Washington courts continue to narrowly apply the "retained control" exception to the ordinary rule that an owner is not liable for injuries sustained by the employees of their independent contractors. Here, a driver employed by such a contractor failed in his suit against ARCO (the owner) for lack of evidence that ARCO retained control over… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: November 2006
State Sues Big Dig Engineer & Builder
Posted in ConstructionWashington State continues to weigh the various options for replacing the Seattle waterfront Viaduct, including a massive tunnel option. Meanwhile, this news from the Big Dig tunnel fiasco in Massachusetts is a sober reminder of how things go wrong – very wrong.
Supreme Court Recognizes Discovery Rule for Latent Defect Case
Posted in ConstructionYesterday the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the important Vertecs case. The primary issue in the case was whether the discovery rule should be adopted for accrual of claims for latent construction defects. While the Court of Appeals in the Architectonics case several years ago did recognize the discovery rule, the Supreme Court had… Continue Reading
Owner Liable for Unapproved Earthwork Change Orders
Posted in ConstructionIn its main contract with the GC, the owner of a fast food facility required the GC to obtain its approval before any extra or changed work could be authorized. The GC broke that promise by signing a series of change orders with a dirt sub to export wet soils. When the GC didn’t pay… Continue Reading
Division 2: Contract Venue Clause Trumps Retainage Statute
Posted in ConstructionIn a case of first impression, Division 2 has held that the venue rule in the retainage statute — which states that a suit to foreclose a lien against the project retainage shall be brought in the county where the lien is filed (RCW 60.28.030) — gives way to the forum selection clause in a… Continue Reading
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