When it comes to giving your insurance carrier notice of claim, I am an advocate of providing that notice as soon as possible, i.e., prompt notice. The reason is to take away the carrier’s argument to deny coverage because you, as the insured, failed to provide it with prompt notice—the “untimely notice” defense. It doesn’t […]

The post GIVING INSURANCE CARRIER PROMPT NOTICE OF CLAIM TO AVOID “UNTIMELY NOTICE” DEFENSE appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

Don’t ignore dispute resolution provisions in a construction contract.  Sometimes, you may want to.  But dispute resolution provisions should be one of the first provisions you look to when a dispute arises recognizing these provisions will be raised if you fail to comply.  Not only will they be raised, but the presumption is they will […]

The post DON’T IGNORE THE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROVISIONS IN YOUR CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

Although a personal injury case, the recent opinion in Garcia v. Southern Cleaning Service, Inc., 48 Fla.L.Weekly D977a (Fla. 1stDCA 2023) raises an interesting issue regarding nondelegable duties owed to third persons applicable in negligence actions.  Remember, in order for there to be a negligence claim, the defendant MUST owe a duty of care to […]

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If a construction lien is recorded against real property, the lien can be transferred to a lien transfer bond.  This transfers the security or collateral of the construction lien from the real property to the lien transfer bond. The lien transfer bond can be a bond posted by a surety company or it can be […]

The post FILING MOTION TO INCREASE LIEN TRANSFER BOND (BEFORE TRIAL COURT LOSES JURISDICTION OVER FINAL JUDGMENT) appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

If you want a case that goes into history of the federal Miller Act, check out the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal’s opinion in U.S. ex rel. Dickson v. Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland, 2023 WL 3083440 (4th Cir. 2023). While I am not going to delve into this history, it’s a worthwhile read. […]

The post LABOR UNDER THE MILLER ACT AND ESTOPPEL OF STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

On April 13, 2023, Florida’s all-important four-year statute of limitations–Florida Statute s. 95.11(3)(c)–relating to actions founded on construction of an improvement of real property was modified.  This is a key statute of limitations for ALL construction practitioners because it also includes the statute of repose for latent construction defects. At the bottom of this posting […]

The post FLORIDA’S STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS / REPOSE FOR ACTIONS FOUNDED ON CONSTRUCTION IMPROVEMENT MODIFIED appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

Not every case law you read makes sense. This sentiment goes to the uncertainty and grey area of certain legal issues.  It is, what you call, “the nature of the beast.”  You will read cases that make you say “HUH?!?” This is why you want to work with construction counsel to discuss procedures and pros […]

The post HUH? ACTION ON CONSTRUCTION LIEN “RELATES BACK” DESPITE NOTICE OF CONTEST OF LIEN appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

A new insurance coverage opinion dealing with a commercial general liability’s (CGL) duty to defend involved exclusions commonly known as the (j)(6) and (j)(7) property damage exclusions (and in certain policies known as the (j)(5) and (j)(6) exclusions). These are the exclusions that apply during ongoing operations.  Exclusion (l), or the “your work” exclusion, applies post-completion, i.e., […]

The post CGL COVERAGE DISPUTE REGARDING THE (j)(6) and (j)(7) PROPERTY DAMAGE EXCLUSIONS appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

There has been much talk about Florida’s new Civil Remedies Act (House Bill 837) that Governor DeSantis approved on March 24, 2023.  As it pertains to construction, here is how I see it with key bulletpoints on the impact this new Act has on the construction industry: New Florida Statute s. 86.121– This is an […]

The post FLORIDA’S NEW CIVIL REMEDIES ACT – BULLETPOINTS AS TO HOW IT IMPACTS CONSTRUCTION appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

Builder’s risk insurance coverage is a vital property insurance coverage during the course of construction.  Builder’s risk insurance is not a one-size-fits-all product so please make sure you are working with your insurance broker to procure this product that factors in and covers risk associated with the project. Builder’s risk insurance is typically an occurrence-based […]

The post AN OCCURRENCE UNDER BUILDER’S RISK INSURANCE POLICY IS BASED ON THE LANGUAGE IN THE POLICY appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.