SURETIES’ RIGHTS UNDER GENERAL INDEMNITY AGREEMENTS
By: Richard E. Guttentag, Esq. and Alexander S. Beck, Esq., Stearns, Roberts & Guttentag, LLC Prior to issuing payment or performance bonds, it is common for sureties to require contractors or subcontractors seeking bonding to execute a general indemnity agreement (“indemnity agreement”). In addition to the contractor entity executing the indemnity agreement, sureties generally require […]
COURT RULES THAT A SURETY’S LIABILITY UNDER A PERFORMANCE BOND IS CAPPED BY THE BOND’S PENAL SUM
By: Richard E. Guttentag, Esq., Stearns, Roberts & Guttentag, LLC In Allegheny Casualty Co. v. Archer-Western/Demaria Joint Venture III, 2014 WL 4162787, the court ruled that a surety’s liability under a performance bond is generally limited to the penal sum of the bond, particularly where a surety limits its liability in the contract under which […]
COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR AGAINST FORMER EMPLOYEE’S RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CLAIMS
By: Richard E. Guttentag, Esq., Stearns, Roberts & Guttentag, LLC The general purpose of the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 (FRCA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) is to secure for all individuals within the state freedom from discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, […]
DEVELOPER CANNOT USE SHELL COMPANIES TO PURCHASE MORTGAGE BACK FROM BANK AND THEN FORECLOSE THE MORTGAGE TO DISCHARGE CONTRACTOR’S LIEN
By: Richard E. Guttentag, Esq., Stearns, Roberts & Guttentag, LLC A contractor is not permitted to borrow money from a bank, give the bank a mortgage, contract for the improvement of the property, purchase the mortgage back from the bank, and then foreclose the mortgage for the purpose of extinguishing construction liens that increased the […]
CONSTRUCTION SITE INCIDENT WAS NOT “VIRTUALLY CERTAIN” TO OCCUR, THEREBY LIMITING RECOVERY TO BENEFITS RECEIVED UNDER WORKER’S COMPENSATION LAW
By: Richard E. Guttentag, Esq., Stearns, Roberts & Guttentag, LLC In R.L. Haines Const., LLC v. Santamaria, 2014 WL 4648522, the estate of a construction foreman filed a lawsuit for wrongful death due to a fatal accident on a construction site. Foreman worked for a Subcontractor on a 200,000 square foot expansion project of an […]
FAILURE TO DISCLOSE SUBCONTRACTOR’S UNDERBIDDING OF PROJECT TO SURETY EXPOSES CONTRACTOR TO LIABILITY FOR FRAUDULENT MISREPRESENTATION
By: Richard E. Guttentag, Esq., Stearns, Roberts & Guttentag, LLC As previously reported, the case of Allegheny Cas. Co. v. Archer-Western/Demaria Joint Venture III, 2014 WL 4162787 (M.D. Fla. August 21, 2014), involved a dispute between a General Contractor (“Contractor”) and a performance bond Surety (“Surety”) on a construction project. In addition to the court’s […]
GENERAL CONTRACTOR IS IMMUNE FROM SUIT BY SUB-SUBCONTRACTOR’S INJURED EMPLOYEE WHERE SUBCONTRACTOR SECURES WORKER’S COMPENSATION INSURANCE
By: Richard E. Guttentag, Esq., Stearns, Roberts & Guttentag, LLC Any contractor or subcontractor who engages in public or private construction in the state of Florida is required to secure and maintain workers’ compensation for its employees. The liability imposed on employers by Florida’s Workers’ Compensation Law is to only secure workers’ compensation insurance coverage. […]
DOES YOUR CONTRACT CONTAIN A VALID AGREEMENT TO ARBITRATE?
By: Richard E. Guttentag, Esq., Stearns, Roberts & Guttentag, LLC In determining a party’s entitlement to arbitration, courts consider three elements: (1) whether a valid written agreement to arbitrate exists; (2) whether an arbitrable issue exists; and (3) whether the right to arbitration was waived. The first element of whether a valid written agreement to […]
ENGINEER AND CONTACTOR NOT LIABLE FOR PERSONAL INJURY ALLEGEDLY CAUSED BY OPEN AND OBVIOUS DEFECT
By: Richard E. Guttentag, Esq., Stearns, Roberts & Guttentag, LLC Under Florida law, a contractor or design professional is not liable for alleged defective construction or design that causes a personal injury if the alleged defect is open and obvious to the owner, and the contractor or design professional’s work is complete and accepted by […]
WORKER’S COMPENSATION IMMUNITY APPLIES TO COMPANY UTILIZING EMPLOYEES FROM A HELP SUPPLY SERVICE COMPANY
By: Richard E. Guttentag, Esq., Stearns, Roberts & Guttentag, LLC Florida’s workers’ compensation laws are a comprehensive scheme designed to provide swift compensation to injured workers regardless of fault or cause of injury. In exchange, employers who comply with the worker’s compensation laws are generally immune from personal injury lawsuits brought by their employees, except […]