Construction Law
| AN OWNER'S VICARIOUS LIABILITY IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS |
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| An owner of a construction project may be vicariously liable for another person's acts. If an owner hires contractors, design professionals, inspectors, or agents for a construction project and the acts of the contractors, the design professionals, the inspectors, or the agents injure another person or damage another person's property, the owner may be liable. More... |
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| ACTIONS AGAINST DESIGN PROFESSIONALS |
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| When a construction project involves a defect in the design of the project, an owner may look to a contractor or a design professional, such as an architect or an engineer, for the cause of the defect. Although an owner may file a breach of contract or a breach of warranty action against a contractor, the owner is often not entitled to either a breach of contract or a breach of warranty action against a design professional. More... |
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| Owner's Ratification of Agent's Actions |
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| An owner's agent with respect to the construction process may exceed his authority. When this happens (of course, there are exceptions), the owner will not be held to the ramifications stemming from the agent's act. However, the owner may take a different route and actually ratify the agent's conduct even though, at the time of the acts, the agent had no authority to engage in the conduct. More... |
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| Development Approval Process |
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| Construction developments generally follow a similar path on their way to final approval. The first decision a developer must make, and one that can have lasting ramifications throughout the process, is site selection. Choosing a proper location for the development requires taking into account a multitude of factors, not the least of which is the property's zoning designation, density requirements, access, and existing covenants running with the land. More... |
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| "SICK BUILDINGS" |
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| Recent litigation regarding construction defects have included defects that involve "sick buildings." "Sick buildings" are generally defined as building that make people sick. These types of buildings include buildings that are associated with air quality problems, which problems cause various diseases or allergic reactions that are traced to airborne contaminants. More... |
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