Unlicensed Contractors In Georgia Lose All Contract Rights According to Georgia Court of Appeals
by Marianella Melendez Recently, the Georgia Court of Appeals handed down a decision which should be a wake-up call for all unlicensed contractors doing business in the State of Georgia. In Saks Management and Associates, LLC v. Sung General Contracting, Inc., the court determined that an unlicensed general contractor is unable to enforce its contract
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Breaking News: Governor Kemp Signs 2020 Lien Law Revision into Law
Yesterday, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp hosted a bill-signing ceremony wherein he signed Senate Bill 315 into law. In doing this, Governor Kemp restored balance to Georgia’s Lien Laws following an adverse holding by the Georgia Court of Appeals in the duo of matters styled Controlled Access, Inc. v. ALA Construction Services, Inc. and Landmark Electric
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Update on Proposed Changes to Georgia Lien Laws (SB 315 2020)
As many of our readers know, a recent Georgia Court of Appeals Case held that Georgia’s Statutory Lien Waivers (both Interim and Final) waive all rights a contractor or subcontractor have to their payments including their contractual right to payment (for more background details, click here). Most construction professionals agree that Georgia’s Lien Waivers should
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The 2017 AIA Construction Contracts Updates
By: Robby C. Stubley For nearly 130 years, the American Association of Architects (AIA) has published some of the most popular and widely used forms and documents in the construction industry. Historically, the AIA has continuously revised and updated those documents to reflect current industry standards and conditions, issuing revisions to their standard forms and
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New Law Strengthens Georgia’s Business Judgment Rule
by Robby Stubley Recent changes to Georgia’s laws have made changes that impact businesses and their decision makers. Specifically, House Bill 192, codified at O.C.G.A. § 7-1-490(c) for banks and O.C.G.A. § 14-2-830(c) and § 14-2-842 (c) for corporations, signed by Governor Nathan Deal on May 9, 2017 became effective as of July 1, 2017
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Third Circuit Holds AIA 201’s Arbitration Clause Applies Only to Disputes During Construction
We are pleased to welcome a guest author for today’s post. Douglas Dodson is a 2016 graduate of the University of Miami’s J.D./M.B.A. program, and he is pursuing a career in business consulting. By Douglas Dodson, J.D., M.B.A. The prime contract on the majority of construction projects includes a general conditions document, which are then
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Federal Court Rules that Subcontractor Duties Are Not Terminated by Contractor’s Modest Underpayment
by Stephanie Dodson Dougherty The Mar-Paul Company, Inc. (“Mar-Paul”) entered into an electrical subcontract with Butch-Kavitz, Inc. (“Butch”) for a renovation project at the Tobyhanna Army Depot in Pennsylvania owned by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The subcontract amount for electrical and generator work by Butch was $452,000.00. However, the owner of the
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Exceptions to “No Damages For Delay” Clauses
A “no-damages-for-delay” (NDFD) clause is a very common contract term that provides a defense for the delay-causing owner or general contractor to assert against the harmed party’s request for damages. This defense can be applied to protect the owner from a general contractor’s delay claim or the general contractor from a subcontractor’s claim. These clauses
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Recent Case Highlights the Importance of the Construction Contracts
In a case decided on November 17, Inland Atlantic Old National Phase I, LLC et. al. v. 6425 Old National, LLC, the Fourth Division Court of Appeals of Georgia ruled on fiduciary duties owed under joint venture agreements, applied rules of contract construction, and briefly addressed substantial versus strict compliance. Background: The parties – Inland
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Recent Case Hurts Supplier’s Enforcment of Lien
When a building material supplier has not been paid for labor or materials used on a Georgia construction project, that supplier may place a materialman’s lien against the owner of the improved real property; this is true even if the owner has no contractual relationship with that supplier. Such a lien essentially transfers liability from
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