Blogs

Construction

Reassessing Affordable Housing – Literally

If you are an owner or operator of affordable rental housing (property with four or more units), it might be worth noting that the General Assembly has just restricted your local real estate tax assessor’s discretion to value your property to one method. Senator Whipple, apparently at the request of the Virginia Housing Commission, patroned…

March 31, 2010

Construction

Contract Terms Govern in Virginia … Except Non-Competes

Typically, Virginia courts will simply review and apply the terms of contracts. This is great if you have a good contract, horrible if the contract tilts towards your opponent. In contrast to the general rule, Virginia courts are quite hostile to non-compete agreements and are more than willing to throw them completely out when the…

March 30, 2010

Construction

Virginia Builder Fixing Drywall Without Lawsuit Gets No Insurance Coverage

As reported yesterday by Virginia Lawyer’s Weekly, a Virginia federal judge has ruled that a builder who remediated 70 homes constructed with Chinese drywall was not entitled to insurance recovery of the remediation costs. This case is a painful reminder of how even positive, proactive business decisions can translate to tremendous liability risks, particular where…

March 25, 2010

Construction

Details, Details, Details, continued: When 1 + 1 Still Equals 1

Back in November 2009, I highlighted five cases in which the Virginia Supreme Court granted appeals in Case Watch: Upcoming Virginia Supreme Court Opinions. The Virginia Supreme Court has recently published the opinion in the first of those cases, W&W Partnership v. Prince William County Board of Zoning Appeals, et al, Record No. 090328.

March 24, 2010

Construction

Is USGBC Going To Gut GBCI Administered LEED Certifications?

In 2008, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) announced it was planning to shift its internally run certification of buildings to independent certifiers administered by a sister non-profit, the Greeen Building Certification Institute (GBCI). A speaker at an USGBC – National Capital Region event declared last Wednesday that USGBC was taking steps to reverse…

March 22, 2010

Construction

Virginia Designers Rejoice: A/E Limitation of Liability Clauses are Allowed (Again?)

The Virginia General Assembly passed a statute, HB 797, that expressly permits architects and engineers to enter into contractual limitation of liability clauses. The ACEC, VSPE, and VSAIA actively pushed to change the statute in the wake of several cases which ruled that previous language in the corporate enabling statute barred limitation of liability clauses…

March 18, 2010

Construction

Building Codes and Earthquakes: Contrast Haiti and Chile

In the last several months, both Haiti and Chile have been rocked by significant earthquakes. The difference between the tremendous devastation and loss of life in Haiti and the far lower impact in Chile, despite a much more serious earthquake, is at least in part the direct result of building codes and construction practices. The…

March 15, 2010

Construction

Lead Paint Regulations April 22: Are You Ready? Is Anyone??

The next wave of the EPA’s lead paint regulations take effect on April 22. These regulations will impose new training, certification, work practice and record keeping requirements on contractors performing renovations on structures built prior to 1978. Reports that we are hearing indicate that the EPA’s roll-out of the program has been less than clear.…

March 12, 2010

Construction

Update on Virginia Proposed Tax Reform: The Art of Punting

It looks like “Punt” is the name of the game with Virginia tax reform. In a January 5, 2010 blog post and a January 20, 2010 blog post, I discussed four tax reform proposals – all of which the General Assembly has managed to put off until a later date. Apparently, HB 57 got the…

March 10, 2010

Construction

Modular Homes: Wave of the Future, But Currently Risky

Modular home construction presents significant potential improvements to home construction: significantly reduced construction time; less material waste; and reduced expense. If not handled appropriately in terms of contracts and risk, modular homes can translate to a gigantic headache for both the designers, contractors, and the owner. Last Thursday, Lisa Rein of the Washington Post wrote…

March 8, 2010