Join Us for a Discussion About the Legal Risks of Building Green
The Legal Risks in Building Green - Learn how to protect your project and yourself....
The Legal Risks in Building Green - Learn how to protect your project and yourself....
Governor Scott signed Florida's public/private partnership bill...
HB 85, passed by the Florida Legislature is expected to be signed into law by the Governor. HB 85 creates a new Florida Statute, Section 287.05712, Public-Private Partnerships. Upon becoming law, Section 287.05712 will usher in a new procurement method in the State of Florida. Namely, the "unsolicited proposal"....
During the early stages of investigating and asserting a claim for construction or design defects, condominium associations and individual unit owners are often asked by their attorneys to produce documents relevant to their potential claims. The following is an illustrative, and by no means exhaustive, listing of the types of documents condominium associations or unit owners should have on hand to assist their attorney in initiating a construction or design defects claim: All recorded Governing Documents, Declarations of Condominium, Master Covenants and the like, including any Amendments to same; Developer’s Prospectus or Offering Circular; Developer’s sales and promotional materials describing the property; All documents evidencing the date of Turnover from a Developer-controlled Board to an elected Board of Directors controlled by a majority of unit owners. For example, this could include: · Meeting minutes containing the...
Florida Council for Public/Private Parternships had successful launch with inaugural conference...
By: Mark J. Stempler
The case: INSIGHT SYSTEMS CORP., and CENTERSCOPE TECHNOLOGIES, INC. v. THE UNITED STATES
The court: The United States Court of Federal Claims
A computer glitch forced disqualified proposers to challenge a U.S. government agency. Here is an abridged version of what happened. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) advertised a Request for Quotations (RFQ). Eventually during the process, proposers were allowed to submit their revised final quotes either in hard copy form, or electronically via email. If the proposer submitted the quote electronically, it was its proposer’s responsibility to send in the appropriate information, and to do so timely to the people designated to receive it.
The two Plaintiffs in this case submitted quotations in response, and did so electronically and in their opinion, before the deadline. The way the system was set up, emails from outside sources directed to the specified USAID email addresses pass from the outside mail server through a sequence of three (3) agency-controlled computer servers, before they are ultimately delivered to the recipients. To make a long story short, the emails were received by the first USAID server, but due to technical error, were not passed on to the ultimate recipients until after the submittal deadline. USAID notified the proposers that their proposals would not be considered because they were received after the deadline. Arguing that late is late, the USAID felt that it did not matter whether the perceived lateness was due to technological malfunctions with its own computer system.
When responding to an Invitation to Bid ("IFB") or other public solicitation, it is important to review terms above and beyond the scope of the work that may impact price. For example, the solicitation may include a contract form or other contract terms that should be carefully reviewed prior to bid submittal....
Condominium associations can have disputes with their contractors, which can unfortunately lead to litigation. In the course of litigation the contractor's attorney may want to take the deposition of an Association's corporate representative....
Your liability policy's value goes beyond its coverage of losses up to its stated policy limit. Especially if you find yourself in a complex lawsuit with numerous parties, your policy could provide significant value by obligating your insurance company to pay your attorneys' fees and costs. Therefore, when faced with a potentially-covered claim, it is important to not only give notice to your liability carrier, but also request that your carrier defend you against the claim, to make sure you get the full value out of your policy....
The U.S. Green Building Council’s long awaited updates to the LEED Rating System are almost complete. LEED v4 has been in the works for more than a year. The likely final public comment period for the new rating system ends on March 31st, and voting on the changes is scheduled to begin June 1st.
There are some significant changes in LEED v4. It will include a new credit category, Location and Transportation. As the name suggests it focuses in part on location of buildings and connectivity to them. Some of the credits in this category, such as bicycle storage, reduced parking capacity and low-emitting vehicles are already part of the existing Sustainable Sites category, so they are just being moved. Speaking of which, a new credit for rainwater management has been added to the Sustainable Sites category in LEED V4, which will be an opportunity to earn points for capturing, treating and controlling on-site runoff.
There are some significant changes in the Water Efficiency category. There will be three prerequisites: Outdoor Water Use Reduction (applicable to projects with exterior vegetated areas); Indoor Water Use Reduction (like the former "Water Use Reduction" prerequisite, it requires 20% water use reduction, and will also require a WaterSense label for certain fixtures and fittings); and Building Level Water Metering (applicable to all projects, it calls for permanent water meters to measure usage, and the data must be shared with the USGBC for 5 years). There are also new credits for Cooling Tower Use and Water Metering.