Contractor's Duties to Adjacent Landowner

When a contractor undertakes to perform work on a construction project, he owes certain duties to the owners of property adjacent to the construction site. Generally, he must take reasonable care not to injure or damage adjacent property. Sometimes, this duty is included in the construction contract with the obligation to indemnify the owner for any damage that does occur.

THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT & THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

The Americans with Disabilities Act was enacted in 1990 in order to eliminate discrimination against individuals with disabilities. The Act requires persons to design and construct public accommodations and facilities that are accessible to individuals with disabilities. The Act applies to new construction and to alterations to existing public accommodations and facilities.

ALLOCATION OF RISKS IN A PRIVATIZED CONSTRUCTION PROJECT

As with all risks that are inherent to a construction project, the risks of a privatized construction project, that is, a public project that is built and financed with private funds, are usually allocated among the parties who are involved in the project. The three ways of allocating the risks are avoiding or reducing the risks, assuming or retaining the risks, or transferring or sharing the risks.

Enforcement of Subcontractor Bids to the General Contractor

General contractors (aka prime contractors) do not normally perform all the work on a construction project. Rather, it is parceled out to various subcontractors with specialities in the necessary areas. In order to submit its own bid to the owner for a construction project, the general contractor will utilize the chosen bids from each of the subcontractors.

Pay-when-Paid and Pay-if-Paid

Although a provision concerning the terms of payment in a construction contract is standard fare, defining the payment terms in a subcontract agreement is critical given the dynamics between the owner, general contractor, and subcontractor. The right of the subcontractor to be paid for his work, and the general contractor's corresponding duty to timely pay the subcontractor are issues often affected by the actions of the owner. Two payment clauses have been identified to address the domino effect of payment to the subcontractor based on the owner's conduct.