Philadelphia Construction Law Blog

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.

We previously reported that the case of Atlantic Marine Construction Company, Inc. v. United States District Court for the Western District of Texas was to be decided by the Supreme Court. This case addressed a contractual provision requiring that all litigation arising as a result of the project be brought in Norfolk, Virginia. The project was located at Ft. Hood in Texas.

Releases of claims are commonly negotiated and signed by parties involved in the construction process. But the content of a release has significant bearing on the rights of the parties relative to claims between them and should be carefully negotiated. This principle was recently highlighted in a case decided by the Supreme Court of Delaware (Riverbend Community LLC et al. v Greenstone Engineering LLC et al.).

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal of the Bricklayers of Western Pennsylvania Combined Funds v. Scott’s Development case, a move that could determine whether the Pennsylvania Mechanics’ Lien Law will be strictly or liberally interpreted.