Yesterday, Tennessee passed the Construction Industry Payment Protection Act (CIPPA) (SB2681/HB2706), which brings broad amendments to Tennessee’s lien laws, the Truth in Construction Act, the Prompt Pay Act, and Construction Defect statutes. Despite a shortened session that focused primarily on the budget and COVID-19 related bills, the legislature took time to pass amendments sought by a unified coalition across the … Read More
Commercial Drones in the Construction Industry
Better enjoy those long lunches while they last. According to a recent article in the Economist, commercial drones may soon find their way to a job site near you as a means of improving efficiency and safety in the construction field. Goldman Sachs has run the numbers and predicts that $100 billion will likely be spent on military and civilian … Read More
AIA Releases 2017 Construction Contract Documents
The American Institute of Architects publishes the most widely used form document set in the construction industry. The AIA revises the construction contract documents approximately every 10 years to address legal opinions and current construction practices. On April 19, the American Institute of Architects released the 2017 version of its contract documents. The documents revised in the 2017 version include: A201™-2017 General Conditions of … Read More
CHANGE IS IN THE AIR: State to Pilot “Expertise Based” Procurement
On August 15, the State of Tennessee Real Estate Asset Management Division (STREAM) held a educational session on a new expertise-based procurement approach it intends to pilot on select future projects within the Capital Projects Group. The presentation was led by John Savicky, with the Arizona State University Performance Based Studies Research Group. In contrast to traditional competitive bidding, the … Read More
New GA Law Voiding Indemnity in Design Agreements Only Raises Questions
Georgia previously banned indemnity agreements in construction related contracts to the extent they required one party to indemnify another for that party’s sole negligence. On April 26, 2016, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed legislation that voids most indemnification and hold harmless agreements in contracts for, or collateral to, engineering, architectural or land surveying services. The new law (effective July 1, 2016), however, still … Read More
It’s All in the Contract: Design Professionals
We’ve all been told to be careful what we ask for. And that is true. But for design professionals, it is also important to “be careful what you contract for.” Many design professional contracts contain standardized language that has been evaluated and addressed for many years, providing greater certainty as to the application of the contract language. However, sometimes owners … Read More
More Than Just a Threshold: Compliance with building codes
So many times, construction industry participants view compliance with the applicable codes or standards as satisfaction of the participant’s duty of care – or evidence by itself that the participant was not negligent in performance of its design and/or construction duties. However, the Tennessee Court of Appeals recently clarified, in a dispute over an allegedly dangerous threshold in a residence, … Read More
BACK TO BASICS: TENNESSEE LIEN LAW PART 4
In a continuing four-part series, LT Construction Lawyer Wally Irvin discusses the Tennessee Lien Law. Wally recently posted Part 1 of 4 on “Speaking the Lien Language,” Part 2 of 4 on “Lien on What?” Wally continues his examination of the Tennessee lien law, and Part 3 of 4 on “”Notice Requirements.” Wally completes his examination of the Tennessee lien … Read More
Prevailing Parties Get the Fees
Tennessee follows the “American Rule” concerning attorney fees. Accordingly, even if a party wins his case, he is not entitled to attorney fees unless there is a contract or statute providing a recovery. There are a few other narrow situations that provide attorney fees based on a recognized exception, but generally speaking, there will be no recovery of attorney fees … Read More
Back to Basics: Tennessee Lien Law PART 3
In a continuing four-part series, LT Construction Lawyer Wally Irvin discusses the Tennessee Lien Law. Wally recently posted Part 1 of 4 on “Speaking the Lien Language” and Part 2 of 4 on “Lien on What?” Wally continues his examination of the Tennessee lien law. Back to Basics: Tennessee Lien Law POST 3 of 4 (Notice Requirements) In the first two posts in this series, Speaking the Lien … Read More
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