Ryan Carpenter | Construction Law Authority

The Anatomy of a Water Leak

March 13, 2014

For those of us who live or work in a condominium, it is easy to lose sight of all of the infrastructure that operates behind the scenes to make a condominium a home. When that infrastructure fails, it can be inconvenient, or it can easily be disastrous in the case of a water leak. While the damage from a water leak can be immense, there are ways to avoid or at least reduce the impact from them, if you are proactive before and after they occur, and know your rights and responsibilities. Taking steps like establishing inspection, maintenance and replacement schedules, and installing water leak detection systems, air conditioner pan alarms and remote sensors wired to master valve shut-offs can prevent problems from becoming a disaster. In the event of a water leak, condominium associations should take advantage of their right to access units to protect common elements and other units,...

The Pitfalls of Professional Liability Insurance Coverage

September 16, 2013

Ryan Carpenter

Insurance

Insurance coverage can generally be an invaluable resource when things go wrong on a construction project. However, in the case of professional liability policies, there are several issues that deserve special attention when negotiating with a design professional, to make sure the desired coverage is available when you need it....

The Bonus Value of Your Liability Insurance Policy: Litigation Defense

April 9, 2013

Ryan Carpenter

Insurance, Litigation

Your liability policy's value goes beyond its coverage of losses up to its stated policy limit. Especially if you find yourself in a complex lawsuit with numerous parties, your policy could provide significant value by obligating your insurance company to pay your attorneys' fees and costs. Therefore, when faced with a potentially-covered claim, it is important to not only give notice to your liability carrier, but also request that your carrier defend you against the claim, to make sure you get the full value out of your policy....

The “New” in Renew; Potential Changes to Insurance Policy Eligibility Requirements and Coverage Upon Renewal

February 17, 2013

Ryan Carpenter

Insurance

Simply because you identified an appropriate policy and adequate coverage at some point in the past, does not mean that the policy is appropriate and the coverage is adequate for you now. Therefore, when you receive a renewal notice from your insurance company, it is best to fully re-evaluate your insurance coverage instead of blindly submitting the renewal premium....

A Performance Bond’s Fixed and Flexible Scope.

February 2, 2013

Ryan Carpenter

Bonds

The scope of a performance bond's protection is limited, but can be expanded. To ensure that the surety will be responsible for all applicable work, it is important to keep the bond's scope in mind throughout the course of the project, and expand it as necessary, to make sure the bargained-for protection is available, in the event you need it....

The “Infallible” Surety, Is Not Immune From The Impact Of A Bad Economy

September 25, 2012

Ryan Carpenter

Bonds

When negotiating for payment and performance bonds, you should realize that even if you obtain the added protection, you are not 100% safe. Even though they might not be as likely as other construction entities to go out of business, sureties also go out of business. Furthermore, when they do, it can be as difficult to recover from a surety's estate as it is to recover from any other bankrupt construction entity....

Additional Insured Status – One Size Does Not Fit All

August 5, 2012

Ryan Carpenter

Insurance

Additional insured status is appealing, but only has value when you actually have coverage after negotiating for it. To be sure your effort to obtain additional insured status pays off when you need the coverage, you need to review all of the relevant documents, before it is too late....

Being Indemnified for Your Own Wrongdoing

June 12, 2012

Ryan Carpenter

Cases, Contracts

Despite the general rule that parties to a contract may agree to any terms they want, there are some terms that must satisfy certain requirements in order to be enforceable, like indemnification provisions. Even in short, simple, standard form documents, like work orders, the provisions must satisfy the requirements, or you might not be able to rely on them when you need them most....

The Good Faith Exception to Fraudulent Liens

March 15, 2012

Ryan Carpenter

Cases, Construction Liens, Contracts, Litigation

The good faith exception to fraudulent liens does not protect all liens recorded in good faith from being deemed fraudulent. With the holding in Medellin v. MLA Consulting, Inc., it is more important than ever for a lienor to be sure the amounts in its lien are for work that will properly support a lien, or it runs the risk of its lien being deemed fraudulent....

Learning From Others’ Lessons, That They Learned The Hard Way.

January 23, 2012

Ryan Carpenter

Cases, Construction Defects, Litigation

If an owner fails to promptly investigate symptoms of a construction defect, the owner not only runs the risk of a small problem becoming bigger and more expensive to fix, but also runs the risk of losing his or her right to hold the responsible entities accountable. Owners, like the Hochbergs, have lost claims by failing to promptly investigate defects and timely sue the responsbile entities. Others can learn from their experiences without suffering the consequences....