A California federal court ruled last week that a surety can enforce an arbitration clause in a contract to which it is not a party. The dispute involves performance and payment bond claims brought by solar contractor Swinerton Builders, Inc. Swinerton brought the claims in California federal court against Argonaut Insurance, the surety of a
I have practiced law for 40 years, with the vast majority spent as a “construction lawyer.” I have seen great… and bad… construction lawyering, both when on the other side of a dispute, as well as when serving well over 300 times as a mediator or arbitrator in construction disputes. To be clear, I have
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides funding to eligible applicants under the Public Assistance (PA) program to help applicants in responding to and recovering from presidentially declared major disasters and emergencies. For PA applicants who are denied PA funding, there is a mandatory administrative appeal process managed for and by FEMA. If that appeal
The Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA) recently published its annual report, providing key statistics on cases filed at and adjudicated by the CBCA in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023. Of note, the CBCA found in favor of the contractor, either in whole or in part, in 45% of its decisions on the merits in
A U.S. federal district court refused to compel arbitration in a contractual dispute concerning the supply of materials, products, and services for an oil and gas project being performed by defendants in Saudi Arabia. The parties’ agreement provided for arbitration under the now-defunct Dubai International Financial Center London Court of International Arbitration Rules (DIFC- LCIA).
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision last week upholding an arbitral award, despite the failure of the arbitrators to make certain pertinent disclosures. The case involves an international arbitration before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) stemming from the design and construction of the Panama Canal expansion, which was “severely delayed and
If you’ve ever seen the popular film Goodfellas, you might have heard of the infamous Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. It’s usually referred to by its acronym, “RICO,” and was designed to punish a laundry list of criminal conduct such as “gambling, arson, robbery, bribery, extortion, dealing in obscene matter, or dealing in
Although many construction contracts contain arbitration provisions, it is not always clear whether a particular dispute is subject to arbitration and, in some cases, a party may seek to litigate a dispute rather than demand arbitration. In those cases, a defendant may move to compel the dispute to arbitration and seek a stay of further
How final is a final arbitration award? In Escapes! To the Shores Condominium Association, Inc., et al. v. Hoar Construction, LLC, and Architectural Surfaces, Inc., the plaintiff condo association argued that an arbitration award that didn’t resolve all claims against all parties in the trial court was not final enough to be appealed. The
A novel question arose over the past few years in residential construction law as to whether minors were subject to the contractual provisions in their parents’ purchase or construction contract. The contract typically has a dispute resolution clause mandating arbitration of all claims. However, asserting that the minors are not bound to a contract they