Volume 7 - Number 20 | May 18, 2009
Recent Issues
EDITOR'S NOTES | Issue 7-20
Contractors are sometimes shocked to discover how little control they have over the actions of their own surety. Once there has been a declaration of default by the project owner, the contractor cannot force the surety to challenge the legitimacy of that default. Nor can the contractor influence the surety’s method of accomplishing completion of the work, even though the contractor’s principals will ultimately be required to reimburse the surety for those costs. A recent decision by a California court emphasizes that the surety’s obligation on the performance bond runs to the project owner alone. The contractor is powerless.
A GAO decision describes the proper way for a procuring agency to make a price/technical tradeoff evaluation. A $20 million price premium was justified by a point-by-point technical comparison between the competing proposals, with specific advantages documented in detail.
An unlicensed contractor may be unable to enforce the contract or recover payment under the contract. But, a Florida court rules that the contractor is still protected by the workers compensation statutes despite noncompliance with the licensing statutes.
PRICE/TECHNICAL TRADEOFF DETERMINATION UPHELD
A source selection board properly uses a price/technical tradeoff determination to justify its decision to award a fixed-price contract to a non-low bidder.
UNLICENSED CONTRACTOR STILL PROTECTED BY WORKERS COMPENSATION STATUTE
Though the contract of an unlicensed subcontractor may be unenforceable because of state licensing laws, the sub may still receive protection under the workers compensation statute.
WPL PUBLISHING TO PRESENT WEBINAR ON REALITIES OF DESIGN-BUILD PROCESS
In his presentation, "Lessons Learned: Recent Developments in Design-Build Case Law," Michael Loulakis will reveal his findings based on more than 500 design-build cases over the past 15 years, and then show you the way to successfully navigate a design-build project.
