Construction Law

Materials Deduction Bill Signed by Governor Granholm, Public Act 177 of 2008

Posted on July 11, 2008
On July 9, 2008, Governor Granholm signed into law S.B. 1217 [Public Act 177 of 2008]. As discussed in an earlier post, this new law provides that construction companies can deduct materials purchased for specific construction projects from calculation of their gross receipts taxes...

Defendant Lacks Standing to Challenge Plaintiff's Corporate Status, Michigan Supreme Court rules in Miller v Allstate

Posted on July 03, 2008
On July 2, 2008, the Michigan Supreme Court issued its ruling in the Miller v Allstate case, which was discussed in an earlier post.The Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeals' decision denying Allstate's attempt to avoid payment, but vacated the rationale...

AGC of Michigan Sponsors ConsensusDOCS Seminars

Posted on June 11, 2008
AGC of Michigan is sponsoring two upcoming seminars designed to acquaint contractors with the new ConsensusDOCS contract forms, which we discussed in an earlier post last September.June 18, 2008 Ramada Inn, Marquette, MIJune 20, 2008 EMU Livonia, Livonia, MIFor more information, follow this link.

Sixth Circuit Affirms "Disappointed Bidder" Rule, Upholds Dismissal of Bid Protest

Posted on May 25, 2008
On May 22, 2008, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the grant of summary disposition in favor of the City of Detroit, and against the low bidder on a DWSD project, and affirmed the "disappointed bidder" rule in Michigan."We reviewed the law surrounding standing and disappointed bidders in Club Italia Soccer & Sports Org...

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New Law Passed to Boost Set Asides for Disabled Veteran Contractors

Posted on May 23, 2008
On May 21, 2008, Michigan's Governor Granholm signed S.B. 751 into law as PA 133 of 2008. The new law takes effect immediately. As noted in an earlier post, the new law amends the Management and Budget Act to increase the goal for contract set asides for disabled veterans from 3% to 5%.

Material Deductions Bill Voted Out of House Tax Policy Committee

Posted on May 17, 2008
AGC of Michigan reports in its May 14, 2008 Midweek Briefing that H.B. 6031, the House version of S.B. 1217, was voted out of committee following testimony by AGC Member, Patrick Cebelak, Controller for Granger Construction.As noted in an earlier post, S...

Circuit Court Retains Jurisdiction Over $15,000 Contract Claim, Even When Lien Claim is Dismissed

Posted on May 10, 2008
Section 118(1) of the Michigan Construction Lien Act requires that an action to foreclose a construction lien be brought in the circuit court for the county where the real property is located. For smaller liens, this provision overcomes the requirement that claims in circuit court exceed $25,000...

How to Verify that a Payment or Performance Bond Complies with Michigan's Public Bond Statute

Posted on May 01, 2008
Michigan's public works bond statute (MCL 129.201, et seq) requires that a principal contractor furnish a payment and performance bond executed by a surety authorized to do business in Michigan. Many contracts also require that the general contractor furnish payment and performance bonds, which are executed by a surety listed on Treasury Circular 570...

DWSD Receives $316 Million Low Bid for Upper Rouge CSO Tunnel (South) Project

Posted on April 24, 2008
Earlier today, the City of Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) received and open bids for the Upper Rouge CSO (South) Tunnel, Contract PC-764. Two bids were submitted. A low bid of $316,170,200 was received from Kenny Construction/Obayashi, JV...

Bill to Amend Michigan Business Tax Approved by Senate

Posted on April 23, 2008
On April 22, 2008, the Senate approved S.B. 1217 on a roll call vote of 250-38. The bill now goes to the House Committee on Tax Policy.As noted in an earlier post, S.B. 1217 is designed to correct problems with the Michigan Business Tax as it affects construction contractors.

Supreme Court Limits Grounds for Reviewing Arbitration Awards Under FAA

Posted on April 23, 2008
On March 25, 2008, in a 6-3 opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Sections 10 and 11 of the Federal Arbitration Act provide the exclusive grounds for vacating or modifying an arbitration award. Contractual arbitration agreements providing for judicial review broader than the grounds in the FAA are not unenforceable under the FAA, the Court held...

