Construction Law Blog

Many businesses rely on professionals and laborers retained and assigned through staffing agencies. In a decision released yesterday, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that insurance coverage for the negligent acts of those borrowed employees turns on the language of the insurance policy at issue, not the terms of the staffing agreement between the staffing agency and its client.

A recent Virginia Supreme Court opinion has highlighted the impact of private statutes of limitations in public contract disputes and again confirmed the need to ensure indemnification provisions are drafted to comply with Virginia law.

The various cycles in the real estate market require different legal services. This post discusses four typical phases of the market cycle, legal issues common to those phases, and ways in which contractors can use this understanding to prepare for the future.

Most contractors have at least considered (maybe with dread) what may happen if an OSHA inspector arrives at a jobsite. But many contractors fail to do all they can to prepare for an inspection before the inspector arrives. Here are five key tips to ensure that you are prepared.

The ability to enforce mechanic’s liens rights depends on careful consideration before, during, and after construction. The following ten issues reflect some of the more common issues that arise with liens on construction projects.

Most design and construction contracts contain “dispute resolution” provisions.  Some contracts state that the parties must “mediate” a dispute before “litigation” or “arbitration.”  Through mediation, the parties attempt to resolve their dispute with the assistance of a mediator.  The mediator is not a decision-maker.  Rather, the mediator assists the parties through facilitating a negotiation.  Some mediators will offer their opinion regarding the likely outcome if the case isn’t resolved through negotiation.  Neither party can be forced to settle the ...

Sometimes referred to as “hold harmless” provisions, the indemnification section of a design or construction contract can have profound legal consequences.  The concept of indemnification is not complicated—indemnification is an agreement to assume a specific liability, potential or actual, of another party in the event of a loss.  It involves shifting risk from one party to another—essentially as insurance.  When a contractor or design professional indemnifies a client, she or he assumes some or all of the client’s potential or actual legal liabilities, which may ...