Philadelphia Construction Law Blog

Labor Day is traditionally filled with last trips to the beach and barbecues during the long weekend that marks the end of summer. Like Memorial Day in May though, it’s a good time to pause for a moment or two and understand the reason why we have this federal holiday.

As previously reported, the Kaplin Stewart Construction Law Department took the ALS ice bucket challenge recently. The event was a great success and even attracted some media attention. For some great photographs of the moments of truth, go here for the Times Herald’s coverage.

The Construction Department at Kaplin Stewart is doing its part to raise awareness and money to defeat ALS by taking the ice bucket challenge. The department has challenged other firm personnel and companies to accept the challenge by dumping ice cold water over their heads and/or contributing to the ALS foundation. The Kaplin Stewart lawyers and staff brave enough to take the challenge so far are:

President Obama signed an executive order that will have a huge impact on the construction industry on July 31, 2014. Amazingly, it has received little fanfare or attention until now.

Effective July 1, 2015, Philadelphia Water updated its Stormwater Regulations for development to meet requirements of the Clean Water Act. The changes claim to improve the health of Philadelphia’s rivers, minimize local flooding, and encourage the use of green infrastructure throughout the city.

Joseph Dougherty, 73, former head of Philadelphia’s largest ironworkers union, was sentenced Monday to 19 years and two months in federal prisonafter being convicted of overseeing a campaign of sabotage and intimidation of nonunion contractors including the 2012 torching of a Quaker Meetinghouse in Chestnut Hill. In addition, Dougherty will have to pay over $500,000 in restitution.

It took a federal court to ask for guidance, but the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has finally formally declared as law a concept most construction lawyers already assumed to be the case: the Pennsylvania Contractor and Subcontractor Payment Act does not apply to public works projects.

Among the most famous buildings in the world, the White House is the residence and working space for the President of the United States. Despite its unique name, it was not always white and not always known as the White House. Do you know how the White House came to be known by that name?

In one of the most impactful decisions of the last decade for both the insurance and construction industries, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in Kvaerner U.S., Inc. v. Commercial Union Insurance Co., that defective work was not an occurrence under a commercial general liability insurance policy when the underlying claims “triggering” coverage sound in contract. Courts in other jurisdictions, however, have been methodically swinging in the other direction. It may ultimately spell the end of the narrow reading the Kvaerner decision imposes on CGL policies in Pennsylvania.

A large project to build retail and commercial space on a 52 acre plot in Bethlehem has been slowed. At issue are two items.