Perspectives

WFJ will be presenting at the Northwestern Lumber Association’s 2014 spring conventions. The presentation of “Uncover the Legal Landmines that Can Blow Up Your Business” will focus on tools that can minimize and manage risk, reduce bad debt, avoid litigation and improve cash flow. The conventions will be held January 13-14 in St. Cloud, MN, February 5-6 in Middleton, WI, February 19-20 in Altoona, IA, and March 11-12 in Lavista, NE. …

Several states have made  legislative changes to their construction mechanic’s lien and payment bond laws.  This article provides a summary of some of the more significant changes in the state lien and bond laws over the last year. …

Effective August 1, 2013, a new Minnesota law will go into effect that forbids general contractors from forcing subcontractors/suppliers to include insurance coverage to cover the negligence or intentional acts or omissions of others on a project. Currently, many subcontract agreements include requirements that force subcontractors/suppliers to purchase extra insurance coverage to cover the negligence and intentional acts of others, relieving the general contractor of liability and passing that liability to the subcontractors/suppliers. …

Effective August 1, 2013, the deadline to file a lien foreclosure lawsuit in Louisiana will be one year from the date the lien is filed. Prior law required the lien foreclosure lawsuit to commence within one year after the date the lien claim was originally due. The prior deadline was often difficult to calculate. While the new law shortens the lien foreclosure deadline, it now provides a definitive date for filing of the foreclosure lawsuit. …

On large private projects in California, there is a unique remedy that requires owners to provide a payment bond or other security. In certain circumstances, where the total contract is over $1,000,000, and in some situations over $5,000,000, the owner must provide the direct (general) contractor with security for the owner’s payment obligation under the prime contract. …

A California Senate Bill proposes a new approach for the Los Angeles Unified School District to manage projects of less than $1 million in value. The proposed legislation would waive the payment bond requirement for public work contracts with small businesses or microbusinesses on Los Angeles Unified School District projects of less than $1 million. …

In 2012, the North Carolina legislature significantly altered the laws for private mechanic’s lien and public payment bond claims.  Some of the changes went into effect on January 1, 2013, while others have an effective date of April 1, 2013. Below is a brief summary of some of the significant changes:

Effective January 1, 2013: …