In Universal Concrete Products Corporation v. Turner Construction Company, parties entered into an agreement for the installation of precast concrete for a construction project. After Universal had substantially completed its work, the Granby Towers project ultimately fell through in March 2008, and Turner was unable to pay Universal for any of the work performed because Turner itself had not yet been paid by the owner. Universal sought payment of $885,507 from Turner for work performed, and...

After five years of a collaborative building-production movement called Integrated Project Delivery, or IPD, skeptics are sending out a warning not to try an Integrated Project Delivery with contractors that you are unfamiliar with because of possible risks associated, and even to be cautious of waivers of claims. Furthermore, if Integrated Project Deliveries are used, lengthy contract negotiations are expects and contractors are warned to prepare to share any profits. Integrated Project...

The New York City Department of Buildings, New York City Service, Con Edison and the City University of New York have teamed up to launch a city-wide NYC Cool Roofs Program. The program is designed to help reduce cooling costs, energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions by installing a white coating on rooftops that reflects the sun and dissipates the absorption of heat on building rooftops. As a component of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s PlaNYC initiative, the Cool Roofs Program is a partnership...

In Hunt Construction Group, Inc. v. National Wrecking Corporation (2009), plaintiff Hunt Construction commenced an action against a subcontractor, National Wrecking, and against two sureties based on National Wrecking’s performance bond. Hunt Construction sought relief in this diversity action against the defendants, and the sureties argued that Hunt Construction failed to give a timely notice of default, depriving the sureties of any opportunity to exercise their right to cure National...

In the wake of the recent oil platform tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico, the oil and gas industry hit with another misfortune when a crane boom failed and caused the death of a worker at a construction site on April 19. Investigators are looking into the cause of the collapse after the worker, who was working for Beacon Construction, a subsidiary of Bechtel Corporation, died when a 90-ton rough terrain crane’s boom failed.

The construction site was attached to a 325,000...