The good folks at Bricker & Eckler, an Ohio law firm, recently blogged about a New York appellate decision concering subcontract default insurance (“SDI”), often referred to as “SubGuard” based on a Zurich SDI product of the same name. The case involves a private owner who alleged it was misled by its construction manager (presumably at-risk) into believing that the SDI policy the CM had procured from the project’s largest subcontractor provided coverage to the owner in the event of that sub’s default. Turns out the policy only named the CM, but not the owner, as an insured, and when the owner discovered it had no coverage after the sub’s default, it sued the CM for fraud, among other claims.
Tag Archives: NC construction attorney
Will QR Code Technology Provide Contractors Quick Relief in Filing Preliminary Lien Notices?
Ever since its passage last summer, North Carolina’s so-called “lien agent statute” has caused much consternation throughout the commercial construction industry, with many contractors, subs and suppliers worried that it will be inconvenient and expensive for them to comply with the statute’s various requirements (which I’ll be discussing in detail as my “Lien & Bond Law Revolution” series continues in the weeks ahead). The title insurance industry, however, has tried to assure leery potential lien claimants that an online application will make filing preliminary lien notices convenient and inexpensive.This week, we’ll get down to where the rubber meets the road on that assurance. Continue reading
Filed under Events, Lien Law, State law, policy & news, Subcontractors
Foul Weather, Contract Time and Excusable Delay
Would snow tonight give rise to excusable delay tomorrow? Image courtesy of The Weather Channel.
Is it just me, or has it been exceedingly gray and wet in Raleigh-Durham, NC so far in 2013? Heck, forecasters are even calling for 3-6 inches of snow overnight in the Triangle (note to self: pick up milk, bread and other essentials during the lunch break, before the grocery stores shelves are predictably and thoroughly picked over).
The unusually dreary skies around here of late have me thinking about the intersection between the weather and construction delay claims. Specifically, I’ve been ruminating on this question: when is a contractor’s project delay excused by nasty weather?
Filed under Delay Claims
Forecasting Governor-Elect McCrory’s Infrastructure Funding Priorities
I recently came across this blog post from The Council of State Governments’ “Knowledge Center” blog. The post forecasts the 2013 transportation funding challenges and priorities in 20 different states, North Carolina included. Here’s what the post had to say about what might be expected once former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory (R) becomes our governor in January:
The Associated Press recently looked at where incoming Gov. Pat McCrory (the longtime Charlotte Mayor) stands on transportation issues: “Don’t punish cities that must spend lots of money improving interstates, he says. Develop decades-long construction plans. Keep politics out of funding road projects and work with the private sector. And don’t be afraid to try something risky, like the Republican did in 1998 by lobbying for a referendum by voters that raised the local sales tax to help build Charlotte’s first light rail line.” Transportation advocates in the state are reportedly encouraged that the governor-elect, who championed transportation’s ability to improve the economy as Mayor of Charlotte, could endorse more sustainable transportation revenue sources and win support from legislators. But, as a Business Journal article pointed out earlier this fall, North Carolina’s gas tax is already among the highest in the nation and while the state has turned to tolling to help finance some projects, they have faced challenges with a couple of toll road projects.
Filed under State law, policy & news
N.C. Liens/Bonds, They Are A-Changin’ Part I: “Perfecting” Liens Under the New Regime
As 2012 draws to a close — faster than many of us can believe — the dawn of a new era under North Carolina’s mechanic’s lien and bond statutes quickly approaches. And that means it’s high time for me to end my brief blogging hiatus with a series dedicated to helping construction industry participants throughout the state understand the changes that are rapidly coming down the pike.
By way of brief recap, legislation protecting general contractors from double payment liability on public projects and legislation protecting title insurers from “hidden liens” on private projects made splashy headlines this past summer. I’ll be delving into the nuts and bolts of those significant changes as this series continues. This post, however, is dedicated to addressing a less-publicized, but no less substantial, alteration to the lien law that every potential lien claimant will need to bear in mind in 2013, and beyond: the process by which lien rights are “perfected.”
Filed under Feature story, Lien Law, State law, policy & news
The Ties That Bind, and Those That Don’t: Subcontracts v. Sub-bids
I frequently receive phone calls from general contractors curious to know what their legal rights and obligations are with respect to subcontractors before a subcontract agreement is actually reached. Invariably, these calls entail answering one of two questions:(1) Can I sue a subcontractor who wants to back out of its sub-bid or estimate? Or,
(2) Am I obligated to use a subcontractor upon whose sub-bid or estimate I based my prime contract price?
Generally speaking, the answer to both questions is “No.” That’s partially good news for subs, and partially good news for GC’s. Here’s why.
