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Volume 6 - Number 39 | October 6, 2008

EDITOR'S NOTES
In business as in life, everything has a time and place. The time to make changes to a contract is before or during the contract execution, not after the work is complete. When the change involves a unit price adjustment on a significant quantity overrun, the cost cannot be altered when the final bill comes due, especially when the contract specifically rejects such measures. The adjustment must occur as a change order during the course of the project, ruled the Nebraska Supreme Court.

For a supplier on a condo project, it delivered its goods on time and at the right place. However, when the payment never showed up, it could not file a mechanic’s lien against the owner because it was too far removed from the prime contract.

In another mechanic’s lien issue, an investor-owned utility tried to claim public status to avoid the lien statute. It also tried to claim private status to avoid culpability for the bond statute. Either way, it was liable for unpaid balances to its subcontractors.


OWNER NOT ENTITLED TO ADJUST UNIT PRICES ON QUANTITY OVERRUNS
A unit price adjustment on quantity overruns must happen before the completion of the project, rules a state supreme court. According to the terms of the contract, ex post facto change order requests cannot be honored.

SUPPLIER TO A SUPPLIER WAS TOO REMOTE FOR LIEN PROTECTION
A fourth-tier supplier to a condo project cannot seek lien protection for non-payment from a higher tiered supplier. The relationship is too remote.

INVESTOR-OWNED UTILITY SUBJECT TO PUBLIC WORKS PAYMENT BOND STATUTE
A state court tells a utility owner to decide whether it is public or private. It can’t have both in an attempt to avoid bond claims and mechanic’s liens.

BRIEFLY NOTED
Here’s a look at what’s happening in the industry.