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Construction Law Authority / Posts tagged "litigation" (Page 2)

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....

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Florida Supreme Court limits the economic loss rule to product liability matters – or not?

March 8, 2013
webmaster
Litigation

For the last eight (8) years, Florida’s economic loss rule has been applied to bar claims (1) where the parties are in contractual privity and one party seeks to recover damages in tort for matters arising out of the contract, or (2) where the defendant is a manufacturer or distributor of a defective product which damages itself but does not cause personal injury or damage to any other property. Indemnity Ins. Co. v. American Aviation, Inc., 891 So.2d 532 (Fla.2004). However, in its March 7, 2013 5-2 split decision in Tiara Condominium Ass'n, Inc. v. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., 38 Fla.L.W. S151A (Fla. March 7, 2013) the Florida Supreme Court has now receded from prior precedent and appears to have limited the application of the economic loss rule to product liability matters. The Court observed that the economic loss rule is a judicially created doctrine that sets forth the circumstances...

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Can you recover punitive damages in construction cases?

December 12, 2012
webmaster
Litigation

A party seeking damages in construction litigation is often so incensed at the other side’s perceived outrageous conduct that they want to recover more than those compensatory damages that would make them whole. One potential item of additional recovery to consider is punitive damages. The purpose of awarding punitive damages under Florida law is not to further compensate the plaintiff, but to punish the defendant for its wrongful conduct and to deter similar future misconduct. The possibility of being subject to an award of punitive damages can be a significant impetus to resolve a dispute. But are punitive damages recoverable in every construction dispute? The answer is … it depends on the particular case. In Florida, breach of contract claims generally do not allow for the recovery of punitive damages. One seeking to foreclose a construction lien is likewise typically not entitled to recover punitive damages. However, where there is a finding of...

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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....

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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....

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THE LAW IS THE LAW, AND SOMETIMES IT ISN’T “FAIR”

December 5, 2011
Ryan Carpenter
Cases, Contracts, Litigation, Public Construction

Sometimes the law isn't as you would expect. In fact, sometimes the law can dictate a result that you think is unfair. Therefore, it is always best to have someone research what the law is, instead of assuming it says what you think would be fair. As an example, some might find the law regarding the recoverability of home office overhead damages counterintuitive....

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