Earlier this month the Department of Energy announced a 6 year, $180 million initiative to boost the Nation’s wind power capabilities. Starting with $20 million this year, the DOE will spend the money on up to four innovative offshore wind energy installations across the United States. The DOE says the…
Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
What if Your Insurer Goes Bankrupt and No One Tells You?
“Does an insurance broker, after procuring an insurance policy for a developer on a construction project, owe a duty to apprise a subcontractor that was later added as an insured under that policy of the insurance company’s subsequent insolvency?” In this issue of first impression in California, the Fourth District…
Separation of Insureds Applies to Deductible Payments
Often on a construction project an insurer will point to the conduct of one insured contractor to exclude coverage for a different insured contractor under the same policy. Inevitably the innocent contractor points to the Separation of Insureds provision, which is a common provision in many insurance policies, to argue…
The East End Crossing: Indiana Plans to Take Advantage of its P3 Enabling Statutes
On March 8, 2012, the Indiana Finance Authority (IFA) issued a RFQ to design, build, finance, operate and maintain a tolled bridge facility and associated roadway and facilities (the “East End Crossing”) through a public-private partnership agreement. If this piques your interest, the Statements of Qualification are due April 9,…
The First Step to Dispute Avoidance: Execute the Contract BEFORE Work Commences
Dating back to Hammurabi’s code in the early fourth millennium B.C., continuing through the development of the U.S. Constitution, and still present in today’s professional culture, a dominant theme has arisen: before any process involving participation of multiple individuals or entities with differing goals can be successfully administered, a fixed…
Thirty Stories in Fifteen Days!
Jonathan Kaiman of the Los Angeles Times reported recently on a developer, Broad Sustainable Building, that constructed a thirty-story building in Changsha, China, in 15 days (not including the foundation and tenant improvements) with the help of extensive prefabrication. The fascinating time-lapse video of the construction of the building is…
Perspectives on Real Estate Newsletter (Spring 2012 Edition)
The 21st edition of Pillsbury’s Newsletter: Perspectives on Real Estate features articles on green leasing, mineral rights, avoiding construction project failures and California’s post redevelopment agency landscape. Articles include: “Green” Leasing: Landlord and Tenant Perspectives Scratching the Surface: Understanding the Potential Impact of Minerals Rights on Your Texas Loan Avoiding…
The Tappan Zee Bridge: Hey brother, can you spare 60 billion dimes?
You could be forgiven if you’ve missed some of the news concerning the new Tappan Zee Bridge project. This project is very much on Governor Cuomo’s front-burner and is moving right along at an impressive pace. Here is the Reader’s Digest version of some (relatively) current events. In February, four…
Construction Employment Below Peak Levels in 98% of Metro Areas
On February 21, 2012, the AGC announced that construction employment remains below peak levels in 329 out of 337 metro areas. Not surprising, the hardest hit metro areas all took great advantage of the housing boom until the economic recession wiped out the demand – Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ, Lake Havasu City-Kingman,…
What is all this hyPPPe about Public-Private Partnerships?
The construction industry is abuzz with talk of alternative funding mechanisms, specifically Public-Private Partnerships, aka PPP, aka P3s. The AGC PPP Task Force recently developed a White Paper to outline issues that contractors will confront with PPPs. Contractors should be knowledgeable about PPPs – not just from a contractor’s perspective…