Construction Archive

The construction industry is directly impacted by weather conditions—heavy rain, snowstorms and dangerous heat temperatures can cause issues such as improper concrete curing and foundation pouring, for example. These can lead to prolonged delays resulting in project timeline disruptions, increased costs and ultimately impact the ability for creditors to get paid. Extreme weather events are only expected to become more common, and the construction industry is faced with finding creative strategies to adapt.

Housing starts rose to a 1-½-year high at 14.8% in November. According to a mid-December report from the U.S. Department of Commerce, permits for future construction of single-family housing in November increased to the highest level since May 2022.

General liability insurance, also known as business liability insurance, is pivotal in the construction world as it helps cover claims of bodily injury or property damage. But that may change in Illinois as the state’s Supreme Court held commercial general liability (CGL) policies can provide coverage in Illinois for damage caused by inadvertent construction defects. 

A mechanic’s lien is a tool to secure payment across all states. However, each state has adopted their own unique set of rules or statutes which must be followed to preserve and protect rights. Nearly 10 years ago, statute laws in Iowa changed, developing a registry for filing preliminary notices on residential projects.

In the intricate world of construction and property development, the mechanic’s lien serves as an essential legal tool, safeguarding the interests of those who contribute labor or materials to a project. The absence of such a tool is a loss of legal protection for contractors, subcontractors and suppliers ultimately leading to larger losses for all involved. Cleveland Brothers Equipment Company is facing that fate in a mechanic’s lien case that has been appealed to the Pennsylvania Superior Court, and the issue to be decided is whether equipment rental companies will continue to have rights…

Filing a mechanic’s lien can be a challenging process. It’s a way to try to secure your rights and receivables, and allows flexibility to extend credit you might not typically extend. Several benefits come out of filing a mechanic’s lien. Firstly, it helps with legal protection and ensures payment from the customer. Mechanic’s liens also benefit subcontractors, customers, suppliers and all parties involved in the project—and can be a great way to maintain your customer relationships.

Protecting security interests is essential for creditors to secure their rights and claims in the event of a debtor’s default or bankruptcy, ensuring the collateral serves as a valuable asset to satisfy debt. To do so, trade creditors can file a Uniform Commercial Code lien, also known as a UCC filing, a legal document that serves as a public notice of a secured transaction, providing information about a creditor’s interest in the debtor’s personal property collateral.

For the past several years, a number of Chapter 11 debtors, typically with significant mass tort exposure, have used a bankruptcy strategy known as the “Texas Two-Step” to resolve mass tort liability in a bankruptcy forum while shielding their operating businesses from the direct impact of bankruptcy.