Elevated Lake Level Damages -- Time for Bringing Claim is 3 Years, Michigan Court of Appeals Rules

Posted on April 23, 2008
A lawsuit brought by plaintiffs claiming that defendants flooded their property and caused trees to die by wrongfully raising the level of a lake, and seeking money damages under theories of negligence, negligence per se, nuisance, trespass, and civil conspiracy, should have dismissed under a three-year statute of limitations ruled the Michigan Court of Appeals in a recent published decision...

22 Billion Gallons!

Posted on April 21, 2008
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Sunday, April 20, 2008 that a mistake in calibrating a gauge that measures lake water resulted in the release of 22 billion gallons from Atlanta's principle source of drinking water in 2006."More than a year before Georgia's historic drought demanded the Atlanta area's attention, the U...

Michigan Construction Law, Contractor's Guide Available from AGC of Michigan

Posted on April 19, 2008
In 2005, the AGC Legal Advisory Committee published an updated "Contractor's Guide to Michigan Construction Law," which is now available on the AGC of Michigan's website in the Legal Resources section.The Guide was written by members of the AGC Legal Advisory Committee, and is is divided into 17 Chapters --The Contract for Construction: Standard Forms and Common Risk Transferring Provisions Bids, Bidders, and Bid Protests (by Thomas Keranen and Peter Cavanaugh)Defective Plans/SpecificationsContract Changes/Differing Site Conditions (by Peter Cavanaugh)Delay in Contract PerformanceRemedies for Payment DisputesDispute Resolution MechanismsOverview of State and Federal Prevailing Wage LawMichigan Occupational Safety and Health Act (MIOSHA)Hiring and Terminating Employees in MichiganEnvironmental Law: A Brief Overview for the Construction ContractorBankruptcy in a Construction SettingDealing With the Media and Press in Corporate Crisis SituationsBonding and InsuranceSubcontractors, Rights and RemediesMichigan Construction Defect and Mold LitigationInformation Technology and Construction Law

Bill to Amend Michigan Business Tax for Construction Firms Inches Forward

Posted on April 19, 2008
On April 17, 2008, a bill to fix the Michigan Business Tax for construction contractors moved closer to passing the Michigan Senate. S. B. 1217 was placed on order of third reading with substitute S-1. S.B. 1217 would amend Section 113(6)(e) of the Michigan Business Tax (MBT) Act (MCL 208...

Mediation of Construction Disputes, AAA Updates Mediation Services

Posted on April 18, 2008
The American Arbitration Association recently updated its Mediation Services and now devotes a separate website to its mediation offerings. The new website is appropriately named www.aaamediation.comAmong the changes are the following --New Pricing StructureAAA has eliminated the up-front filing feeThe "mediation" rate designated on the Mediator's resume is a combined rate for the AAA and the MediatorRevised Mediator ResumesThe AAA now provides the following new information about the Mediators on its Panel:Years of Practice as a MediatorTotal Number of Cases MediatedSettlement RatesStatement of PhilosophyMulti-Party ExperienceAll Mediator Resumes are Posted On-LineChoice of AdministrationParties have the choice of filing their Mediation Cases locally (through the AAA Offices in Southfield), or at one of the Case Management Centers...

Contract Documents Seminar, Tom Keranen and Fred Butters to Speak on April 29, 2008

Posted on April 16, 2008
On April 29, 2008, Attorneys Thomas M. Keranen, PE, and Frederick F. Butters, FAIA, will speak about the ConsensusDOCs contract documents and the AIA 2007 Contract Documents at a seminar sponsored by AIA of Michigan.Mr. Butters will address the substantial changes made to the AIA documents, and compare the 2007 and 1997 versions...

PDF for Legal Professionals

Posted on April 12, 2008
Adobe Acrobat (PDF) has become the de facto standard in the legal profession for filing documents electronically with federal courts using the PACER system, and increasingly state courts.Adobe sponsors an excellent blog -- Acrobat for Legal Professionals -- that is geared for lawyers who use PDF documents in their practice, whether it be for filing documents or using PDF to manage large document collections...

Department of Treasury Introduces New Lincoln

Posted on March 14, 2008
Off topic a bit, but the U.S. Department of Treasury is rolling out a new $5 bill today. The Treasury Department has a pretty cool, interactive website that shows off the new Lincoln, along with the other bills that have undergone face lifts and security enhancements in the past several years.

