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David Pugh represents owners, general contractors, subcontractors, engineers, architects, insurance companies and sureties throughout the United States. He advises clients at every stage of a construction project: conception, planning, performance and closeout. David drafts and negotiates contracts for several large scale projects, and he participates in trials, hearings, appellate arguments, mediations and arbitrations in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Mexico, among others. View articles by David.

The Alabama Legislature recently made several changes to requirements for public works projects that go into effect September 1, 2023. Here’s a summary of the notable changes:

Section 39-1-1

Section 39-1-1 mandates that a contractor performing public works furnish a performance bond equal to 100% of the contract price and a payment bond equal to

Measuring the Long Arm of Texas Courts: When Is an Out-of-State Supplier Subject to Texas Jurisdiction? Suppliers of construction products and materials frequently find that their products and materials are used in projects located in states where the supplier may not have an office, factory, or production facility. Some suppliers may believe that because they don’t have an office or factory in Texas, they cannot be sued in a Texas court.

Enforcing Electronic Contracts in Texas When the Other Party Denies SigningAs an ever-increasing amount of contract negotiation and execution is done online, new legal issues have arisen from such transactions. Consider the following scenario:

You are a general/prime contractor. You have a subcontractor’s electronic signature on an arbitration agreement. When a dispute arises with the subcontractor, you raise the arbitration agreement and attempt to submit

National Construction Safety Week: Preventing Accidents on the JobsiteEven as the construction industry continues its recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it also continues to focus on worker safety. Consistent with this focus, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) scheduled the eighth annual “National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction” event for May 3-7, 2021.

Sooner Is Better than LaterFor our friends who litigate (or arbitrate!) in Alabama, take note of this recent Alabama Supreme Court decision. Although not a construction case, this recent decision dramatically illustrates what not to do if you want to arbitrate your dispute, as is the preferred dispute resolution mechanism in many design and construction contracts. In The Health

Georgia Legislature Amends Mechanic’s Lien LawAn important update to Georgia’s statutory lien waiver laws took effect on January 1, 2021. The amendment to Georgia’s mechanic’s lien law alters the form for interim and final lien waivers. Essentially, the new statute clarifies that lien waivers only waive lien or bond rights against the property and do not waive the right to

The Right to Arbitrate and the Risk of Losing ItThe Alabama Supreme Court recently found that a party was in breach of an arbitration agreement for declining to pay the fee schedule set forth by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and thus lost the right to compel arbitration. This case serves as a reminder to follow the orders of arbitral institutions or risk losing

ICC Releases New International Arbitration Rules – Important Changes for the Construction and Energy SectorThe International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Court of Arbitration, one of the leading international arbitral institutions, has released revised Rules of Arbitration to take effect in January 2021. The 2021 ICC Rules contain some important updates, especially for the construction and energy sector, which constitutes approximately 40% of the ICC’s overall caseload. The 2021

Contract, Project, and Arbitration in Florida? State Has Personal Jurisdiction Over Action to Enforce Arbitration AwardOn June 24, 2020, in Sayers Constr., LLC v. Timberline Constr., Inc., et al., a Florida District Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court’s denial of a contractor’s motion to dismiss. The contractor moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction in a dispute with a subcontractor over confirmation of an arbitration award. The