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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As founding member of the Cobb Law Group, Mark A. Cobb has been a Georgia construction attorney for more than 25 years; he regularly speaks and writes legal articles regarding Georgia Materialmen’s Liens, Construction Contracts, Miller Act Claims, Construction Litigation, and other areas related to construction law Preparing and filing mechanics and materialmen’s liens on
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by Stephanie Dodson Dougherty Homeowner’s Pre-litigation Requirements for Construction Defect Claims The Georgia Legislature enabled the Right to Repair Act (O.C.G.A. § 8-2-35, et seq.) in 2004 to reduce construction-related litigation by providing resolution alternatives for legitimate construction disputes. Although the stated purpose of the Act is to protect the rights of homeowners, it actually
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by Mark A. Cobb I just read a very insightful and accurate description of what it means to be a contractor: We design and construct buildings but the reality is we are risk managers.  Virtually anyone could design or construct a project if it had no risk.  The reality is that owners hire and pay
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by:  Mark A. Cobb Although it is not a scientific representation, we get the sense from our contractor clients that the construction industry is picking up throughout Georgia.  One measure that we use is the number of Notices of Commencement that we have been asked to prepare, and this number has steadily increased which, hopefully,
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  by Cobb Law Group Every construction project, whether large or small, comes with risks.  Contractors, subcontractors and materialmen worry whether payment will be made; conversely, project owners, developers and general contractors worry that subs and suppliers will properly perform.  Fortunately, there are several statutory and common law rights which help alleviate some of these
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by Mark A. Cobb Our construction law colleagues at Kaplin Stewart maintain a very good Pennsylvania construction law blog, and a recent posting by them gives a very important warning to architects, engineers and builders who consider cutting corners to save money.  Apparently, an owner/designer of luxury house in Hollywood Hills, California has been charged
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by:    Mark A. Cobb Cobb Law Group A recent development from the United States Supreme Court may have profound repercussions affecting almost everyone in the design, build and construction industries. This case stems from the 2007 collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minnesota which killed 13 people.  The bridge, which had been designed by the
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