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Philadelphia Construction Law Blog

Tag: Pennsylvania

Practical Tips: What Are the Five Most Important Construction Contract Clauses?

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in General on Oct 22, 2014.

Reviewing construction contracts is a regular part of my practice as a construction attorney. From limited reviews of specific provisions to preparation of an entire array of form contracts, I have seen many different contract clauses and methodologies to evaluate them. In the end, contracts are about the allocation of risk. While the Rules of Professional Conduct prohibit me from giving legal advice as part of this blog, there are some clauses that commonly draw more attention when time is limited in the contract formation stage. Here are the top 5:

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Could Registry List Be On the Way For Pennsylvania Mechanic’s Lien Law?

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Mechanic's Liens on Oct 21, 2014.

The Pennsylvania House and Senate ended their 2014 session at the end of last week without passing any bills that deal directly with construction related issues. There was one, however, which was under consideration and is worth watching when the legislature returns to Harrisburg.

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Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court holds that acceptance of a public contract bid does not form a contract

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Public Construction Projects on Aug 21, 2014.

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.

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Pennsylvania Supreme Court Overturns Conway v. Cutler

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Construction Defect on Aug 20, 2014.

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.

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CHANGE TO PENNSYLVANIA MECHANIC’S LIEN LAW AFFECTS LIEN PRIORITY

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Mechanic's Liens on Jul 18, 2014.

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”.

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New OSHA Area Director for Region III

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in OSHA Safety Issues on Jul 14, 2014.

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.

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Be Careful With Lien Releases, They Can Do More Than Release Just Liens

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Mechanic's Liens on Jul 9, 2014.

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.

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Delaware County Pennsylvania Jury Renders a $24.3 Million Verdict to Construction Company

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Construction Industry News on Jun 6, 2014.

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.

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Paycheck Protection Picking up Steam in Pennsylvania Legislature

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Labor Law on May 13, 2014.

New legislation aimed at eliminating the role of government in collecting union dues and PAC contributions from public sector employee’s unions is under consideration in the Pennsylvania legislature. Although the parameters of any pending legislation are not yet entirely clear, it is undeniable that discussions are under way in both the House and the Senate to consider making changes to this area of the law.

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COMING SOON TO A THEATER NEAR YOU: KAPLIN STEWART CONSTRUCTION VIDEOS ON THE WAY

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Kaplin Stewart News on May 8, 2014.

We are pleased to announce that Kaplin Stewart will soon be providing educational videos on various topics to share information on various topics of importance to our clients, potential clients, and the construction industry at large. While they will admittedly not be on the silver screen, we hope they provide useful information that can be used to better your business.

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