The “American Rule” on attorneys’ fees is that each party pays its own lawyers, even if you win. As with almost any rule, there are exceptions. Sometimes there is a statute that requires the losing party to pay the prevailing party’s fees. For example, many states have enacted Prompt Pay laws that include a fee-shifting provision
Many contracts contain provisions requiring that changes to a contract be in writing and signed by a particular authorized person. Under such provisions, work done without proper written authorization will not be reimbursed. So, what happens when, in the rush to get the job done, work is done without prior written authorization?
Here’s the Scenario: Try explaining the concept of “retainage” to a businessperson unfamiliar with the construction industry at your next holiday party. Here’s the typical response as she spits out her eggnog: “Wait a minute: are you telling me that when work and materials timely supplied on a private commercial project are approved, the contractor
Here’s the Scenario: After months of working with a new national developer (and providing hours of unreimbursed value engineering), you get the draft prime contract and see that the named “owner” will not be the hugely successful developer, but a specially created “limited liability company” that’s sole “asset” is the land upon which the project
After months of working with a new developer client (and providing hours of unreimbursed value engineering) and hard negotiations over the cost plus GMP contract (fighting over indemnity/escalation/savings/liquidated damage clauses), you have a deal. You pop a cork with all involved since the developer has said this is one of many
Any time a contractor receives a notice to cure, it should tread carefully and review its contract to determine its response. Recently, the Georgia Court of Appeals evaluated a case in which the general contractor terminated the subcontractor’s contract for failure to provide adequate labor to the project. The court determined that the general contractor
A federal district court in Washington recently rejected a subcontractor’s motion for reconsideration of a previously granted motion to stay in a Miller Act lawsuit (the Miller Act governs prime contractor bond requirements on federal projects and sets forth remedies against the bond for subcontractors, vendors, and suppliers on such projects). In United States of
In 2016, the Small Business Administration (SBA) updated its regulations pertaining to limitations on subcontracting. Five years later, on August 11, 2021, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council finally followed suit by publishing two final rules that largely mirror the SBA’s rules. This is a welcome development for federal contractors, as the discrepancy between the
Texas lawyers finally have the ability to recover attorneys’ fees on behalf of their clients in all breach of contract matters, regardless of whether the other party is an individual, corporation, limited partnership, or limited liability company. The Texas Legislature has expanded the scope of Chapter 38 of the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code,
A contractor is halfway through the (timely) completion of a project and the owner’s payment is late. Days, weeks go by, and now the contractor is incurring all the costs of the work without any compensation. It might be tempting to simply walk off the job, but bear in mind that legally speaking, that might