We discuss contracts often here at Construction Law Musings. Why? Because in most states, and particularly in my home state of Virginia, the contract creates the “law” that will govern your interaction on a construction project. In construction, every word of the contract will be read carefully in the event of a dispute. You need
Here at Construction Law Musings, I have often discussed payment bond claims under the federal Miller Act and its state specific analogs (so called “Little Miller Acts“). Most of these discussions have assumed without actually stating that the surety carrying the payment bond would be solvent and available to pay any judgment against it. Unfortunately,
If you’ve been reading Construction Law Musings lately you know that I’ve been on a bit of a mediation kick. I’ve recently been certified by the Virginia Supreme Court and have had a few mediations lately. I’ve discussed the mediation process from the perspective of the advocate and that of the mediator. Of course, most,
Several posts out here in the legal blogosphere have discussed alternative dispute resolution (ADR). One good post out there relating to arbitration is by my friend Matt Devries (@matthewdevries) at his great blog Best Practices Construction Law. In his post, Matt sets forth the case for arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism in the right
For this week’s Guest Post Friday here at Construction Law Musings, we welcome back Melissa Dewey Brumback. Melissa is a construction law partner at Ragsdale Liggett, in Raleigh, North Carolina. The bulk of her practice involves representing architects and engineers in construction-related claims, including construction administration and management, plan defects, testing failure claims and delay