Colin McCarthy

Recently, we have seen an increase in legal rulings related to contractor conflict of interest in public works projects.

In a recent Appellate Court decision, Flintco Pacific, Inc. v. TEC Management Consultants, Inc., a California court addressed the issue of when a general contractor is reasonable in relying on a subcontractor’s bid.

In September, a California Appeals Court sent shockwaves through the construction community when it ruled that a subcontractor’s claim on a public works payment bond was untimely because the subcontractor had prematurely served their stop notice, but untimely asserted their…

In a major victory for both general contractors and their subcontractors, a California appellate court has ruled that a public entity cannot withhold contract funds from a general contractor simply due to a dispute over the original price of the…

On January 23, 2015, the Second District Court of Appeal reaffirmed the use of the Lease/Leaseback delivery method on public works projects.Lease/Leaseback projects are built pursuant to the requirements of Education Code section17406, which authorizes school district governing boards, without advertising…

On July 30, 2014, a California Appeals Court issued an opinion which reaffirms the difficulty that general contractors face in pursuing engineers and other design professionals for negligent work. In Atlas-Allied, Inc. v. San Diego Community College District, et al. (D061295) (Cal.…

On July 3, 2014 the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled that design professionals owe a duty of care to future homeowners of residential construction, even when the design professional does not actually build, or exercise control over the construction. Beacon…