Blogs & Resources

Are you a commercial property owner or a contractor that builds commercial projects in Florida? Or maybe you are an architect or engineer that designs commercial projects in Florida? If so, have you ever wondered who is liable for personal injuries caused by defective construction on commercial property? Generally, the answer lies within the Slavin Doctrine and its application to the facts at hand.

If you are planning to hire a contractor in Florida to perform construction work, you must first do your homework. Many times, owners will hire a contractor without confirming the contractor is properly licensed and without knowing who is actually performing the work. Below are a few key issues to understand and consider before hiring anyone to perform construction work for you.

Contingent payment provisions, often referred to as “pay if paid” or “pay when paid” provisions, are commonplace in subcontracts and lower tiered contracts. An often overlooked question that should be asked is, “Are they enforceable?” As is true with most questions in the law, the answer is, “It depends.” This Blog will focus on the enforceability of contingent payment provisions.

The Florida Construction Lien Law is an intricate machine full of requirements and traps for the unwary. The notice of termination of notice of commencement (Notice of Termination) is no exception. For the construction project’s owner, the Notice of Termination is a sworn document from the owner. For the lienor, the Notice of Termination is a sign that something is happening on the project and, therefore, the lienor must act quickly to preserve the priority of its lien for amounts owed.

Parties often cry “fraud” when defending against a construction lien recorded on their real property. However, the fraudulent lien card is sometimes overplayed and oftentimes lacks merit, considering the requisite proof to establish a fraudulent lien. The consequences of a fraudulent lien are significant – it is a complete defense to lien enforcement and can result in recovery of punitive damages and compensatory damages against the lienor. Sharrard v. Ligon, 892 So. 2d 1092 (Fla. 2nd DCA 2004). It can also result in the recovery of attorneys’ fees and costs against the lienor. Delta Painting, Inc. v. Baumann, 710 So. 2d 663 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1998). § 713.31, Fla. Stat. The filing of a fraudulent lien is also a third-degree felony. § 713.31(3), Fla. Stat.

As credit begins to loosen, cash begins to flow and the building community starts to recover, we are in a unique position to advise both contractors and banks as to legal issues pertaining to loan origination due to our practice focuses in banking and construction. Contractors often ask us to reveal the secrets of how to be viewed as the best candidate for a loan or credit to further expand their business.

Many times the party with the most leverage in contract negotiations forces the “weaker” party to hold it harmless or indemnify it for anything that goes wrong in connection with the contract, even problems caused by the “stronger” party’s own negligence. Indemnity is a risk shifting mechanism and essentially comes in two forms: common law and contractual. This article focuses on contractual indemnity provisions in construction contacts.

For construction entities participating in the competitive bidding process, it is very important to be able to timely issue spot impermissible arbitrary contract awards or improper solicitations based on flawed specifications that merit immediate protest. The fundamental analysis can be boiled down to simple questions, such as:

• Were the bid specifications reasonably specific?
• Was the winner responsive and responsible?
• Was there fraud or misconduct in the bidding process?
• Has the winning bidder been given an unfair economic advantage that merits reconsideration?
• Does the action prevent the public entity from making an equal comparison of responses to the bidding solicitation?
• Has there been substantial compliance with the bidding procedures?
• Did the agency act arbitrary?

Beyond those questions, this Blog post seeks to identify the Top 10 most common grounds in which Florida procedural or substantive bid protests are based upon.

In 2009, the Florida Legislature changed an existing law that was aimed to encourage “Florida-Friendly” landscaping in communities governed by homeowner associations. Under the State Water Resource Plan each water management district is required to design and implement an incentive program to encourage all local governments to adopt new ordinances requiring Florida-Friendly landscaping.

The fifth installment in a five part series entitled “Top 5 Construction Mediation Tips and Techniques.” The Blog posts from this series are intended to be cumulative and should be reviewed as a whole in order to fully receive the message of the author. My fifth and final construction mediation tip is to draft your settlement documents in advance of the construction mediation so that you are not racking your brain trying to compose key language for a binding legal document late at night after trudging through a long day of hard-nosed negotiations.