A recent Georgia Court of Appeals case established a rule concerning the effect of an unlicensed contractor failing to disclose that he is unlicensed. In Fleetwood v. Lucas,[1] the contractor was hired by the homeowners to perform renovations on …
Construction Litigation
Georgia Supreme Court Addresses Anti-Indemnity Statute
In prior blog posts, we addressed Georgia’s anti-indemnity statute. One of the posts addressed the statute in the context of an electric utility easement near an airport. That case made its way to the Supreme Court Georgia, which provided …
Court Addresses Damages Under Homeowners Insurance Policy
Court Addresses Expert and Lay Testimony of Damages Under Homeowners Insurance Policy
Woodrum v. Georgia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company, 347 Ga. App. 89 (2018)
During a storm, a tree landed on a homeowner’s house causing damage to the …
Court Dismisses Cross Claims Against Utility Based on Construction Anti-Indemnity Statute
When a plane crashed and several passengers and crew died or were injured, their representatives sued several defendants, including a nearby plant owner, Milliken & Company (“Plant Owner”), based on claims that transmission lines on Plant Owner’s property were too …
Part II: Key Provisions of School Facility Construction & Design Contracts
The following article was written by David R. Cook, and was published 13 June by School Construction News. It is reprinted here with permission. Part I, “Key Provisions of School Facility Construction & Design Contracts,” was published 25 April.…
County Sovereign Immunity Invokes Change-Order Ordinance
The recent case of Fulton County v. Soco Contracting Company, Inc. addresses two very interesting questions for local government attorneys. First, can a county ordinance bolster a defense of sovereign immunity against a contractor’s claims? Second, can a county waive …
U.S. State Adoption of the National Electrical Code
From the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) website; ESFI.org.
What is the National Electrical Code?
Did you know that as of 2017, there have been 15 revisions of The National Electrical Code since 1975, the year the …
City Potentially Liable for Cost Overrun on Not-to-Exceed Public Works Contract
On a public works construction project, a contractor incurred additional costs and asserted a claim against the city. The city denied the claim because the contract had a not-to-exceed price, and the city council and mayor did not approve contract …
Subcontractor Not Estopped from Enforcing Lien Not Listed In Bankruptcy Petition
In Stock Building Supply, Inc. v. Platte River Insurance Co.,[1] the Court of Appeals dealt with issues of judicial estoppel, bankruptcy, retroactive application of statutory lien amendments, and the full payment defense.
The owner, Madison Retail-Suwanee, LLC (“Madison”) …
Reaffirming the Importance of Appeal Deadlines Under the Contract Disputes Act
The following article was first published by Chadd L. Reynolds in the Division of Government Construction’s September 2016 Newsletter for the American Bar Association’s Forum on Construction Law.
A recent United States Court of Federal Claims (“COFC”) decision emphasizes the …