Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:37:42 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Construction-Law-Alert 018c7f8b-271e-4af0-a362-fbfb5169f907 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:37:42 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Construction-Law-Alert/Obama-Infrastructure-Program-Certain-To-Generate-Bid-Protest-and-Other-Legal-Woes During the last year and a half, the U.S. economy has suffered blow after blow -- the real estate market collapse, the stock market crash, credit freezes, plummeting consumer spending, and contractions in almost all major industries, including the construction industry. In 2008 alone, 632,000 jobs were eliminated in the construction industry. The California construction industry has been hit particularly hard by the state budget crisis which has put state-funded public works projects worth more than $4 billion at risk. Last month, the State Controller refused to make $33 million in progress payments on at least 39 publicly funded transportation jobs. Prime contractors are stuck in the middle between government owners that cannot pay them and their employees, subcontractors, and suppliers who are demanding payment. ab306123-3bcf-4f9f-b453-61452bcca1fa Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:37:42 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Construction-Law-Alert/Subcontractors-Substitution-is-Not-Necessarily-Invalid An awarding authority’s consent to a subcontractor’s substitution is not invalid simply because it is given after the substitution occurred and the subcontract work completed if the “reasonable objectives of the statute” have been met. In Titan Electric Corp. v. Los Angeles Unified School District, --- Cal. Rptr. 3d ---, 2008 WL 435188 (2d Dist. Feb. 19, 2008), the Second District of the California Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s denial of a subcontractor’s petition challenging the Los Angeles Unified School District’s consent to substitution of the subcontractor under Public Contract Code § 4107. The subcontractor challenged the school district’s consent because by the time the administrative hearing occurred and consent was given, the prime contractor had already hired a replacement subcontractor and had completed the subcontract work. The subcontractor argued that the school district’s after-the-fact consent was not permitted under Section 4107. a969a1c9-2e67-4dc0-97b9-1a2ea786ca07 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:37:42 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Construction-Law-Alert/Notices-of-Intent-to-Sue-Compel-Concerns-Over-Prop-65-Compliance Talk of “going green” and toxic toys has sparked renewed interest in Prop. 65. Evidence of this is the recent upsurge in “Notices of Intent to Sue” for lack of Prop. 65 compliance. Contractors should verify strict observance of Prop. 65’s requirements to avoid being targeted by public prosecutors, consumer advocacy groups, and private citizens for alleged violations. d7971cad-7904-4678-9a6c-7512fbc49cee Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:37:42 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Construction-Law-Alert/ADR-Presentation-at-SuperConference Alternative Dispute Resolution is one of the fastest growing methods for resolving conflict both in the United States and throughout the world. Our moderator for this mock mediation, Randy Erickson, has more than 35 years of experience in the construction industry and has participated in hundreds of mediations, both as an advocate and as a mediator. 310e0131-6d8f-41a9-a30a-91cab83b3654 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:37:42 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Construction-Law-Alert/Mediation-of-Construction-and-other-Disputes-A-Laundry-List-for-Litigants-and-Advocates No more than 10% of all construction disputes are litigated or arbitrated to judgment. About 70% to 80% of all civil litigation/arbitration cases are, at some point, the subject of mediation. In short, settlement is the preferred and dominant manner of resolution of such disputes. With this in mind, here is a “laundry list” of things to bear in mind when approaching mediation. 54180781-fdee-461c-928c-170996960388 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:37:42 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Construction-Law-Alert/E-Discovery-Implications-for-the-Construction-Industry By some estimates, 97% of all new information being created today is in electronic form. With the proliferation of digital information, it is no longer possible to litigate a construction case without locating, reviewing, and managing voluminous electronic documents. 15607174-af14-49d3-bf5f-8026e477ce22 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:37:42 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Construction-Law-Alert/Nationwide-CWA-Permits-Go-Under-the-Knife For the last two months, EPA officials and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have been discussing how to reissue more than forty nationwide Clean Water Act (“CWA”) permits for construction and mining activities. With the reissuance set to take effect on March 18, 2007, these discussions could spell big changes for the Corps' general permitting program, especially in light of the Supreme Court's recent decision in Rapanos v. United States, 126 S. Ct. 2208 (June 19, 2006), and other ongoing litigation. c732b519-48d0-4a61-bc6c-761008f0e28d Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:37:42 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Construction-Law-Alert/The-At-Risk-Construction-Manager-A-Twilight-Zone-of-Liability The at-risk construction manager (“CM”) project delivery method offers an attractive alternative to the traditional design-bid-build model. Under this model, the owner typically hires an additional party, the at-risk CM, to manage the entire construction process. 71fd35b9-09a1-4e7e-a983-3a696e73c3a1 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:37:42 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Construction-Law-Alert/Construction-Group-Secures-Favorable-Settlement-for-PCL-Civil-Constructors