constructionlaw – Construction Law Musings- Richmond, VA

Simplifying North Carolina’s Mechanic’s Lien Agent Process: NC’s New Online Clearinghouse

Originally posted 2013-03-29 09:00:54.

For this week’s Guest Post Friday at Construction Law Musings, we welcome back Bryan G. Scott. Bryan (@winstonattorney) is an attorney at Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLC and co-Chair of the firm’s Construction Practice Group

Thank you to Chris for the opportunity once again to guest post here at Construction Law Musings. As I discussed in my last post, North Carolina’s General Assembly last year introduced the concept of Mechanic’s Lien Agent (MLA) into our state’s lien laws as a way of addressing “hidden liens” that have long been a thorn in the side of title insurers. Beginning this Monday, April 1, 2013, project owners in North Carolina are required to designate an MLA for the vast majority of construction projects, and contractors or other potential lien claimants must identify themselves through written notice to the MLA if they want to ensure their lien priority against lenders or purchasers.

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Another Exception to Fraud and Contract Don’t Mix

Originally posted 2013-05-27 09:00:37.

Map of Virginia highlighting Loudoun County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here at Construction Law Musings, we’ve discussed the fact that, in Virginia, the “economic loss rule” generally renders claims of fraud and construction contracts like oil and water. This is true in most states, including Florida.

What this means is that as a general rule where any party is supposed to perform under a contract, and fails to do so, the Virginia courts will dismiss a fraud claim out of a desire to avoid turning any breach of contract (read “broken promise”) case into a claim for fraud. As you have likely gathered by the title of this post, there are exceptions. One is a properly plead Virginia Consumer Protection Act (“VCPA”) claim.

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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.

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Thanks to Construction Law in NC

Originally posted 2012-09-20 12:00:31.

I am always grateful for the opportunity to “muse” on other folks blogs. I am particularly grateful to Melissa Brumback (@melissabrumback) for the opportunity to discuss why contractors and subcontractors should “play nicely in the sandbox” at the great Construction Law in North Carolina blog.

Here’s an excerpt from the post. For the rest, you’ll have to go visit her blog.

While it is obvious that subs need to play nice with GC’s because they have the money, it may seem less obvious how the above can hurt a general contractor. The short answer (and don’t worry I won’t be going into the long one) is that burning good subs eventually means that good subs won’t work with you. Subs talk to each other. Your reputation will precede you. Eventually the economy will improve and you won’t be the only game in town. Not to mention that such actions are the stuff of which claims are made.

I recommend that you check out the post and the remainder of Melissa’s great blog, particularly if you are a North Carolina construction or AE professional.

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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.

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