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Construction Law

Construction Law Blog

Coverage of construction litigation and legislation, particularly in Washington state.
By Brett Hill, Ryan Sternoff and John Ahlers

Post Frequency: 10/day

Last Entry: March 30, 2011 at 21:00:00

Repairs Begin on Howard Hanson Dam (Green River)

Posted on August 18, 2009
The Army Corps of Engineers has commenced repairs at the Howard Hanson Dam to control the potentially destabilizing seepage to the earth and abutment. The repair should reduce the likelihood of winter flooding in the populace Green River Valley. The work will increase the Dam's ability to reduce the downstream flooding risk...

Bell BCI Co. v. United States - Release of Cumulative Impact Claims

Posted on August 16, 2009
Bell involved a construction contract under which the government issued an extensive series of change orders. Following the first of those change orders, the parties executed Modification 93, which stated in part the increased contract amount set forth in the Modification represented "full and equitable adjustment for the remaining direct and indirect costs of the [changed work] ...

Federal Government Employment Eligibility and Verification Regulation

Posted on August 13, 2009
On June 6, 2008, the FAR council released a new provision requiring the use of the Department of Homeland Security's Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification System ("E-Verifiy"). The contractor performing construction work in excess of $100,000, a "covered contract" must enroll in E-Verify within thirty (30) calendar days of contract award and start using E-Verify within ninety (90) calendar days of enrollment to verify the employment eligibility of a new employee.

Ahlers & Cressman Clients are Five of the Ten Top Northwest Specialty Contractors

Posted on August 13, 2009
Five Ahlers & Cressman PLLC mechanical and electrical contractor clients made the top ten list of Washington State Specialty Contractors! McKinstry (1); J.H. Kelly, LLC (2); Veca Electric & Communications (4); Cochran, Inc. (6); and Valley Electric (10)...

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American Recovery & Investment Act, Federal Work Requires Familiarity with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FARs) and Business and Ethics Compliance. New AGC Federal Government Contractor Ethics And Compliance Program, Tool Kit & Guidance Publication

Posted on August 11, 2009
The interest in bidding on federal work, considering the new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Stimulus Bill) has attracted many new bidders to federal procurements. Federal contractors need to take note of the recent Business and Ethics compliance provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulations...

THE WIDER VIEW: Taking shape, the new bridge at the Hoover Dam

Posted on July 26, 2009
Creeping closer inch by inch 900ft above the mighty Colorado River the two sides of a 160million bridge at the Hoover Dam in America slowly take shape. The bridge will carry a new section of US Route 93 past the bottleneck of the old road which can be seen twisting and winding around and across the dam itself...

Recent changes in American Arbitration Association Rules

Posted on July 20, 2009
This article summarizes the recent changes to the American Arbitration Association rules regarding the fee schedule, pending construction arbitration rule changes, and continuing concerns of the AAA.

Fast facts regarding results in American Arbitration Association cases

Posted on July 20, 2009
Did You Know. . . That 91% of 2007 American Arbitration Association (AAA) construction arbitration awards involving cases with only one claim were outside the mid-range of the parties' claims? This is similar to arbitral award trends in the past two decades, and debunks the myth that arbitrators "split the baby...

Business Capitalizes on Ruling in Political Case

Posted on July 10, 2009
A U.S. Supreme Court which ruling focused on national security may end up becoming a significant decision for U.S. businesses. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. ___, 128 S.Ct. 2931, (2009) will make it more difficult for plaintiff's to bring a lawsuit without asserting specific factual evidence, raising the threshold for moving a case into litigation and possibly saving companies millions of dollars in legal fees...

Entire New 13-Story Building Tips Over in Shanghai

Posted on July 07, 2009
This past Saturday, an entire apartment building in Shanghai collapsed. To be fair, the building was under construction and thus unoccupied, but it's still a minor miracle that there was only one fatality. http://gizmodo.com/5304233/entire-new-13%20story-building-tips-over-in-shanghai/gallery

GERMAN AUTO FACTORY

Posted on July 07, 2009
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd5WGLWNllA

Contractor Prevails in Lien Claim on Leased Property (Charles and Joanne Haselwood v. Bremerton Ice Arena 2009 WL 1803272)

Posted on July 06, 2009
In 1971, the United States Secretary of Interior deeded 17.6 acres of land in downtown Bremerton to the City of Bremerton for use as a park and recreation center. The conveyance from the government prohibited the City from leasing the land except to another government agency, but did allow the City to provide recreational facilities and services by entering into private concession agreements...

Entire New 13-Story Building Tips Over in Shanghai

Posted on June 30, 2009
This past Saturday, an entire apartment building in Shanghai collapsed. To be fair, the building was under construction and thus unoccupied, but it's still a minor miracle that there was only one fatality. http://gizmodo.com/5304233/entire-new-13%20story-building-tips-over-in-shanghai/gallery

The Bricklayer's Lament - by Gerard Hoffnung

Posted on June 28, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZUJLO6lMhI

Chelan Washington's wooden pipes emphasize the need for radical infrastructure upgrades

Posted on April 20, 2009
Chelan, Washington's wooden water mains were recently featured in the New York Times. The resort community on Lake Chelan relies in part on a handful of wooden water mains to transport drinking water. Wooden water mains are relics of the days when water was transported in bored out logs...

