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, […]
Contractors Need to be Teachers Too
As I was looking through my Google Reader feeds at the end of last week, I ran across a great post by my friend Andrea Goldman (@andreagoldman) at her Massachusetts Builders Blog. Her blog is a great resource for Massachusetts home builders and their attorneys. In her post, she points out something that contractors (whether […]
Be Sure to Keep Up with Mechanic’s Lien Changes
As those of you who read Construction Law Musings are well aware, the mechanic’s lien is near and dear to my construction lawyer’s heart. A well timed and properly filed memorandum of lien can and does often lead to payment without the need for the suit to enforce that lien. Of course the key part […]
When Enough is Enough…the Cardinal Change Doctrine
For this week’s Guest Post Friday, Musings welcomes Jennifer Watt (@jenniferlwatt). Jennifer is an Indiana litigator with experience litigating construction disputes, representing surety companies and contractors following project defaults and advising on bankruptcy matters. Jennifer, maintains Legal Construction Zone, a blog built for Indiana construction professionals to monitor legal news and developments. Jennifer is an […]
150 Reasons to Talk to a Construction Lawyer Early in a Project
I hope that headline got your attention because this is a reminder to contractors and subcontractors that the Virginia mechanic’s lien statute has several different time limits. One is the 90 day statute of limitations on filing your memorandum. This “90 day rule” is generally well known among construction professionals I talk to and work […]