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William Cea Wins Summary Judgment in Federal Bid Protest Case

Becker & Poliakoff attorneys, led by shareholder William Cea, have secured a significant court ruling in favor of their client, Premier Parks, ending this case and providing for open competition to bid on a future water park planned for 65 acres in Fort Lauderdale (Premier Parks v. City of Fort Lauderdale). Premier Parks, the parent company of Rapids Water Park in Riviera Beach, filed suit in October 2015 after the City tried to allow Schlitterbahn, a waterpark operator, to build on a 65-acre property owned by the City, including the existing Ft. Lauderdale and Lockhart Stadium facilities. After buying out the Federal Government’s interest in the land in 2015, the City agreed to enter into a 30-year lease with Schlitterbahn. Premier Parks argued that the City should have been required to obtain competitive bids for the project and the court agreed. Gary Rosen, managing shareholder of Becker & Poliakoff, said: "This was a challenging case and we believed in our...

Keeping ‘Green’ Contracts Clear

The green building industry is arguably more popular than ever. The number of certified green buildings grows every day across all sectors of the building industry. Unfortunately, the contracts for sustainable projects are sometimes behind the times. Standard construction contracts are often not tailored to address the numerous issues and nuances that may come up on sustainable projects. This potentially puts all contracting parties at greater risk of uncertainty if disputes arise on the job site. Preparation on the front end of a green building is usually the best way to alleviate problems later on, and it starts with the contract. This is true whether the project is one for new construction or for renovations or retro-fitting. First, the contract should be as clear and specific as possible about what the green goal is. Simply using terms like "green building," "sustainable building" or "high-performing building" are not enough, because it is...

Multifamily Construction Defect Claims (Part 2)

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)

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...

What law applies to your Construction Contract – Simple or Not?

You have a construction contract for work to be done on a project in Florida. Although hoping that all goes well, it’s your belief that if any legal issues arise, Florida law would apply. That may be correct, since Florida law would generally apply to issues concerning the performance of such a contract. However, that may not be correct. What if your construction contract has a choice of law provision that specifies the law of a state other than Florida applies? That will likely require a further analysis regarding issues that could include but are not necessarily limited to what legal, equitable, contractual, and tort-type matters are at issue, are those matters encompassed within the particular choice of law provision, are there procedural and substantive issues to be considered, will the enforcement of the choice of law provision violate Florida public policy, what do Florida’s choice of law rules indicate will...

Concrete Repairs – Some Matters to Consider

Concrete generally consists of three components: (a) water, (b) an aggregate material such as sand, gravel, or stone, and (c) cement. In condominiums, concrete is often used in the formation of the shell of the building, with further support and strength being provided by reinforcing steel located within a condominium’s concrete slabs, balconies, and columns.  Over time, exposure to atmospheric conditions, including but not limited to, items such as chloride ions or carbon dioxide (through a process known as carbonation), may cause or contribute to the corrosion of reinforcing steel located within concrete. Other factors may also contribute to this corrosion process. When this reinforcing steel corrodes rust can form, with a resultant volume that is greater than the volume of the original reinforcing steel. Rust can also adversely affect the bonding between the reinforcing steel and the surrounding concrete, with the potential for cracking, spalling, rupturing, and delamination of...

Green Construction Contract Concerns

Many contracts used in green building projects are not always ideal for green building projects.  Often, contractors, design professionals, or owners will use their old standard construction contracts.  But those forms might not take into account some of the nuances or issues that can arise on a sustainable project. For example, green building contracts should strive to be more specific about what the green goal is.  Terms like "green building", "sustainable building" or "high-performing building" lack the specificity of what the goal is.  Further, it is not enough for the owner to say it wants LEED platinum rating, or LEED certified, or Green Globe?  There is a difference.  Or, maybe the goal is to save money on electricity, or to reduce the amount of water consumed.  Those should be specifically identified, so if the goal is not achieved, there will not be confusion as to what the goal was.  Confusion often...

When is a mandatory contractual venue clause in a construction contract not mandatory?

As a subcontractor, you enter into a contract with a general contractor to perform construction work on a project located in a certain county in Florida. The contract, however, has a carefully worded mandatory venue clause stating that the venue for any lawsuit brought for breach of the contract shall be in a different county in Florida. Unfortunately, things take a turn for the worse on the project. The general contractor does not pay you. Accordingly, you file a Claim of Lien. In turn, the general contractor transfers your lien to a bond pursuant to Florida Statute § 713.24; with the bond being posted in the clerk’s office of the county of the project’s location. Now you need to file suit. You elect to sue for both a breach of the contract and for an action on your lien that was transferred to a bond (also known as a lien transfer bond)....

Watch out for Construction Scams in 2013

As the construction industry hopefully improves in 2013, one must always be mindful of construction scams. These scams can take many forms, including but not limited to the following: The free test and need for a new system – An individual visited homeowners in Virginia and offered to test their water. Perhaps not surprisingly, the homeowners were then told they needed new water filtration systems. Yet, after paying for the systems the homeowners were unable to contact this individual. His so-called office address turned out to be a chiropractor’s office. Charges for construction fraud were brought against this individual in Virginia. Advance payments for work not done  - A general contractor in Texas continually got advance payments from its clients while doing minimal work in relation to the monies paid. In appealing criminal convictions determined in the trial court, the general contractor argued that it only quit the jobs after there were...