Construction – Page 4 – Construction Law Musings- Richmond, VA

Be Sure to Bring Up Any Mechanic’s Lien Defenses Early and Often

As those of you who regularly read Musings are aware, mechanic’s liens are a big part of my law practice and a big issue here at this construction law blog. I’ve discussed the picky requirements of the mechanic’s lien statutes in Virginia and how the 90 and 150-day rules are strictly enforced. However, a recent case out of the City of Norfolk Virginia Circuit Court cautions that while failure to meet these strict requirements may invalidate a lien, it only does so if the owner or general contractor seeking to invalidate the lien argues the invalidity and/or presents evidence of that invalidity either pretrial or during trial. Continue reading Be Sure to Bring Up Any Mechanic’s Lien Defenses Early and Often

Interesting Perspectives on Construction Law from Friends

Originally posted 2013-10-23 09:15:47.

As I have been in a bit of the throes of writers block here at Musings (hey, it happens), I did what I always do and check the great sources of information in my blog roll and Feedly feeds for any fodder to discuss.

In doing so, I ran across two interesting posts, one from my pal Matt Bouchard (@mattbouchardesq) down in Raleigh, NC entitled “Mediator/Arbitrator Hybrids: The Next Big Thing in Construction Dispute Resolution.” In this post (which I will not go into much detail about here) Matt discusses a contractual procedure where one person acts as a mediator and arbitrator in a procedure summarized (after a full outline of the contractual provisions) by Matt as follows:

There you have it: soup-to-nuts construction dispute resolution within 65 days, no muss, no fuss. The procedure features one neutral, serving as both the mediator and the arbitrator, with virtually no time at all transpiring between the end of the mediation and final resolution of the arbitration.

Continue reading Interesting Perspectives on Construction Law from Friends

Mediating is Eye Opening

Originally posted 2015-09-14 09:00:25.

English: mediator Deutsch: Mediator (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As anyone that reads this construction law blog on any sort of regular basis knows, I am a big advocate for mediation in most cases (construction or otherwise). I took this truly to heard about four years ago when I decided to go through the training and mentorship to become a certified mediator here in Virginia. This training led to many opportunities to act as a mediator in the General District Courts here in Virginia and has recently given me the great privilege of helping parties that were not court referred resolve their disputes. Continue reading Mediating is Eye Opening

Construction Law- Where Pragmatism and Law Collide

Originally posted 2019-10-25 10:40:49.

If there is one “theme” to Construction Law Musings, those that read regularly hopefully see that I take my role as counselor to construction companies seriously. Aside from the fact that litigation and arbitration are both expensive and not a great way for any business, particularly a construction business, to make money, I have found construction professionals to be a pragmatic group of people that would rather solve a problem than go to court. Continue reading Construction Law- Where Pragmatism and Law Collide

Even Fraud in the Inducement is Tough in Construction

Originally posted 2014-06-10 15:38:08.

Map of the United States District Courts in Virginia,(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have discussed how hard it is in the Commonwealth of Virginia to make out a claim for fraud when a construction contract is involved. On limited exception is where a claim for “fraud in the inducement” is involved. Essentially, such a claim states that one party was hoodwinked into entering the contract in the first place. Because of the initial fraud (for instance misrepresenting the class or existence of a contractor’s license), the courts may bypass the terms of the contract and allow a claim for fraud to go forward.

Continue reading Even Fraud in the Inducement is Tough in Construction