August 2015 - Lamson Dugan & Murray LLP

30 Aug, 2015

Liquidating Agreements—Bridging the Privity Gap for Subcontractors

Craig Martin2018-04-23T23:55:10-05:00August 30th, 2015|Construction Contractor Advisor, Construction Contracts|

What is a subcontractor to do when the owner has demanded additional work, but has refused to pay for it? Typically, a subcontractor cannot sue the owner because the subcontractor doesn’t have a contract with the owner. Perhaps the subcontractor and general contractor should enter into a liquidating agreement through which the general contractor can pursue the claim on behalf of the subcontractor. Liquidating agreements bridge the privity gap between [...]

24 Aug, 2015

Flow-Down Clauses Can Drown Your Project

Craig Martin2018-04-23T23:55:10-05:00August 24th, 2015|Construction Contractor Advisor, Construction Contracts|

Flow-Down or pass-through clauses obligate downstream contractors to certain provisions contained in the up up-stream contractor contracts, such as the contract between the general contractor and the owner. These clauses are contained in every major form subcontract and they can expand the scope of your potential liability. This blog will look at typical language of a flow-down clause, what it means and how you can deal with them. [...]

18 Aug, 2015

Eleven Lamson, Dugan & Murray Partners Named In The Best Lawyers in America® 2016

Staff2018-07-11T18:17:16-05:00August 18th, 2015|Latest News, News|

Lamson, Dugan & Murray, LLP is proud to announce that 11 of its partners have been selected by their peers to be included in The Best Lawyers in America® 2016. In addition, William Settles has been recognized as "Lawyer of the Year" in a respective field, where only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is honored. William M. Lamson, Jr. Best Lawyers® 2016 in Bet-the-Company Litigation Best Lawyers® [...]

17 Aug, 2015

The New “White Collar” Exemption Regulations

Craig Martin2018-04-23T23:55:10-05:00August 17th, 2015|Construction Contractor Advisor, FLSA|

This summer the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division issued proposed changes to the white-collar overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The white collar exemptions include the executive, administrative, professional, outside sales and computer employee exemptions. The focus of the proposed regulations is to increase the salary level required to qualify for the exemption from $23,660 per year to $50,440 per year. The DOL predicts this [...]

13 Aug, 2015

August Reflections on the “July Effect”

Sarah Macdissi2018-04-23T23:52:19-05:00August 13th, 2015|Midwest Medical Legal Advisor|

Now that we are safely in mid August, I feel comfortable addressing the so called “July effect” without causing a mass exodus of hospital patients from their hospital beds. What is the July effect you ask? It’s the alleged rise in medical mistakes that coincidentally (or not) coincides with the increase of new medical residents at teaching hospitals starting July 1. While there is some research that mortality rates increase [...]

10 Aug, 2015

OSHA Issues New Rules on Injury Record Keeping

Craig Martin2018-04-23T23:55:10-05:00August 10th, 2015|Construction Contractor Advisor, OSHA|

On July 28, 2015, OSHA issued proposed rules seeking to clarify an employer’s ongoing obligation to make and maintain accurate records of work-related injuries and illness. The new rules were drafted in response to the U.S. Court of Appeals decision in AKM LLC, d/b/a Volks Constructors v. Secretary of Labor, in which a contractor successfully argued that OSHA’s citation was issued well beyond the six month limitation period. OSHA’s Injury [...]

3 Aug, 2015

Subcontractors Have a Duty to Clarify Ambiguities in Bid Documents

Craig Martin2018-04-23T23:55:10-05:00August 3rd, 2015|Construction Contractor Advisor, Construction Contracts|

Several months ago, I wrote about an escalator subcontractor that sued a general contractor, demanding payment for work completed based on approved shop drawings. The trial court agreed with the subcontractor, but the general contractor appealed. Ten months later, the Court of Appeals reversed, finding that the subcontractor had a duty to bring to the general contractor’s attention major discrepancies or errors they detect in the bid documents. The subcontractor [...]