Monthly Archives: April 2007

Subcontractor Prevails in “Scoop Count” Dispute with Obayashi

By John Parnass on April 30th, 2007 Posted in Construction

If you write payment terms for purchase orders or subcontracts, this case will make you sit up and take notice. Obayashi hired a sub to haul material from its worksite at the Sound Transit Beacon Hill project. Payment was to be made on an hourly rate. The purchase order, after stating the hourly rate, stated… Continue Reading

Court Rejects Opinion Testimony Offered by Prof. Nash

By John Parnass on April 27th, 2007 Posted in Construction

Characterizing his expert report as “legal argument dressed as expert testimony”, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims held that Prof. Ralph Nash of Georgetown University, a leading government contracts expert and prolific author, won’t be permitted to testify as to his legal opinions in a patent infringement case. The opinion contains an excellent summary of the… Continue Reading

Court Orders Roof Removal

By John Parnass on April 26th, 2007 Posted in Land Use

Based on a deed restriction allowing only a "one story" home, the Court of Appeals held that the owner in this case would be required to "abate" — tear out and modify — the roof of a home that blocked westerly views from an upland parcel in West Seattle. Our previous coverage of this case… Continue Reading

Late Notice Bars Coverage for Condo Defect Damages

By John Parnass on April 25th, 2007 Posted in Construction

Division 1 not only barred coverage due to late notice in this case — a hard enough feat under Washington’s relatively liberal test for deciding whether a failure to comply with an insurance policy’s notice clause will forfeit the insured’s rights — but it did so on summary judgment. So what was the prejudice to… Continue Reading

Court Rejects Arbitration in Tacoma Narrows Bridge Dispute

By John Parnass on April 25th, 2007 Posted in Construction

Samsung entered into a purchase order with Nippon Steel to provide the bridge deck for the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge, a design-build project awarded by the WSDOT to a Bechtel-Kiewit joint venture known as Tacoma Narrows Constructors (TNC). Nippon Steel was a first-tier subcontractor to TNC. Delays and changes related to the bridge deck resulted… Continue Reading

Leasehold Lien Upheld in Bremerton Ice Arena Case

By John Parnass on April 11th, 2007 Posted in Construction

Division 2 holds in this case that a subcontractor has the right to lien site improvements under RCW 60.04.010 even though the underlying real property is nonlienable public property. The case arose from a failed effort to build an ice arena in Bremerton. The City owned the land and hired a developer to build the… Continue Reading

Why Contractors Fail

By John Parnass on April 6th, 2007 Posted in Construction

ENR is out with a new article summarizing research by FMI on why contractors fail. The research focuses in particular on the "psychology of contractor failure" and identifies certain red flags of potential failure. One red flag, according to the study: a contractor executive who proclaims "we’re right and we’ll prove it in court." … Continue Reading

Government Allowed to Prosecute Fraud Counterclaim

By John Parnass on April 5th, 2007 Posted in Construction

Taking the offensive against a claim it believed to be knowingly false, the USDOT in this case arising from a roadway project in Eastern Washington filed a counterclaim against the contractor under three federal statutes — the False Claims Act, the the anti-fraud provisions of the Contract Disputes Act and the Forfeiture of Fraudulent Claims Act…. Continue Reading

Registration Bond Not Liable for Unpaid Premiums

By John Parnass on April 3rd, 2007 Posted in Construction

Is a contractor’s registration bond liable for the premiums the contractor is supposed to pay to maintain its workers compensation insurance? The Alaska Supreme Court said no in a case that contains an interesting overview of of what’s covered and not covered by such bonds.

Warranty Legislation Dies in House