Blogs

Construction

Our Blog is Now on iPhone and iPad!

I just received an interesting and exciting e-mail I wanted to share with our readers. Our friend Matt Handal has been involved with creating an iPhone application for the architecture, engineering and construction industries to share information and links. He just passed along this note to me: Dear Tim As a courtesy, I wanted to…

April 6, 2010

Construction

Do You Really Want A Construction Case??

Our friend Matt Morse at Dovetail Construction had a great post on Friday entitled “Sometimes Things Go Wrong“. Matt makes some excellent points that even the best builders will face some problems — the way a builder responds to those problems presents an opportunity to stand up, take responsibility, and potentially turn a “customer” into…

April 5, 2010

Construction

It is Official: “GBCI Certification Process Evolving”

The official word is now circulating that GBCI and USGBC are dramatically altering the inspection and certification process for LEED certifications. Last week, I posted the very surprising information that major changes were potentially in the works for GBCI certifications based on a comment at a seminar I attended. GBCI’s initial comments on the blog…

April 2, 2010

Construction

Reassessing Affordable Housing – Literally

If you are an owner or operator of affordable rental housing (property with four or more units), it might be worth noting that the General Assembly has just restricted your local real estate tax assessor’s discretion to value your property to one method. Senator Whipple, apparently at the request of the Virginia Housing Commission, patroned…

March 31, 2010

Construction

Contract Terms Govern in Virginia … Except Non-Competes

Typically, Virginia courts will simply review and apply the terms of contracts. This is great if you have a good contract, horrible if the contract tilts towards your opponent. In contrast to the general rule, Virginia courts are quite hostile to non-compete agreements and are more than willing to throw them completely out when the…

March 30, 2010

Construction

Virginia Builder Fixing Drywall Without Lawsuit Gets No Insurance Coverage

As reported yesterday by Virginia Lawyer’s Weekly, a Virginia federal judge has ruled that a builder who remediated 70 homes constructed with Chinese drywall was not entitled to insurance recovery of the remediation costs. This case is a painful reminder of how even positive, proactive business decisions can translate to tremendous liability risks, particular where…

March 25, 2010

Construction

Details, Details, Details, continued: When 1 + 1 Still Equals 1

Back in November 2009, I highlighted five cases in which the Virginia Supreme Court granted appeals in Case Watch: Upcoming Virginia Supreme Court Opinions. The Virginia Supreme Court has recently published the opinion in the first of those cases, W&W Partnership v. Prince William County Board of Zoning Appeals, et al, Record No. 090328.

March 24, 2010

Construction

Is USGBC Going To Gut GBCI Administered LEED Certifications?

In 2008, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) announced it was planning to shift its internally run certification of buildings to independent certifiers administered by a sister non-profit, the Greeen Building Certification Institute (GBCI). A speaker at an USGBC – National Capital Region event declared last Wednesday that USGBC was taking steps to reverse…

March 22, 2010

Construction

Virginia Designers Rejoice: A/E Limitation of Liability Clauses are Allowed (Again?)

The Virginia General Assembly passed a statute, HB 797, that expressly permits architects and engineers to enter into contractual limitation of liability clauses. The ACEC, VSPE, and VSAIA actively pushed to change the statute in the wake of several cases which ruled that previous language in the corporate enabling statute barred limitation of liability clauses…

March 18, 2010

Construction

Building Codes and Earthquakes: Contrast Haiti and Chile

In the last several months, both Haiti and Chile have been rocked by significant earthquakes. The difference between the tremendous devastation and loss of life in Haiti and the far lower impact in Chile, despite a much more serious earthquake, is at least in part the direct result of building codes and construction practices. The…

March 15, 2010