Perspectives

On April 16, 2013, Jeff Nicolet and Dan Reich led several roundtable discussions at the National Association of Elevator Contractors’ spring educational conference in Dana Point, California. The presentations focused on terms and conditions in contracts and maintenance agreements, lien and bond claims in construction projects, commercial litigation, attorney fees and liquidated damages. The engaging discussions involved various members of the elevator industry. …

On April 16, 2013, Jeff Nicolet and Dan Reich will lead several roundtable discussions at the National Association of Elevator Contractors’ spring educational conference. Their presentation, “Collections: Improving Your Cash Flow,” will focus on terms and conditions in contracts and maintenance agreements, lien and bond claims in construction projects, commercial litigation, attorney fees, and liquidated damages. The conference will be held April 13-16 in Dana Point, California. …

Companies both small and large  have a strong desire to export their products abroad.  Viable markets, proper infrastructure, product support needs, and ensuring payment are all incredibly important considerations, however once the decision has been made to ship, the question becomes how to ensure the product gets out the door and to its destination. …

Robert Judd and Matthew Resch of Wagner, Falconer, & Judd, Ltd., together with the American Subcontractor’s Association’s general counsel Eric B. Travers of Columbus, Ohio, were successful in convincing the Minnesota Supreme Court to take up Safety Signs, LLC v. Westfield Insurance Co., Case Number A12-0370 (Sept. 17, 2012), and to help clarify the law on what constitutes proper notice under the Minnesota Payment Bond Statute. …

Over the past year,  several states have made legislative changes to their construction lien and bond laws.  Thankfully for companies that have clients across the country, the number of states making legislative changes to this area of law is not nearly as onerous as it has been in past years. Below is a summary of some of the highlights. …

If you perform labor or provide materials for a public  (government-owned)  project in Arizona, there are a few unique provisions in Arizona’s public bond laws that are designed to speed the flow of funds from the general contractor to lower parties in the chain. Like in many other states, the general contractor is required to pay its subcontractors and suppliers within a certain time period from receiving a payment for the project. In Arizona, the general contractor must pay its subcontractors within seven days after the date a progress payment is received from the public owner. …

A joint check agreement is a common arrangement in the construction industry.  Typically,  it is an agreement by a general contractor with its subcontractor, to issue the subcontractor’s progress payments in the form of a check, which is made jointly payable to the subcontractor and to some other supplier or sub subcontractor. By making the check payable to both parties, the maker gives each a right to control the cashing of the check. Both signatures must be on the check before it can be cashed. …