On November 21, the Washington State Supreme Court held that general contractors may be on the hook for the injuries of the workers on their jobsites (Vargas v. Inland Washington, LLC). And not just on the hook to provide a safe jobsite for all, but for the injuries of its subcontractor’s workers. And not on … Continue Reading
Design-build is increasingly showing up in public works projects in the Washington State. This method allows the price to be established based on a conceptual design rather than through the competitive bid process. Offsetting the lack of competitive bid, the price can be set after construction documents are completed and all the subcontracts work can … Continue Reading
ServPro filed a single lien on a condo for water damage remediation work in the amount of $183,945.09 but did not allocate proportionally the amount of its billing among the 20 units impacted. This mistake illustrates the difficulties in getting a lien filed correctly on a condo and the consequences of doing it wrong. Pursuant … Continue Reading
Nova, a public works contractor, filed a claim for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, based entirely on the City’s untimely and repeated rejection of submittals to perform culvert work in Olympia. The Supreme Court held that the contractor was barred from seeking damages because it failed to give written notice … Continue Reading
Washington’s “responsible bidder” law already imposes significant requirements on contractors bidding on public works contracts: for instance, bidders must obtain certain types of industrial insurance, maintain records of wages and components used in construction, and must not have committed more than one prevailing wage violation in the past five years. Now, a new law will … Continue Reading
As contractors well know, most construction workers are entitled to overtime pay when they have to work more than 40 hours a week. However, under the Fair Labor Standards Act, there is a “white collar” exception for certain employees who earn no less than a standard salary threshold and meet other conditions. In May of … Continue Reading
On July 26, 2018, the Washington Supreme Court issued a new decision addressing public bidding in Specialty Asphalt & Constr., LLC v. Lincoln County. Specialty Asphalt was the winning bidder on a paving project for Lincoln County. After not requiring a performance bond typically required by statute in the bid, the County asked that Specialty post … Continue Reading
Bonding around mechanics liens can be an efficient way to close out a project when disputes arise, but case law and statutes created some ticklish questions about who needed to be included in any subsequent lawsuit. Now, the Washington Supreme Court has given us some clarity. In Inland Empire Dry Wall Supply Co. v. Western … Continue Reading
This post originally appeared on The Northwest Policyholder, Miller Nash Graham & Dunn’s insurance recovery blog. From The Ground Up editor George Kaai felt that this information would be useful to those in the construction industry. An endorsement that has become common in general contractors’ insurance policies can function as a trap for both the … Continue Reading
As we’ve reported before, Washington strengthened its “Call Before You Dig” laws about five years ago to create a much stricter regime, with significant penalties for property owners, utility providers, and contractors that fail to comply with its requirements. And now we’ve got one of the first published decisions under the new regime, which holds that … Continue Reading
This article was originally published as one of Miller Nash Graham & Dunn’s News You Can Use e-flashes, our occasional e-mail newsletter focusing on the latest developments in employment law and labor relations. From The Ground Up editor George Kaai felt that this information would be useful to those in the development industry. If you are interested … Continue Reading
Governor Jay Inslee recently signed into law Washington House Bill 1538 which authorizes subcontractors on public projects to request the prime contractor submit to the public owner a bond to release its portion of the retainage before the public project is complete. The bond needs to be in a form acceptable to the public body and … Continue Reading
Last week, my colleagues wrote about the Whatcom County v. Hirst decision by the Washington Supreme Court. As a consequence of Hirst, if public water is not available to serve a development, a county must independently verify that water from wells is available before it issues permits, even for single-family or small-development construction that, in the … Continue Reading
In a blog post dated February 17, 2016, we wrote about a decision of the Washington Court of Appeals in Snohomish County v. Pollution Control Hearings Board favorable to developers. At issue in the case was the Washington State Department of Ecology’s rule that required application of new stormwater regulations to all development proposals submitted … Continue Reading
Division III acknowledges hairline cracks in Mike M. Johnson rule. “Close enough” only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and nowhere is that more true than when Washington courts are interpreting notice and claim procedures in construction contracts. As a result of the Washington State Supreme Court’s 2003 decision in Mike M. Johnson, Inc. v. Spokane … Continue Reading
It has been generally assumed that only licensed contractors were entitled to file lien claims in the state of Washington for work they performed on real property for which they were not paid in full.1 That assumption has now been discarded in the recent decision Guillen v. Pearson, decided August 16, 2016. In Guillen v. … Continue Reading
Today the Washington State Department of Ecology adopted a new rule to limit carbon dioxide emissions from major sources. Beginning in 2017, entities that emit more than 100,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year must reduce their emissions by 1.7 percent each year. Entities with lower emissions will be phased in over two decades. … Continue Reading
From The Ground Up contributor LeAnne Bremer recently had an article published in the Vancouver Business Journal titled “In Vino Perseverance: Winery Launch Faces Barriers to Entry.” The article discusses land use and permitting issues encountered by the founders of Windy Hills Winery in Clark County, Washington. From either his robust laugh or his aromatic cigar, Dave Kelly’s … Continue Reading
In the recent Washington Court of Appeals case of Buchheit v. Geiger, property owners tried to prevent a neighbor from crossing over their lakeside lot with an antiharassment order. The neighbor began using the lakeside lot without the owners’ permission, by attaching a floating dock to the lot, storing personal items on it, and walking … Continue Reading
The Washington Department of Ecology issued the 2013-2018 Phase I Municipal Stormwater Permit, which required certain counties and cities to adopt local regulations for controlling stormwater sewer systems for new development, redevelopment, and construction activities by June 30, 2015. A key provision of the permit stated that the new regulations must apply to all development … Continue Reading
We wrote about the Filmore v. Unit Owners Association of Centre Pointe Condominium case in a prior blog post, when the Washington Court of Appeals issued its decision in the case. The court of appeals ruled that, based on the language of the Washington Condominium Act, any amendment to restrict or remove a restriction on leasing condominium units … Continue Reading
