A New Jersey appellate court, analyzing the claim of an injured sub employee against the general contractor, notes that the pertinent factor is “foreseeability of the risk of injury, both its nature and severity.” In that instance, the court found that the GC was not liable to the sub’s employee for his injury. The project…
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Contract Scope Limits Tort Liability
From the Massachusetts Appeals Court comes a reminder that a contract scope of services may serve to control or limit the scope of tort liability. New homeowners sued the contractor and designer, hired by the former homeowner for a replacement septic system, when that system failed only a few years after installation. Turns out the…
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NH DOT Had Authority to Procure Electronic Tolling Services Through Best-Value Process
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation, using a best-value process, awarded the EZ-Pass electronic tolling system back office work to a new vendor. The original vendor challenged both the authority of the DOT to conduct this procurement (arguing that only the NH Dept. of Administrative Services had this authority), and the DOT’s ability to award…
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Failure to Promptly Reserve Rights on Coverage = Loss of Ability to Disclaim
From the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal comes a reminder that undertaking defense of a claim without any reservation of rights can bar an insurer from disclaiming coverage nine months later – even if the claim was not within the policy language from the beginning. An injured subcontractor employee sued the owner and general contractor,…
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