Tag: Zachariah Rowland

Recently, a California court held a roadway construction contractor, Western Engineering, Inc., liable for injuries to a motorist, Kevin Shipp, who sued for negligence related to an automobile accident. The accident happened when another motorist, George Smithson, rear-ended Shipp while Shipp was stopped at a traffic control stop managed by Western.  Smithson admitted he hadn’t…

As 2020 (finally) comes to a close and we turn the page to 2021, it is worth reviewing some of the upcoming changes in affecting the construction industry and those who work in it.   COVID-19 Exposure Notices to Employees Under AB 685, employers are required to provide written notice to employee who may have…

California’s contracting licensure laws are some of the most complicated and burdensome in the country.  They require licensure for general contracting, general engineering contracting, and specialty contracting work.  Further, negligent or unintentional technical violations of certain statutes can result in automatic suspensions of the license by operation of law.  Additionally, the potential penalties for performing…

Lien rights are important to contractors.  When all else fails, foreclosing on a lien can be the only way to get paid.  But contractors make mistakes – injuring their lien rights – every day.  Consequently, the importance of understanding and complying with the legal requirements and deadlines to perfect a construction lien cannot be overstated….

In construction contracts, the insurance requirements are often some of the most important provisions in the entire contract.  The requirements can sometimes be confusing, or worse contradictory.  On occasion, the contract may purport to require coverages that are unobtainable in the marketplace.  The best practice in all circumstances is to work with a licensed insurance…

In the construction industry, there is typically a focus on the existence and scope of an indemnity clause in a construction contract.  But while these clauses are important for their risk-transfer potential, there are other important clauses in construction contracts that are also worth examining in detail before executing the contract. First, it is worth…

Private arbitration is often lauded as a speedy and less expensive remedy to litigation in the public court system.  Arbitrators replace both the judge and the jury who would otherwise oversee a formal dispute between litigants.  Courts and public policy broadly support the use of arbitration.  And in the last decade or so, adding an…

As movement towards reopening gains momentum, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, state and local authorities are issuing various guidance to businesses.  In the construction industry, guidelines have typically been issued by county or city authorities.  On April 23, 2020, the City of San Diego published safety protocols for construction sites in relation to COVID-19.  Failure…

Application of Force Majeure Clauses, Acts of God, and Civil Code Section 1511 California business owners have been confronted by COVID-19 with entirely unprecedented challenges, many of which have made it impossible to get work done. For companies struggling to understand their contractual obligations under conditions never imagined when a contract was signed, there are countless…