WSDOT goes out for bid for removal of the viaduct's southern mile

Posted on March 24, 2009
The Washington State Department of Transportation is seeking bids for the removal of the southern mile of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. This portion of the viaduct borders the Port of Seattle property and rests on unstable soils. The estimated value of the project is $15M...

The Stimulus Bill - The Audit and Oversight Provisions of the 2009 Stimulus Bill Will Startle Many Funding Recipients

Posted on February 23, 2009
President Obama, February 17, 2009, signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009 (the Stimulus Bill). The Stimulus Bill includes approximately $787 billion in government spending and tax cuts. The U.S. Government (as well as state and local recipients of this money) will disburse the funds through a number of different spending vehicles - grants, government contracts, cooperative agreements, and other transactions...

Building Information Management Used (BIM) at Vancouver Centre for Structural Engineering

Posted on February 09, 2009
The structural design for the Vancouver Convention Centre was modeled in 3-D using building information modeling (BIM). By using BIM, the structural engineers were able to estimate the amount of steel needed within 5% of the final configuration. The AGC and other industry organizations have developed the Consensus Docs BIM Addendum 301 which provides a workable, practical, and reasonable allocation of risk and responsibilities associated with Building Information Modeling...

Russian Interstate

Posted on February 06, 2009
Click here to view file

More Infra-Structure Investment - A Major Over-Haul of the U.S. Electrical Grid Needed

Posted on February 05, 2009
Demand for electrical energy has surged up 25% since 1995 and the US network will need some 1.5 trillion dollars in investment over the next two decades in order to achieve the "green revolution" supported by President Barrack Obama. "Our biggest problem is building enough transmission lines to adequately transmit the power where it is needed and allow us to have a redundant system for the maintenance," said Otto Lynch...

Washington's Stop Notice: An Effective Hammer in the Contractor's Tool Chest when Progress Payments are Delinquent

Posted on February 02, 2009
Reliance on the traditional mechanic's lien to recover nonpayment can be a frustrating experience for a contractor lien claimant. Often, recording and enforcing a traditional mechanic's lien turns into an expensive and time consuming process. This frustration can be especially felt with relatively small claims because the cost of recording and enforcing a lien could be in excess of the claimed amount...

The Tallest Snowmen

Posted on February 01, 2009
Not your typical construction project, but one for the season... Photo 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Water Main Break Highlights Need for Infrastructure Investment

Posted on January 27, 2009
In Maryland, a water main break highlights the need for infrastructure investment. Both the state of Washington legislature as well at the Federal Government politicians are calling for investment in infrastructure as the vehicle to lift the US economy out of its present doldrums...

Washington's Stop Notice: An Effective Hammer in the Contractor's Tool Chest when Progress Payments are Delinquent

Posted on January 27, 2009
Reliance on the traditional mechanic's lien to recover nonpayment can be a frustrating experience for a contractor lien claimant. Often, recording and enforcing a traditional mechanic's lien turns into an expensive and time consuming process. This frustration can be especially felt with relatively small claims because the cost of recording and enforcing a lien could be in excess of the claimed amount...

Governor Gregoire Economic Stimulus Plan includes $8 million for Construction

Posted on January 25, 2009
On January 15, Governor Chris Gregoire unveiled her $1.2 billion economic stimulus package encouraging consumer spending, creating jobs and providing more unemployment assistance. The construction portion of that stimulus package was $800 million for construction projects...

Gloomy Construction Industry Forecast

Posted on January 21, 2009
An estimated two thirds of the nation's non-residential construction companies are planning to cut their pay rolls according to new employment and business forecast figures release by the AGC of America. All told those layoffs are forecast to result in a 30% decline on the number of people working on construction projects...

Congratulations Seattle Firm, McKinstry, Awarded $5B Federal Contract

Posted on January 14, 2009
The federal government, the single largest user of energy in the country, awarded Seattle-based McKinstry, a 10-year contract worth up to $5B for a series of energy efficient projects in federal government buildings. McKinstry will design, build and obtain funding for energy saving projects...

Rave for Obama - President elect backs another U.S. infra-structure project

Posted on January 13, 2009
President-elect Barack Obama during a speech on Thursday, January 8, called for the upgrading of the outdated U.S. electrical grid to a "smart grid." The smart grid will save the U.S. money, protect the power sources from blackout or attack and deliver clean, alternative forms of energy to all corners of the nation...

Protecting Your Company's Financial Interests During Tough Times

Posted on January 12, 2009
In today's construction market, contractors face increasing challenges thanks to a slowdown in construction projects, problems in obtaining credit, fewer investors for projects, high construction costs, and slow payment or nonpayment by clients. All of this can impact a contractor's ability to obtain payment from project owners or upper tier contractors or make payment to subcontractors and suppliers...

A&C Lawyer Larry Glosser appears on King 5 News

Posted on January 11, 2009
Ahlers & Cressman lawyer Larry Glosser recently appeared on King 5 news during the popular "Get Jesse" segment by anchor Jesse Jones. Mr. Glosser was recognized for his efforts in collecting a $200,000 judgment against a man who had swindled a number of people...

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