Filed under NC case law, Subcontractors
UPDATED: Lien Law Revisions Bill Cruises Through State Senate, Followed by “Hidden Lien” Legislation
Most recent update: Thursday, June 28, 2012 9:22 p.m.Both the lien law revisions bill and the “hidden lien” legislation sought by the title insurance industry flew through the N.C. Senate yesterday with flying colors.
The lien law revisions bill (House Bill 1052), which among other things would (1) provide “double payment” protection for general contractors under North Carolina’s public payment bond statute and (2) permit subs and suppliers to serve a Notice of Claim of Lien Upon Funds even after a party above them in the contractual chain files for bankruptcy protection, passed unanimously 49-0, with one Senator not voting.
The bill was amended prior to the vote to remove treble damages liability for misrepresentations made in lien waivers. I was listening to the Senate’s deliberations on the amendment, and Senators Brunstetter, Clodfelter, Tillman and Nesbitt all spoke about the dangers of introducing potential unfair and deceptive trade practices liability into a construction project’s payment cycle. The amendment was unanimously approved by the House on Thursday, June 28. The revised bill, as amended, can be found here.
The hidden lien legislation (Senate Bill 42), which among other things would require potential lien claimants to preserve their lien rights by providing a “Hi, I’m here” pre-notice to the project owner’s designated lien agent on residential and commercial projects, also passed unanimously 49-0, but not without some heartburn. In particular, Senator Tommy Tucker of Waxhaw spoke about how the legislation was only before the General Assembly “under a veiled threat” by the title insurance industry, thereby representing a “you’d better!” bill that would leave subcontractors “holding the bag again.” He expressed his support for the bill since the homebuilding industry supported it, but expressed his desire that the General Assembly re-visit the legislation early in the 2013 session to improve it before its April 1, 2013 effective date.
The version of SB 42 passed by the Senate contained several revisions to the version passed in the House on June 21. In the intervening week, a group of construction industry stakeholders — yours truly included, in the interest of full disclosure — worked to propose several modifications that would remove some of the rough edges from the House-passed bill. Those proposed modifications included the following:
- The requirement of pre-notice will not apply where the improvements in question are to be made to an existing single-family residential dwelling unit that is used by the owner as a residence.
- The failure to provide lien agent information to a supplier not expected to perform on-site labor will not result in triple damages exposure under North Carolina’s unfair and deceptive trade practices statute.
- Higher tiered contractors will no longer be able to cut off the lien rights of lower tiered contractors through lien waivers once the lower tiered contractor (1) files pre-notice to the lien agent and (2) serves a notice of claim of lien upon funds up the entire contractual chain and upon the lien agent (under existing law, a higher tiered contractor’s ability to waive the rights of lower tier contractors is only shut off when the lower tiered contractor files a lien enforcement action in court).
- Where a lien agent is not designated prior to the provision of design services by an architect or engineer, the design professional will be deemed to have met the requirement of pre-notice upon the owner’s designation of the lien agent.
These modifications and others are contained in a conference report that was adopted by both the House and Senate yesterday that you can find here. Legislative action on the hidden lien bill is complete, subject to the bill potentially being “tweaked” early in the next legislative session.
Both bills are on their way to Governor Perdue for her approval, which is expected before the end of the month.
Many thanks to Representative Sarah Stevens of Mount Airy for reaching out to me yesterday with news of these developments, and for all of her efforts in shepherding these important bills to the finish line.
Filed under Lien Law, Payment Bonds, State law, policy & news, Surety Law
Hidden Lien Legislation Appears Primed for Approval in General Assembly
The train is on the track, and there’s no slowing it down.That was the impression left on construction industry stakeholders after House Judiciary Subcommittee B approved Senate Bill 42 unanimously yesterday.
Although the bill was initially re-referred to the Finance Committee, that referral was subsequently withdrawn, and a quick scan of today’s legislative calendar suggests the bill will be considered by the entire House at 11:00 a.m. this morning (the House calendar is here; see bottom of page 2).
Filed under Lien Law, State law, policy & news
Latest on Lien and Bond Bills Pending in the General Assembly
Image from Wikipedia Commons
Monday is upon is, the beginning of what is likely to be the penultimate week of the General Assembly’s 2012 short session.
As my regular readers know, I’ve been tracking two key pieces of construction-related legislation: the lien law revision bill recommended by a legislative study commission, and the bill advanced by the title insurance industry to address the “hidden lien problem.”
This post provides an update on where those two bills stand, and also reports on a third construction-related bill that hit my radar last week.
N.C. Construction Law, Policy & News 