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#109:  Liability Insurers' Duty to Defend

NH Construction Law

When a contractor or subcontractor is sued for defective workmanship, one of his first thoughts is likely to be whether the damages are covered by his liability insurance. Many professional liability policies have them. Few commercial general liability policies do.) Titan Holdings Syndicate, Inc. City of Keene , 898 F.2d

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#91:  Liability Insurance for a Subcontractor's Defective Work

NH Construction Law

“May unintentionally faulty subcontractor work that damages an insured’s work product constitute an ‘accident’ under a commercial general liability insurance policy?” Vector Construction Co. , ” Will New Hampshire reach the same conclusion? Mechanical Contractors, Inc. 185 Mich.App.

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#131:  Applying Statutes of Limitations in Arbitration Proceedings

NH Construction Law

New Hampshire’s three-year statute of limitations for filing lawsuits, RSA 508:4 , states “Except as otherwise provided by law, all personal actions, except actions for slander or libel, may be brought only within 3 years of the act or omission complained of.” Corman Construction, Inc. , § 1 et seq. ,

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#96:  Payment Bond Sureties and "Pay-if-Paid" Subcontracts

NH Construction Law

2002) (“Thus, the liability of a surety and its principal on a Miller Act payment bond is coextensive with the contractual liability of the principal only to the extent that it consistent with the rights and obligations created under the Miller Act.”). What about payment bonds on private construction projects?

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#93:  Spoliation During Construction

NH Construction Law

The duty to preserve material evidence extends not just to documents and records, but also to physical items (for instance, in a products liability case the defective product itself). But what about a building under construction? Courts understand this, and make allowances for it. JMC Development Co., 877 F.Supp.2d 2d 1, 13 (N.D.N.Y.

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#90:  Government Contractor Immunity

NH Construction Law

A few years back I blogged (#24) on the Spearin doctrine, which holds that adherence to government-imposed design specifications absolves the contractor from contract liability to the government when the finished product fails to perform as intended. Spearin does not address tort liability to third parties injured by defective designs.

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#107:  "Prevailing Party" Attorneys' Fees Provisions

NH Construction Law

Issa Construction, LLC, v. I have seen several New Hampshire courts cut down an award of fees where outcome and bill are wildly disparate. The prevalence of multiple claims in mine run construction disputes – breach of contract, unjust enrichment, negligence, Consumer Protection Act, etc. Blalock , No.

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