “Pay If Paid”. . . Sometimes
Originally posted 2014-07-09 09:44:02. The Federal Miller Act is a great tool that subcontractors and suppliers on Federal projects can use for collection of wrongfully withheld amounts due. However, as a recent federal case from the Eastern District of Virginia points out, the construction contract’s terms affect when a subcontractor or supplier can use this […]