| Ohio’s Paid Sick Leave Issue Likely Off of November Ballot |
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9/5/2008 Link
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The proposed Ohio Healthy Families Act, which would have required many employers in Ohio to provide seven paid sick days to their employees, will likely be pulled from the November 4, 2008 ballot. Submitted by Jeffrey S. Shoskin, Raymond D. Neusch and Eugene Droder III .
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| Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division Upholds Summary Judgment in Favor of Surety in Indemnity Suit |
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8/29/2008 Link
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In a case decided on March 18, 2008 and styled Prestige Decorating and Wallcovering, Inc. v. United States Fire Insurance Company, 2008 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 2398, the appellate division of the Supreme Court of New York upheld a trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the United States Fire Insurance Company, the surety for IDI Construction Company, Inc. on a project in New York. In the lower court, several claimants presented claims to the surety under bonds issued for IDI Construction. The surety paid claims and incurred costs in excess of $500,000, and sought indemnity for those losses. In its motion for summary judgment, the surety submitted a sworn affidavit providing an itemized statement of its loss and expenses. In opposition, the indemnitors provided “conclusory affidavits” contending, in part, that the surety had not properly processed the claims or had paid the claims in “bad faith.” The trial court rejected these arguments and awarded the damages to the surety. Submitted by David C. Olson.
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| Florida Appellate Court Upholds Jury Finding that Surety Was Not Given Proper Notice to Trigger Bond Obligation and Holds that Surety IE Entitled to All Attorneys' Fees |
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8/25/2008 Link
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In Current Builders of Florida, Inc. v. First Sealord Surety, Inc., 2008 Fla. App. LEXIS 4698 (April 2, 2008), the Fourth District Court of Appeals in Florida reviewed a judgment rendered in favor of a contractor against its subcontractor for breach of contract. The jury had also found no liability on behalf of the subcontractor’s surety based upon a failure to give proper notice to the surety. The appellate court affirmed in part and reversed in part the ruling of the trial court. Submitted by David C. Olson.
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| Bidders Beware: Tennessee Contractors Must Insure that Plumbing, Electrical and HVAC Subcontractors Have Sufficient License. |
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8/21/2008 Link
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In Tennessee, for contracts over $25,000,"[a]ny person or entity involved in the preparation of the invitation to bid, "including prime contractors, must list the "name, license number, expiration date thereof, and license classification of ...the electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning” subcontractors on the outside of the bid envelope. Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-6-119(b) (2008). The Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors rules and regulations further clarify this provision by providing that "[a]ny prime contractor submitting [such] a bid ...shall list only one electrical contractor, one plumbing contractor, and one heating, ventilation air conditioning contractor with appropriate classification and monetary limit or the bid shall not be considered." See Rule 0680-1-.24(2) of the Rules Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (emphasis added). But what happens when one of the subcontractors listed on such a bid is subsequently found to have an insufficient license for the scope of work to be performed? Who is penalized: only the offending subcontractor, the prime contractor, or both? Submitted by Tim Crenshaw and Brian Neal
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