It’s been said that as California goes, so goes the nation. If so, general contractors throughout the country may soon be taking on more responsibility for the unpaid wages of the workers on their construction projects than they might have expected. As of January 1, 2018, Assembly Bill 1701 makes general contractors liable for the … Continue Reading
My last article examined strategies for construction managers facing an owner bankruptcy. Now, looking through the lens of the owner, let’s examine best practices when it is the contractor who has filed for bankruptcy. Throughout New England and the United States the construction industry continues to thrive with several new projects underway and on the … Continue Reading
A recently proposed bill to reduce the retainage amount for certain public work contracts to five percent and to allow a claimant to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs from a payment bond surety that fails to timely respond to a claim was unanimously approved by the General Assembly’s General Law Committee on March 11, … Continue Reading
Sureties writing public construction bonds under Chapter 149A in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts should pay close attention to Mass. Bill No. 3889, which seeks to create a Public Construction Surety Bond State Guarantee Fund. The Fund would guarantee payment to claimants who have obtained judgment on their claims in a court of competent jurisdiction where … Continue Reading
There is legislation pending, Senate Bill 948, that would permit the Department of Administrative Services (the “DAS”) to waive the public bonding requirements for small, emerging and minority contractors. The Act would apply to projects less than $500,000 and would require participation by the contractor in a surety bond guarantee program – also created by … Continue Reading
A bill is wending its way through the Connecticut Legislature that would encourage greater participation by minority contractors on public works projects. The bill, Senate Bill 830, would require that by October 2015 the Department of Administrative Services create a new surety bond guarantee program for emerging contractors. “Emerging contractors” is politispeak for minority-owned and … Continue Reading
In a unanimous decision issued in the case of Electrical Contractor’s Inc. v. Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, SC 19105 (2014), the Connecticut Supreme Court recently declared that a public works payment bond surety does not forfeit its substantive defenses to a bond claim by failing either to pay or deny a claim … Continue Reading
