2015 | Construction Law Authority

Getting Started with Public Bidding

November 11, 2015

Do you provide goods or services that public agencies purchase? Do you want to pursue public contract awards? Do you know how to get started? These are questions that you may have asked yourself. If you are looking to bid on public contracts, then there are some steps that you can take to put a plan into action. First, you should identify public agencies that need your goods and services. Some agencies may have purchasing cycles for particular goods and services and knowing when those opportunities will be advertised is critical. Most agencies maintain websites with links to their purchasing departments and/or purchasing procedures. They may also have representatives that can provide guidance on doing business with the agency and whether there are any registration or pre-qualifications requirements. The websites may also list the pending advertisements and bidding deadlines. Prior to contacting an agency, however, be mindful that there may be...

New Construction Technique for USF Dormitory

September 15, 2015

Sanjay Kurian

Green Building, News, Public Construction

There was a recent article in Tampa Bay Online by Yvette Hammett, linked here, dealing with new dorms going up at the University of South Florida. Other than my normal interest in the goings on at my alma mater was the construction methodology for the project. Tampa-based CBG Building Co., plans to use a system developed by Denver-based Prescient Co., Inc., where segments of the building are designed and pre-constructed off site and then shipped to the site for installation. The dormitory project consists of a 6 story parking garage and a 6 story dormitory with 500 apartment style units. A quote from the article notes that this type of construction may be expandable to different types of projects and explains what makes this building system so different is this: “We don’t construct our building,” said Prescient CEO Satyen Patel. “We assemble it.” The process involves three companies — one for software...

Multifamily Construction Defect Claims (Part 2)

July 21, 2015

Sanjay Kurian

Construction Defects, Contracts, Dispute Resolution, Litigation

In this 2 part blog post I wanted to touch on some basics of the typical “multifamily” construction defect case. Whether the project is a condominium, apartment, assisted living facility or hotel they share many of the same issues. There are six primary considerations in bringing these claims but each of those has many subparts which depend on specific facts of the project. Considerations 1 to 3 are here. The fourth consideration is the type of recovery available. Generally the cost of repairing the defective condition is the damage that can be recovered. In the event that such repair would be economically wasteful courts may consider diminution of value to be a valid damage. In addition, depending on the type of property there may also be lost rents, lost profits claims for the time that the property was not able to be used for its intended purpose or for partial loss...

Multifamily Construction Defect Claims (Part 1)

July 14, 2015

Sanjay Kurian

Construction Defects, Contracts, Dispute Resolution, Litigation

In this 2 part blog post I wanted to touch on some basics of the typical “multifamily” construction defect case. Whether the project is a condominium, apartment, assisted living facility or hotel they share many of the same issues. There are six primary considerations in bringing these claims but each of those has many subparts which depend on specific facts of the project. The first consideration is who is the true owner and is that entity able to recover for the defective construction. Is there a condominium association or building owner? Maybe it is the hotel or facility operator that is the aggrieved party or is the developer of the building? Knowing who has the rights to make the defect claims is a critical first step. The second consideration is to determine against whom any claims may be asserted. Is there a claim against the developer of real property who designed, built...

2015 Chapter 558 Legislative changes

July 8, 2015

Sanjay Kurian

Construction Defects, Legislation

As previously noted, House Bill 87 modified some of the requirements of Chapter 558, Florida Statutes. The statute was recently signed by Governor Rick Scott and the changes will take effect Oct. 1. The original intent of Chapter 558, enacted in 2003, was to require compliance with a mandatory pre-suit process before claims for construction defects could be brought in court. Originally the claims subject to Chapter 558 were limited to residential defect claims but now include all residential and commercial project claims for defects. All public projects are also included except for projects involving the Florida Department of Transportation. In my experience the pre-suit process does not resolve many claims and add barriers and costs to owners and end-users. A cynic might believe that the statute is working as intended. Chapter 558 requires written notice from the claimant to the construction or design professionals believed to be responsible for defects or...

