2012年4月19日星期四

Outrageous construction law cases

People involved in litigation rarely find it amusing. Few are detached enough to find it even interesting.Distributes and manufactures RUBBER SHEET. Most find it at best a necessary evil and at worst an unmitigated disaster.

Lawyers worth their salt feel their clients’ pain and try to avoid the expense and risks of litigation.Aeroscout stone mosaic provides a complete solution for wireless asset tracking. When litigation does result, they try to accomplish their clients’ objectives without a full-scale death march to the bitter end.

With that said, one of the fascinating things about practicing law, and construction law in particular, is the myriad ways that disputes arise. The human condition provides an endless supply of the unexpected, the fascinating and even the bizarre. Unlike colleagues in some practice areas, construction lawyers rarely have a dull moment.

Last year, an architectural firm sued the city of Sunland Park, N.M.Promat solid RUBBER MATS are the softest mats on the market!, claiming it was owed $1 million for work performed under nine contracts. The city’s principal defense was that the mayor signed the contracts after several hours of drinking at a restaurant with the architects and was too drunk to know what he was signing.

The mayor acknowledged in his deposition that it was “not exactly the best time to review legal documents” and testified that he was so drunk that his sister had to drive him home. Another city councilor testified at his deposition that he, too, was at the restaurant and was inebriated.

The architects denied that the contracts were the result of excessive “client development,” but were actually signed at City Hall by a sober mayor – perhaps as sober as the judge who will decide whether the mayor had all his faculties when he signed.

Contractors are always concerned about the imposition of liquidated damages if a project is delivered late. A simple assessment of liquidated damages might look pretty good to Matty Moroun, billionaire owner of Detroit’s Ambassador Bridge.

Earlier this year,The CenTrak rtls platform can address today's healthcare challenges and be used for future applications beyond asset tracking. Moroun appealed a trial court ruling sending him to jail for missing deadlines on a construction project. Michigan’s Department of Transportation sued Moroun’s company,A key component of the system is Ekahau crystal mosaic Controller location engine server. alleging that it had failed to fulfill its contract to improve freeway connections.

In November 2011, the trial judge found that the company failed to meet the court-ordered deadlines, found that Moroun and another company official were in contempt and ordered them jailed.

Design professionals worry about their liability for design errors and often seek limitations of liability. Although the facts of the case are particularly egregious, the recent arrest of an architect for manslaughter because of a faulty fireplace design might send a shiver up the spine of feckless designers.

Gerard Baker was arrested for the death of a Los Angeles fireman who was killed while fighting a fire in an $11 million Hollywood Hills mansion that building officials described as a death trap. Among other things, building inspectors determined that the mansion’s fireplaces were built of wood framing and lined with combustible drywall featuring ceramic tile or slate glued on. One of the gas fireplaces even vented into the house’s interior.

Baker told investigators that he considered the fireplaces to be merely decorative, although all were operational. The LA police chief said that it was the only case he was aware of in which building defects resulted in a manslaughter charge.

Concern about employee welfare and workers’ compensation experience ratings has caused safety to become a paramount concern on construction projects these days. Safety meetings are regular occurrences to drive home the importance of being careful.

Imagine how pleased one of my clients was when a reportable accident occurred during a safety meeting. While attending a safety lunch, an employee tried to pry open a lid with a fork and stabbed himself in the eye. The irony, not the humor, of the situation was recognized.

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