On January 17, 2013 Representative Fischer introduced House Bill 13-1090 into the Colorado House of Representatives. HB 1090 was assigned the House Business, Labor, Economic and Workforce Development Committee. The bill, sponsored by Senator Tochtrop in the Senate, sets the following requirements for both private and public construction contracts: The owner and contractor must make […]
Colorado Construction Litigation Blog
In a prior blog post, we summarized the Court of Appeals decision in the case of AC Excavating, Inc. v. Yale, ___ P. 3d. ___, 2010 WL 3432219 (Colo. App. Sept. 2, 2010) which provided an interpretation of the Colorado Mechanic’s Lien Trust Fund Statute, C.R.S. § 38-22-127 (hereafter “the Trust Fund Statute”). A divided […]
With the aftermath of Sandy still being felt up and down the Eastern seaboard, the question of many victims turns to how they can rebuild their lives and homes. One of the first things many people do is call on their insurance carriers to help rebuild whatever damaged property they have. In a recent case […]
With payment problems in the construction economy having accelerated over the past few years, there has been a substantial increase in mechanic’s lien activity and associated litigation. The typical mechanic’s lien claimant is a material supplier, a trade subcontractor, or even a general contractor that has not been paid by the developer/owner of the construction […]
A potentially important legislative bill has been introduced in waning days of the 2012 legislative session, which would change many of the commercial practices that prevail in the construction industry. Senate Bill 12-181 applies to all building and construction contracts and would prohibit any contract provision that requires a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier to waive […]
On July 1, 2011, Senate Bill 11-264 became effective, which legislatively overruled the Colorado Court of Appeals controversial decision in Weize Company, LLC v. Martz Supply Co. 251 P.3d 489 (Colo. App. 2010). A notice of lis pendens gives notice of pending litigation to persons potentially acquiring interests in the subject property. Hewitt v. Rice, […]
This summer the Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed an interesting district court order concerning the court’s jurisdiction over a mechanic’s lien in a case ordered to arbitration. See Sure-Shock Electric, Inc. v. Diamond Lofts Venture, LLC, 2011 WL 2474513 (Colo. App. 2011). In that case, the defendant owned real property on which it constructed the […]
In AC Excavating v. Yale, 2010WL3432219 (Colo. App. September 2, 2010), Donald Yale, a 44% shareholder of Antelope Development, LLC realized that his golf course development and management company was in trouble. Antelope had a bank account balance of just under $100,000 and liabilities to subcontractors and general business expenses of over $250,000. Yale decided […]
Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC is looking to add a new associate to our construction law practice. Our firm has always focused on construction law and the litigation of construction claims, so a background in engineering or construction would be beneficial. We are not necessarily looking for someone with previous legal experience, just someone […]
One of the problems for commercial property owners involves work done at the request of a tenant (i.e., tenant finish, tenant remodel, tenant repairs, or other similar work) that can become the obligation of the property owner. Specifically, a mechanic’s lien claim can be brought by the unpaid general contractor, trade subcontractor, and/or material supplier […]