Insurance Considerations post-Baltimore

May 27, 2015

Sanjay Kurian

Article, Disaster Preparation and Recovery, Insurance, Litigation

Let me start with the caveat that I am not getting into the political or race issues at the heart of recent events in Baltimore. However, from the point-of-view of someone working in construction and insurance law, the insurance and rebuilding questions created by the protests/riots in these cities is of great interest. Although the specific article here references insurance issues and struggles to rebuild in Maryland, similar concerns and analyses would apply anywhere that such events take place. As the article from Insurance Business America notes, many small businesses have been unable to reopen post damage as they are caught in a web of what is and is not covered under their applicable policies. Many questions loom: does the property insurance policy afford coverage; what about the Business Interruption policy; what are the applicable deductibles? As is typical of any insurance coverage the devil is in the details of the specific...

Citizens Property Insurance Not Liable for First Party Bad Faith Claims

May 15, 2015

Sanjay Kurian

Cases, Disaster Preparation and Recovery, Hurricane, Insurance, Litigation

Thursday, the Florida Supreme Court issued its opinion in Citizens Property Insurance Corp., v. Perdido Sun Condominium Association, Inc., considering the issue as to whether Citizens Property Insurance could be liable for First Party Bad Faith Claims. The Supreme Court determined that Citizens was not liable for such claims and that no exception for such claims existed from Citizens statutory immunity. This places Citizens in a different position, in regard to insureds, than other insurance carriers who may be offering similar property policies. The issue in was whether the Legislature intended CitizensProperty Insurance Corporation, a state-created entity that provides property insurance, to be liable for statutory first-party bad faith claims as an exception to its statutory immunity from suit. The issue had come before the Supreme Court from the First District's decision in Perdido Sun Condominium Ass’n v. Citizens Property Insurance Corp., 129 So. 3d 1210 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014), which...

Preparing for the 2015 Hurricane Season

May 13, 2015

Sanjay Kurian

Disaster Preparation and Recovery, Hurricane, Insurance, News

The Atlantic hurricane season is defined as running from June 1 through November 30. No one bothered to tell that to Tropical Storm Ana which hit South Carolina over the weekend. The Ana had sustained winds of 45 mph at landfall and brought anywhere between 2"-6" of rain depending on location. The early start of the hurricane season does not mean that we will necessarily have more hurricanes or what the severity of those hurricanes will be. However, it is always good to be prepared and plan ahead. The next few weeks will be important to finalize, or even start, our personal and business hurricane preparedness plans. Even if you do not have one yet there is still time to prepare. Below is a 12-point Hurricane Preparedness Checklist for condominium and homeowner associations to prepare for the 2015 hurricane season: 1. Disaster Plan – If you have a disaster plan be ready...

New Case: Cypress Fairway v. Bergeron Construction (Statute of Repose)

May 11, 2015

Sanjay Kurian

Cases, Construction Defects, Litigation

Interesting opinion issued last week by the Florida's Fifth District Court of Appeal on the statute of repose. The opinion can be found here. It is not yet final. The Cypress Fairway Condominium was a conversion condominium. The suit was brought by the Association "individually" and also as assignee of claims by the general contractor. Suit was filed against parties involved in the original construction and also the conversion. Suit was filed on February 2, 2011. There is no reference to when the certificate of occupancy was issued. Rather, the last non-settling defendant argued that the statute of repose period began when application for final payment was made on January 31, 2001, which was they argued was the completion date of construction. The Association argued that the repose period did not begin until February 2, 2001, when final payment was actually made. The trial court granted summary judgment to the defendant on...

2015 Florida Construction Legislation Update

April 29, 2015

Sanjay Kurian

Construction Defects, Legislation, Litigation, Public Construction

The regular Florida legislative session is almost concluded. The House adjourned on Tuesday and the Senate is in session until Friday. A special session to address the state budget is expected but not yet set. I previously addressed two construction related bills being considered this year: HB 87/SB418 related to construction defects, as noted here, and HB 501/SB 1158 related to shortening the statute of repose from 10 years to 7 years, as noted here. The Chapter 558 bill, HB 87, was amended to address many of the concerns raised in my prior blog post. The amended bill passed the House on a vote of 112 to 0. The House bill was substituted for the “companion” Senate bill, SB 418, and passed 35-4. The bill will be sent to the Governor for his consideration. The Governor will have 7 days to veto, sign or allow the bill to become law without...