Construction

Law

Newsletter

August 2013

As part of our continuing effort to inform our clients of recent changes in the laws effecting your construction business, we offer you this complementary monthly newsletter of recent events, rulings and laws in the area of construction. We hope you find this helpful.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns related to your business needs, please do not hesitate to contact any of the Board Certified Construction Attorneys at Your Construction Law Firm.™

Sincerely,

MALKA & KRAVITZ, PA

Arbitration Considerations In Litigating Construction Disputes

It is very common for construction contracts to include an "arbitration provision." In essence, the arbitration provision in a clause in the contract that contains the agreement by the parties to submit their disputes arising out of the contract to binding arbitration, thus avoiding the courts. For parties to a construction contract, there are many perceived benefits to choosing binding arbitration over the courts (decision maker with more knowledge of construction law, less discovery, quicker final decisions, limited right to appeal). Over the years, state and federal courts have uniformly held in favor of upholding arbitration agreements and requiring the parties to submit their disputes to arbitration (partly because this reduces the burden on the courts). Read On . . .

Warranty Law Exposes Rift Between Florida Legislature and Florida Supreme Court

In 2010, the Fifth District Court of Appeal ruled in Lakeview Reserve Homeowners, Etc. v. Maronda Homes, Inc., 48 So. 3d 902 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010) that a developer granted to new buyer's in a residential subdivision implied warranty rights with respect to supporting elements such as roadways, retention ponds, underground pipes, and drainage systems. The Fifth District discussed some of the reasons for such warranty rights

Read On . . .

Concealed Conditions - Protecting Yourself

This article is part of a series of articles which are designed to identify several key clauses that every party to a construction contract should carefully review and understand prior to entering into a contract. This article will discuss "Concealed Conditions", which are site conditions that are different from what was anticipated by the parties at the time they entered into the contract Read On . . .

Overhead and Profit Must Be Included In Replacement Cost Policy Payout

In Trinidad v. Florida Peninsula Insurance Company, (Florida Supreme Court, SC11-1643, July 3, 2013) the Florida Supreme Court took up the issue as to whether a property owner was required to actually carry out repairs before being entitled to payment from its insurer for reasonable overhead and profit that would otherwise be incurred in retaining a contractor to carry out such repairs, when the loss was covered by a replacement cost policy. The Supreme Court held that the insured was entitled to such payments as long as they could show that they would be reasonably likely to require a contractor to carry out such repairs. Read More . . .

Your Construction Law Firm Continues Its Industry Outreach.

Your Construction Law Firm is proud to announce that Larry R. Leiby's 2012-2013 edition of the Florida Construction Law Manual is on book shelves now. You can place your order directly from West here Construction Law Manual

For more information, please contact Your Construction Law Firm.

The attorneys of Your Construction Law Firm will be continuing the Firm's industry outreach at the following seminars / speaking engagements:

October 17, 2013 - MiamiFlorida - Larry R. Leiby will be presenting at the Seminar Group seminar on Florida Construction Law on the topic of "Lien and Bond Claims Dealing With The Surety."

October 18, 2013 - Broward County Bar Association Bench & Bar Convention - Harry Malka & Ian T. Kravitz will be heading a panel discussion of Florida's Construction Lien Law to judges and attorneys attending the Broward County Bar Association Convention.

October 18, 2013 - Broward County Bar Association Bench & Bar Convention - Larry Leiby will be presenting a seminar on "Current Issues in Arbitration including new Revised Florida Arbitration Code and Expanded Review of Awards" and "Legal Issues for the Court re: Arbitration - Motions to Compel Arbitration; Jurisdiction on Arbitrability; Motions to Confirm, Modify, and Vacate Arbitration Awards"

December 11, 2013 - Construction Superconference in San Francisco - Larry Leiby will be speaking on the case law update regarding arbitration.

Your Construction Law Firm Relaunches www.mkpalaw.com

Your Construction Law Firm is proud to announce the relaunch of our internet portal at www.mkpalaw.com. We have worked hard to update and include for your benefit relevant Florida Statutes, archived newsletters, forms, articles, and our Florida Construction Law Blog. We hope you will find our new internet portal informative and helpful.

Please take the time to go through our site, connect with us utilizing the socuial media links located on the site, and subscribe to our blog service. It is all free of charge to you, and will help you stay informed on everything construction law.

If you have any suggestions that you believe would improve our site, please email Ian Kravitz at ian@mkpalaw.com to let us know. We are here to serve you as Your Construction Law Firm.

Contact any of our Board Certified Attorneys and allow us to serve as

Your Construction Law Firm.™

1300 Sawgrass Corporate Parkway, Suite 100

Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33323

Telephone 954-514-0984 Facsimile 954-514-0985

www.YourConstructionLawFirm.com

In This Issue

Arbitration Considerations In Litigating Construction Disputes

Warranty Law Exposes Rift Between Legislature and Supreme Court

Concealed Conditions

Overhead and Profit in Replacement Costs Policy Payouts

Industry Recognitions

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Your Construction Law Firm™

At Malka & Kravitz, P.A., we are a Martindale Hubbell AV rated law firm dedictated to providing services tailoreed to the individual needs of our clients and their individual business workings. All of our attorneys are Board Certified by The Florida Bar as experts in Construction Law. This is the highest recognition of competence provided by the Florida bar.