A Florida federal judge has found architectural firm HKS liable for providing defective structural designs from its engineering subconsultant on a hospital project in Florida. The case involves expansion of an existing hospital in Lake Mary, Florida. The owner, Orlando Health, hired HKS as its architect, who in turn hired BBM Structural Engineers for the structural design.
In construction contracts, proposals, drawings, studies, etc. are often incorporated by reference. A Nebraska federal court recently addressed what language is sufficient to accomplish such incorporation. In Cleaver Brooks Co. v. B&K Mechanical Contractors, LLC, No. 4:23-CV-3243, 2026 WL 2254434 (D. Neb. Aug. 5, 2026), the court rejected an argument that a subcontract’s reference
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the White House Ballroom project can proceed, at least for now. As you may recall from our prior post, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals had enjoined the project on separation of powers ground because the constitution gives Congress exclusive authority to make improvements to federal property.
In our companion post, we looked at the quirks that make Virginia’s mechanic’s lien law unique. A link to that post is here. Just across the Potomac, Maryland’s version of the same tool is built on a completely different foundation. If you build, renovate, or supply materials on a Maryland project — or own
Many construction contracts these days include an arbitration provision. Those provisions generally provide that disputes between the parties will be resolved through private arbitration rather than litigation in the public court system. As with other contractual rights, the right to invoke arbitration is waivable. Waiver may be accomplished expressly or implicitly.
Legendary jurist Frank Easterbrook
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit has affirmed the jury verdict and judgment in favor of engineering firm AECOM Technical Services in its long-running dispute with the Flatiron-AECOM joint venture (JV). The case involves construction of 12.5 miles of express lanes on State Highway C-470 just south of Denver, Colorado. AECOM brought suit to
The most visible construction project in America is back in the news with a federal appeals court affirming a preliminary injunction against above-ground construction on the new ballroom at the White House. The court found that the president had exceeded his authority by starting construction on public property without the necessary funding and approval from
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently affirmed a decision of the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) denying a contractor’s differing site condition claim on a flood control project along the Trapp Canal in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Hamp’s Construction LLC v. Secretary of the Army, No. 2024-1528 (Fed. Cir.
The Spearin doctrine is alive and well in Maryland. Pursuant to that doctrine, owners who provide plans and specifications to a contractor impliedly warrant that information and may be responsible if that information is defective. Last week, a Maryland appeals court applied the century-old Spearin doctrine to affirm a trial court victory for Balfour Beatty
We all have legal duties. Some arise from contracts that we choose to enter. Others are spelled out in statutes or regulations. Still others are imposed by the common law. One of the most basic common law duties is the duty to exercise reasonable care to avoid injury to others. What constitutes reasonable care varies