Philadelphia Construction Law Blog

Many contracts provide that before a party can arbitrate or litigate a dispute, a mediation must occur. Often a party will choose not to submit a dispute to mediation believing that a mediation will not resolve the dispute. Many parties proceed directly to arbitration or litigation, dismissive of the contract language requiring mediation.

Funding for public school construction and maintenance projects has been delayed by the months- long budget gridlock in Pennsylvania. Although the Commonwealth’s budget was recently approved, a related funding bill providing for more than $306 million in construction reimbursements due to Pennsylvania school districts was vetoed. School districts may now be faced with getting, or extending, financing for past and ongoing construction projects until legislation authorizing the reimbursements is finalized. It is unclear how this may affect future construction projects planned by Pennsylvania schools.

The developer of the Constitution Pipeline, designed to carry natural gas from the Marcellus Shale areas in northeastern Pennsylvania to New York State and New England, has been delayed. The pipeline was to have been placed in service by the end of this year, but now will not be completed until at least the second half of 2017. The 124 mile pipeline would help ease a shortage of pipelines carrying abundant natural gas from Northeastern Pennsylvania to customers in New York and New England. When constructed, it would be the first direct path linking the Marcellus basin with New York and New England consumers.

In a recent decision, the Pennsylvania Superior Court clarified the legal requirements for a contractor’s direct claim for economic losses against a design professional caused by defective design. In Gongloff Contracting v L. Robert Kimball & Associates, a sub-subcontractor steel erector brought an action directly against a public project design professional (Kimball) for “misrepresentations” in the design documents. Gongloff claimed that the architect/engineer’s structural design was inadequate in that the steel roof structure and trusses could not safely sustain all required construction loads. As a consequence of those deficiencies, project shutdowns ensued, and multiple change orders were issued resulting in substantial additional cost to Gongloff. When the steel subcontractor and general contractor refused to pay those additional costs, Gongloff commenced an action against the design professional.

The Metal Building Contractors and Erectors Association will be hosting its annual national conference in Clearwater Beach, Florida, in May. The Metal Building Contractors & Erectors Association serves participants in the metal building industry, including contractors, erectors, and suppliers. Its goal is to provide exceptional training and education that allows its members to succeed and raises the profile of the metal building industry.

At Kaplin Stewart, we strive every day to add value to the businesses of our clients and potential clients.  We are thrilled to announce the start of another one of these efforts – our construction surety law blog!  The surety industry is one which we represent regularly; and we believe that it is a niche with specific issues that merit a special comment from time to time.  So we hope you will read the blog and join the conversation.

Beginning April 11, 2016, the Philadelphia Department of Licenses & Inspections (L&I) will be strictly enforcing the Working Training Requirements under Philadelphia Code provisions A-1001.3 through A-1001.5. The Working Training Requirements are summarized as follows:

  Wishing you all the luck of the Irish!

While it’s not a change in the law, a recent holding by the Pennsylvania Superior Court provides a friendly reminder to suppliers in the construction industry. When goods are being sold, the UCC applies; and, importantly, terms and conditions in prior offers not included in the accepted offer are not part of the agreement.