Construction Industry Statute of Repose Applies to Improvements Dedicated as Public Property In Garamella v. City of Lebanon, et al., 2022 Tenn. App. LEXIS 24 (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 24, 2022), the court rejected a plaintiff’s argument that the 4-year construction industry statute of repose did not apply in favor of the defendant contractor where the improvement had been dedicated … Read More
New Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification
Attention!: Contractors, subcontractors, architects, engineers, material suppliers, owners, anyone with employees. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services released a revised version of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification on 17 July 2017. Employers may continue to use the old version of Form I-9 until tomorrow. However, starting on Monday, 18 September 2017, all employers must use the new version … Read More
AIA Releases 2017 Construction Contract Documents
The American Institute of Architects publishes the most widely used form document set in the construction industry. The AIA revises the construction contract documents approximately every 10 years to address legal opinions and current construction practices. On April 19, the American Institute of Architects released the 2017 version of its contract documents. The documents revised in the 2017 version include: A201™-2017 General Conditions of … Read More
New GA Law Voiding Indemnity in Design Agreements Only Raises Questions
Georgia previously banned indemnity agreements in construction related contracts to the extent they required one party to indemnify another for that party’s sole negligence. On April 26, 2016, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed legislation that voids most indemnification and hold harmless agreements in contracts for, or collateral to, engineering, architectural or land surveying services. The new law (effective July 1, 2016), however, still … Read More
It’s All in the Contract: Design Professionals
We’ve all been told to be careful what we ask for. And that is true. But for design professionals, it is also important to “be careful what you contract for.” Many design professional contracts contain standardized language that has been evaluated and addressed for many years, providing greater certainty as to the application of the contract language. However, sometimes owners … Read More
Additional Rule Changes by the Tennessee Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners
Recently we posted (here) that the Tennessee Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners passed rule changes affecting military families. Additional rule changes have now been announced. To view the changes, click here. These rules include a general cleanup of language; exam procedure cleanup; reduction of the engineer intern application fee from fifty to fifteen dollars; and revised teaching experience requirements for professors. The … Read More
Design Professionals Need Intellectual Property Clauses in Contracts
“Just because you start, does not mean you will finish!” A recent case out of the Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit reminds us of parties’ needs for careful contracting, particularly on the point of design ownership. In Hunn v. Dan Wilson Homes, Inc. 789 F.3d 573 (5th Cir. Tex. 2015), the Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled that a draftsman and … Read More