Philadelphia Construction Law Blog

The Kaplin Stewart Construction Law Department is excited to announce its newest program offering. Starting in January, our attorneys will present our Spring Seminar Series to help our clients and friends prepare for the upcoming busy season. Designed to provide invaluable information to help construction firms plan their new projects, the programs will be approximately an hour long and held at Kaplin Stewart’s main offices in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. The program list is as follows:

Pennsylvania House Bill 1357 is presently before the Professional Licensure Committee in the House of Representatives. The legislation, which is scheduled for a committee hearing next month, would impose a state wide licensure system on the plumbing trades in Pennsylvania if passed.

Although regular risk assessments and re-evaluations of insurance coverage are generally a good idea, it’s not uncommon for construction companies to take the approach of renewing their existing insurance policy when it comes up for renewal. Some policies – particularly specialty policies – have renewal clauses in them that sophisticated companies should be aware of when renewing their insurance though. A recent decision by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia sheds some light on this issue.

There is at least one universal truth in businesses of all kinds: no one likes to work for free. The risk of non-payment in the construction industry can be greater than in others because of the significant financial outlay that is required just to perform the work. Reimbursement for labor and material costs are required just to avoid losing money (not profit) on a job. And we all know what happens to companies that don’t at least break even most of the time.

Did you know that the Liebherr LTM 11200-9.1 telescopic crane (pictured below) is one of the biggest pieces of construction equipment in the world? With a lifting capacity of up to 1,200 tons, a boom of 126 meters, and a reach of 126 meters more, it gets from place to place on a nine-axle suspension system.

Kaplin Stewart and all of its employees are acutely aware of how much has been sacrificed by members of our Armed Forces through the years in order to keep us safe and defend the freedom we all hold dear. Each year we pause to recognize all those who serve this great nation: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard.

It has long been the custom in Philadelphia that individual City Council members have the final say on land development and zoning issues within the bounds of the districts they represent. Even projects that are good for the City as a whole and supported by a majority of City Council members can be stopped by a single member of council when this unwritten rule is invoked.

Did you know that the highest bridge ever constructed over water is the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado? It spans the Arkansas River and is a little more than 1,000 feet over the river. Built in 1929, it cost about $350,000 to build.

Defying the conventional wisdom on how he would handle the recently passed union intimidation bill that was sent to him, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed the legislation into law. In a short press release that can be found here, the Governor indicated that he agreed it was time to close the loophole in the law “that allowed both employees and employers” to engage in harassment without penalty when in a labor dispute.

The United States’ Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, has placed a nationwide stay on the Obama Administration’s Waters of the United States rule. The final rule went into effect in August of this year and was being put into effect before the appeals court stayed its implementation. According the Court, the stay was put in place to temporarily clear up the confusion being created by both the implementation of the law and the legal challenges to it.