Philadelphia Construction Law Blog

On Thursday, August 28, 2014, two attorneys from Kaplin Stewart’s construction law department will deliver a presentation on contract administration and handling construction disputes to New Jersey architects. 

The Commonwealth Court recently considered a breach of contract claim by Allan A. Myers after the Montgomery County Commissioners reversed course and awarded paving work to another bidder.

In a prior post on November 19, 2012, I reported that the Superior Court of Pennsylvania held that the implied warranty of habitability extended to subsequent purchasers of residential properties. The Superior Court based its opinion on the foundation of public policy considerations flowing from the unequal bargaining power between developers/builders and residential home buyers.In its August 18, 2014, ruling, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed that decision on the primary ground that public policy decisions are best left to the legislature.

On July 9, the Pennsylvania Legislature amended the Mechanic’s Lien Law to change lien priority rules flowing from the 2012 Kessler decision by the Pennsylvania Superior Court. The Kessler Court had established that mechanic’s liens had priority over open-end mortgages where visible commencement of work at the site pre-dated the recording of the mortgage and advances on the mortgage were made for costs other than “hard construction costs”.

It should be the goal of every owner and construction company to return employees home for dinner safely every day. In addition to being the right thing to do, workers who are injured, or worse, don’t show up for work the next day. Safety is and should be one of those symbiotic relationships that all parts of the construction community can work on together.

Effective June 29, 2014, Nicholas DeJesse is the Area Director of the Philadelphia Are Office for OSHA. The new position is a promotion from Assistant Area Director in Area III, a position DeJesse has held since April 2012.

Executing releases of mechanic’s liens is an all too common part the application for payment process on construction projects. Often times, payment is not released by the party upstream until that release of liens is submitted. Contractors and subcontractors alike should be particularly careful, however, when signing these lien releases. They are powerful documents that can result in a complete dismissal of much more than just the right to file a mechanic’s lien.

The Metabo Corporation has announced a recall of the W14-150 Ergo Angle Grinder. The company indicated that it was brought to their attention that under certain circumstances the grinder can get stuck in the on position. Two incidents were verified, although there have been no injuries to date. Metabo cites its desire to promote safety and to ensure that no user is injured by its product as the basis for the recall.

The next project for the City Centered Investment Corporation of Allentown is likely to end up being its biggest ever. Five City Center, a proposed 7-story office building would be 250,000 square feet plus parking for more than 1,000 spaces to accommodate the building. The project would be headed by the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone Development Authority.

A recent trial in Delaware County, Pennsylvania resulted in a $24.3 million verdict in favor of the construction company Utility Line Services. The award, handed down by an 8 person jury panel, was arrived at by finding a breach of contract, violation of the Pennsylvania Contractor and Subcontractor Payment Act (“CASPA”), and wrongful termination of the contract.