This year, in an important decision for contractors, design professionals and owners, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, which includes Indiana, upheld enforcement of a contractual limitation of liability clause, which resulted in the design professional’s liability being capped at $70,000, despite the owner’s claim that its damages were in excess of...Read More

A key area where builders leave money on the table, and often times get taken advantage of, is changes and additions to a home.  When the plans are being developed, owners believe they know exactly what they want in their home and the price, specifications, and contracts are prepared based on those desires and preferences....Read More

Liability insurance coverage for certain construction defects changed with the 2010 Indiana Supreme Court decision, Sheehan Construction Company, Inc., et al. v. Continental Casualty Company. In the Sheehan case, the Court reinterpreted an insurance company’s obligation to its builder-insureds under the builder’s commercial general liability policy with regard to work performed by subcontractors. Prior to this...Read More

For purposes of property taxes, builders who use their homes as “model residences” may qualify for a fifty percent (50%) deduction of the assessed value of the model residence. Indiana Code § 6-1.1-12.6-1 provides that a “model residence” means real property that consists of a single-family residence, single-family townhouse, or single-family condominium unit that has...Read More

In the context of a construction contract, a “pay-if-paid” clause provides that payment by the owner to the contractor is an express condition to any payment becoming due to the contractor’s subcontractors or suppliers (i.e., the obligation of the contractor to pay its subcontractor does not arise at all until the contractor has been paid...Read More

Construction projects are complex.  So is construction law.  Case in point:  Indiana’s Mechanic’s Lien Statute.   This law greatly enhances the ability of general contractors and subcontractors to recover payment, but only if the byzantine provisions of the Statute are strictly followed.  A recent decision by the Indiana Court of Appeals illustrates this complexity. The Situation...Read More

The Indiana Court of Appeals recently held that a contractor who proposes a goodwill gesture to resolve a dispute with an unsatisfied customer may be bound by such offer and is liable for breach of contract if it fails to follow through to the customer’s satisfaction. In David Vance v. Francisco Lozano, et al., 02A03-1203-SC-142,...Read More

Partner, Jake Fulcher will be speaking at the Southwestern Indiana Builders Association (SIBA) Membership Meeting on Tuesday, November 13th. Jake will address the Right to Work law.Read More

The Supreme Court of Ohio unanimously ruled in a recent case that a builder’s duty to construct a home “in a workmanlike manner using ordinary care is a duty imposed by law”, and that the homebuyer’s right to enforce this legal duty cannot be waived by a homebuyer. In the case Jones v. Centex Homes,...Read More

On June 25, 2012, the Indiana Supreme Court published Gill v Evansville Sheet Metal Works, Inc., an opinion important to the construction industry.  In the 10 page opinion, the Court applied and discussed Indiana’s ten year construction statute of repose.  The court ultimately found that the defendant failed to designate evidence that it had made an...Read More