Blogs

Construction

LEED and Energy Models Continued: The Illinois Regional Study

There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. Mark Twain, paraphrasing Benjamin Disraeli We have a new and very interesting recent report on green building to examine, the Regional Green Building Case Study Project: A post-occupancy study of LEED projects in Illinois. The Illinois report studied a mix of projects of various…

November 13, 2009

Construction

Contractually Mandated Mediation: Good or Bad?

Mediation is often touted as a time and cost-saving method of dispute resolution in construction matters. It is not without its critics. Don Short recently posted a discussion, “Why Bother with Mediation?”. Mr. Short’s basic postion: “… mediation of a construction dispute is just an impediment to getting the matter resolved in a timely and…

November 9, 2009

Construction

Stimulus, Construction Jobs, Political Optics and the Regional Scorecard

Today we tip our toe, quite gingerly we might add, into the ugly place where preliminary statistics and politics meet. In the last week, print news and the internet have been awash with reports on stimulus spending today and estimates of the impact that spending has had a jobs created or saved. In particular, Chris…

November 6, 2009

Government Contracts

The “Other” Kind of Contracting – Best Practices for Government Success

As announced previously, we were very happy to participate in a recent seminar on government contracting in connection with the Associated Builders and Contractors – Metro Washington Chapter. The seminar, which took place last week, was a great success with a room that was filled to capacity, some great speakers and information, and very enjoyable…

November 5, 2009

Construction

Recovering Delay Damages under the Virginia Public Procurement Act, Part I

In the recent case of Martin Brothers Construction, Inc. v. Virginia Military Institute [pdf], the Virginia Supreme Court was confronted with whether Martin Brothers was able to claim delay costs, re-examining its 2003 opinion, Blake Construction Company, Inc./Poole & Kent v. Upper Occoquan Sewage Authority [pdf]. This post will review the Blake Construction opinion, and…

November 4, 2009

Construction

Green, Sustainability and the Need for Third Party Validation

A post this weekend by our friend Andrea Goldman raises the interesting question of “why bother with LEED certification”? The post highlights a recent profile on the highly sustainable Hutton Hotel project in Nashville which elected to forego seeking LEED registration and certification. In particular, Hutton Hotel representatives are quoted as saying: Doing the government…

November 2, 2009

Construction

My Wood is Greener than Your Wood: Certification Battles Continue

The New York times reported this week that the “Coalition for Fair Forest Certification” has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission claiming that the Forest Stewardship Council has engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices. According to the report, the main thrust of the complaint centered on FSC’s higher levels of preserved land…

October 30, 2009

Construction

Push by Core Service Unions to Change Arlington County Form of Government

Scott McCaffrey of the Arlington Sun Gazette reported yesterday morning that the Arlington Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association has filed the necessary paperwork (click here to view the Certificate of Receipt and Acceptance Local Referendum and the Statement of Petitioner for Local Referendum) with the Circuit Court for Arlington County to begin the petition process…

October 28, 2009

Construction

How Construction and Other Clients Can Help Themselves

Construction cases by their nature tend to involve a lot of facts, witnesses, and documents. They also tend to involve multiple parties, legal issues and arguments, and strategic procedural and motions practice. By their nature, these realities mean that construction cases can involve quite a lot of legal work and can be expensive to try.

October 26, 2009

Construction

The Great Sprinkler Debate

In one corner, we have the firefighters and sprinkler manufacturers arguing that sprinkler installation in homes and townhouses will save lives and reduce property damage. In the other corner, we have the home builders arguing that adding a sprinkler requirement is piling on more costs on an already battered industry without appreciable benefits. This debate…

October 23, 2009