AIA, NSPE and ACEC conduct Annual Design Professional Liability Insurance Survey

Posted on February 17, 2008
OverviewProfessional liability insurance is increaingly critical to the successful design professional. Today?s Architect and Engineer has more choices in coverages and insurance options then ever before. Better still, those choices come at competitive prices...

Statute of Limitations Bill Passes the Senate

Posted on February 17, 2008
On Thursday February 14, 2008, Senate Bill 865 came up for vote in the Michigan Senate. When it became apparent that a last minute effort to tie the bill to Senate Bill 445 (which would reverse recent Michigan Supreme Court decisions concerning the threshold standard for bringing suit under the Michigan no-fault insurance act) would fail, the backers of that effort withdrew and SB 865 proceeded to a vote...

Michigan Legislature Enacts "Owner Built Residence Transfer Act"

Posted on February 13, 2008
On Februray 13, 2008, the Michigan Legislature enacted SB 0577. The "Owner Built Residence Transfer Act" (PA 6 of 2008) is designed to protect homeowners who buy homes from unlicensed builders. The Act takes effect in 180 days.RationaleMichigan law contains various provisions requiring a residential builder to be licensed, but this requirement does not aply to someone who is building their own home...

MDOT Implements New Claims Procedures

Posted on February 08, 2008
The Michigan Infrastructure & Transportation Association (MITA) reports in their current newsletter that the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has updated its claims procedures."On January 30th, after almost two years of collaboration and work by the Department and MITA, MDOT leadership signed into policy their new procedure for review of contractor claims...

Supreme Court Rules Against Michigan Company on Tucker Act Challenge

Posted on January 15, 2008
On January 8, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit must always consider whether cases making claims against the federal government were filed on time, even if the federal government has waived that issue...

Plaintiff Must Prevail on Lien Foreclosure Claim to Recover Attorney Fees, Michigan Supreme Court Rules

Posted on December 23, 2007
On December 20, 2007, the Michigan Supreme Court entered an order reversing the Court of Appeals in a case involving the award of attorney fees to a lien claimant who had lost its lien claim, but prevailed on its breach of contract action. The Court of Appeals had found the plaintiff to be a prevailing party, and entitled to recover its attorney fees, despite losing its lien claim...

MISS DIG Act Clarified by Michigan Court of Appeals

Posted on November 29, 2007
The Michigan Court of Appeals recently clarified several aspects of the Protection of Underground Facilities Act (MCL 460.701) (the MISS DIG Act).In SBC v J T Crawford, Inc, ___ Mich App ___ (Mich Ct App, Nov 27, 2007), a case of first impression, the Court held --that pile driving is a construction activity subject to the MISS DIG Act,that the excavation contractor, but not the pile driving subcontractor, was required to contact MISS DIG, butthe pile driving subcontractor could not rely upon the excavating contractor's locate request to MISS DIG, which had expired by the time the work actually began...

Peter Cavanaugh to Speak at Michigan Construction Industry Professional Development Day on January 24, 2008

Posted on November 21, 2007
Attorney Peter Cavanaugh will speak about "Legal Issues in Managing the Construction Project" at the 5th Annual Michigan Construction Industry Professional Development Day program.Professional Development Day is being held this year on January 24, 2008 at the Ann Arbor Marriott in Ypsilanti, and is sponsored by AGC of Michigan...

U. S. Supreme Court Considers Tucker Act Challenge by Michigan Company

Posted on November 07, 2007
The Associated Press reports -- "The Bush administration, in a case involving a Michigan company, urged the Supreme Court on Tuesday [November 6, 2007] to maintain years of previous court rulings that have upheld a six-year statute of limitations in certain disputes filed against the government...

Morris Pumps Decision Stands, Michigan Supreme Court Denies General Contractor's Application for Review

Posted on November 01, 2007
The Michigan Supreme Court decided yesterday (October 31, 2007) to DENY the general contractor's Application for Leave to Appeal the Michigan Court of Appeals decision in Morris Pumps v Centerline Piping, et al., which had ruled in favor of Morris Pumps and two other suppliers...

U.S. Supreme Court to Review 6th Circuit Case, will decide if False Claims Act covers Subcontractors

Posted on October 31, 2007
The following story was reported by FederalTimes.Com. Thanks to Jerry Walz at PubKLaw for the lead on this story. By Elise Castelli October 30, 2007The [United States] Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that will decide whether the government can collect penalties from subcontractors who commit fraud under a government contract...

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