Maybe you remember the 1970’s “ Saturday Night Live ” broadcasts where Gilda Radner played a character called Roseanne Roseannadanna. Her skits would always start with the phrase: “A Mr. Richard Fetter from Fort Lee, New Jersey, writes…” Whereupon the question of the day would be answered comedically by Roseanne Roseannadanna. The question we have today, though, is not quite so funny. It comes ...
It is not news to residents of Michigan that the economy has been limping along. Now the nation knows what most Michiganders have been going through these last few years. The building industry had held up rather well despite the economic blues, but this year the economy seemed to have a significant impact on contractors. I write this article with the thought that while we all need to maintain a ...
If I was to tell you that someone was a third-party beneficiary, you would think that person was having some kind of wild night, and you would hope that they had a designated driver. However, in the law there is a phrase in contracts that is important to builders, and it is called a “third-party beneficiary.” What that means is that someone who is not a party to a contract may nevertheless be a ...
Your building contract is going to be the most important document, other than perhaps your mortgage, that you sign for your building project. It pays huge dividends to put some forethought into its production and detail. What follows is a brief punch list that will hopefully guide you in drafting a document that serves your needs and gets your project done on time and on budget. The parties to the ...
For years, the Michigan Consumer Protection Act (MCL 445.901) has been used as a means for consumers to make claims against various types of business for perceived wrong-doing. This statute has been construed by the courts to hold that builders were subject to Consumer Protection Act claims. Most Consumer Protection Act claims against builders revolved around some type of alleged misrepresentation ...
Maybe you remember the 1970’s “ Saturday Night Live ” broadcasts where Gilda Radner played a character called Roseanne Roseannadanna. Her skits would always start with the phrase: “A Mr. Richard Fetter from Fort Lee, New Jersey, writes…” Whereupon the question of the day would be answered comedically by Roseanne Roseannadanna. The question we have today, though, is not quite so funny. It comes ...
Your building contract is going to be the most important document, other than perhaps your mortgage, that you sign for your building project. It pays huge dividends to put some forethought into its production and detail. What follows is a brief punch list that will hopefully guide you in drafting a document that serves your needs and gets your project done on time and on budget. The parties to the ...
There is an old proverb to the effect of “The way of a person always seems right in their own eyes.” If you think about it, nobody ever really thinks that whatever they are doing is wrong or improper, they only think it is the “other guy” who is misbehaving. This is never more true than in the unfortunate instance where a family is going to break apart, and the children will have two (or more) ...
As some of you may know, the governor signed a bill into law on December 28, 2006, which made some changes to our Construction Lien Act. I will not take the time right now to detail the minutia of each and every possible change, but let me at least point out a couple of important ones. A. Legal Update. First, they have added a section stating that any homeowner who owns property upon which a lien ...
For years, the Michigan Consumer Protection Act (MCL 445.901) has been used as a means for consumers to make claims against various types of business for perceived wrong-doing. This statute has been construed by the courts to hold that builders were subject to Consumer Protection Act claims. Most Consumer Protection Act claims against builders revolved around some type of alleged misrepresentation ...
In our business climate today, I hear contractors grousing that all the responsibility of a job falls upon them and not the homeowner. While some of that is the good-natured griping we all indulge ourselves in occasionally, some of it is also quite true. One area where contractors are held to a higher standard has to do with safety precautions, and your much-beloved MIOSHA requirements. Raise your ...
Our local Home Builders’ Association theme is “Commitment to Excellence.” If you think about it, perform with excellence and success will usually follow. Not only am I a lawyer, but I am also a licensed contractor and have represented many contractors and project owners in my career. The goal of this article is to minimize your need for attorney services. Since this comes from an attorney, I ...
One of the quickest and most common ways a contractor or subcontractor can get into big trouble is by not being careful with their money. I am not referring to how they pay their personal bills or perhaps set up their pension funds. What I am talking about is the money they are paid for specific projects or jobs. It is easy to get into a “borrow from Peter to pay Paul” mindset. The lines can ...
There is an old proverb to the effect of “The way of a person always seems right in their own eyes.” If you think about it, nobody ever really thinks that whatever they are doing is wrong or improper, they only think it is the “other guy” who is misbehaving. This is never more true than in the unfortunate instance where a family is going to break apart, and the children will have two (or more) ...
It is not news to residents of Michigan that the economy has been limping along. Now the nation knows what most Michiganders have been going through these last few years. The building industry had held up rather well despite the economic blues, but this year the economy seemed to have a significant impact on contractors. I write this article with the thought that while we all need to maintain a ...
I. Background In the case of the United States v Jones , decided on January 23, 2012, the Supreme Court took a stand for liberty. The facts of the case center around the Defendant, Antoine Jones, who was suspected of trafficking narcotics. Agents attached a global positioning system (GPS) tracking device to his vehicle and then tracked the movement of the vehicle for almost a month. Ultimately, he ...
Our local Home Builders’ Association theme is “Commitment to Excellence.” If you think about it, perform with excellence and success will usually follow. Not only am I a lawyer, but I am also a licensed contractor and have represented many contractors and project owners in my career. The goal of this article is to minimize your need for attorney services. Since this comes from an attorney, I ...
In our business climate today, I hear contractors grousing that all the responsibility of a job falls upon them and not the homeowner. While some of that is the good-natured griping we all indulge ourselves in occasionally, some of it is also quite true. One area where contractors are held to a higher standard has to do with safety precautions, and your much-beloved MIOSHA requirements. Raise your ...
It is not news to residents of Michigan that the economy has been limping along. Now the nation knows what most Michiganders have been going through these last few years. The building industry had held up rather well despite the economic blues, but this year the economy seemed to have a significant impact on contractors. I write this article with the thought that while we all need to maintain a ...
Our local Home Builders’ Association theme is “Commitment to Excellence.” If you think about it, perform with excellence and success will usually follow. Not only am I a lawyer, but I am also a licensed contractor and have represented many contractors and project owners in my career. The goal of this article is to minimize your need for attorney services. Since this comes from an attorney, I ...
One of the quickest and most common ways a contractor or subcontractor can get into big trouble is by not being careful with their money. I am not referring to how they pay their personal bills or perhaps set up their pension funds. What I am talking about is the money they are paid for specific projects or jobs. It is easy to get into a “borrow from Peter to pay Paul” mindset. The lines can ...
If I was to tell you that someone was a third-party beneficiary, you would think that person was having some kind of wild night, and you would hope that they had a designated driver. However, in the law there is a phrase in contracts that is important to builders, and it is called a “third-party beneficiary.” What that means is that someone who is not a party to a contract may nevertheless be a ...
One of the quickest and most common ways a contractor or subcontractor can get into big trouble is by not being careful with their money. I am not referring to how they pay their personal bills or perhaps set up their pension funds. What I am talking about is the money they are paid for specific projects or jobs. It is easy to get into a “borrow from Peter to pay Paul” mindset. The lines can ...
The following story is true. However, as they say in “DRAGNET,” the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Ken Contractor was putting together a list of subcontractors in order to finalize his bid for a residence when he received a call from his old pal, Pete Painter. Pete had painted for many years, and although he lived out of the area, he was friends with Ken and Ken thought it would ...
The following story is true. However, as they say in “DRAGNET,” the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Ken Contractor was putting together a list of subcontractors in order to finalize his bid for a residence when he received a call from his old pal, Pete Painter. Pete had painted for many years, and although he lived out of the area, he was friends with Ken and Ken thought it would ...
