A recent case brought to my attention by Melissa Brumback (@melissabrumback) of the Construction Law in North Carolina Blog reminded me of the necessity to both include change order provisions in your construction contracts and to follow them. In the case of Artistic Stone v. Safeco in the Norfolk, VA Federal Court (linked from and […]
Be Careful with Venue in Contracts
If Musings has one overarching theme it is be careful with your construction contracts. The Courts remind us of that on a regular, if not daily, basis. One such case, in May of this year and out of the Eastern District of Virginia is Hall & Wilson Construction, Inc. v. Sockwell. Sockwell is a good […]
Reminder: Your Accounting and Other Records Matter
Recently, I’ve posted on mechanic’s lien changes, mediation and other more “legal” topics here at Construction Law Musings. Today’s post is a practical one and one that will help your friendly neighborhood construction attorney greatly should a dispute arise. The tip for this week? Keep clean accounting and other records by construction job and in […]
Sometimes Adjustments are in Fact Equitable- A Story of Differing Site Conditions
Remember the one about differing site conditions? (just kidding, that was never a joke). However, any site contractor knows that these differing conditions can be the bane of its existence. Recently, the Danville, Virginia Division of the Federal District Court for the Western District of Virginia weighed in on the differing site conditions debate. In […]
Subcontractors Must be Careful Providing Bonds when General Contractor Does Not
After I wrote the title to this post, I thought, “Well, that says it all, doesn’t it?” I also considered the fact that for those that read this construction law blog on a regular basis, I am likely stating the obvious. I then thought about the fact that there can be confusion regarding the purpose […]