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Contract Void Ab Initio: Key Insights into the KBR vs. Corps of Engineers Affirmative Defense

Best Practices Construction Law

The proposed amendment introduces an affirmative defense, contending that Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc. Background: The contract in question, executed on July 9, 2013, was for the construction of an Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System site in Deveselu, Romania, with a firm, fixed-price amount of $134,211,592.

Defense 62
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#96:  Payment Bond Sureties and "Pay-if-Paid" Subcontracts

NH Construction Law

It is often said that a payment bond surety may assert all of the contractual defenses to payment enjoyed by its principal. If the principal is a general contractor with a “pay-if-paid” clause in its subcontracts, must a subcontractor wait for the general contractor to be paid before it can collect on a payment bond?

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The Real Lemon in the Bunch: Understanding Pay-If-Paid Clauses in Construction Contracts

Best Practices Construction Law

Contractors have a means of shifting the risk of non-payment by the owner to its subcontractor by including a certain payment provisions in the subcontract agreement. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit concluded that a “pay if paid” clause in a subcontract was not ambiguous and, therefore, enforceable against the subcontractor.

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Are ‘Pay-if-Paid’ Clauses Dead?

Construction Dive

These subcontract provisions make the prime contractor’s obligation to pay, or at least the timing of the payment, contingent upon the contractor’s receipt of payment for the sub’s work from the project owner. The court rejected this argument.

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Contracting Reform Amendment Clears House; ConstructionPro Week Profiles 14 Other Proposals Potentially Affecting the U.S. Construction Industry

Construction Dive

Of particular importance is an amendment to National Defense Authorization legislation (H.R. A significant number of contractors, subcontractors, engineers, manufacturers of construction materials, and others would be affected by legislation now undergoing congressional consideration.

ACEC 48
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How to Avoid Construction Disputes

Job Order Contracting

The best defense to avoiding construction issues and disputes is to conduct significant upfront planning before the project starts and assure early and ongoing collaboration within a common data environment, including full financial transparency. This can be done through the deployment of LEAN collaborative construction delivery methodology.

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Louisiana Payment Bond Changes: What Material Suppliers Need to Know

Levelset

These acts represent a substantial shift in how payment bond defenses are handled for sureties under both the Public Works Act and the Private Works Act. The new laws expand the defenses available to sureties. The courts rejected these defenses because allowing sureties to do so would contradict the Private or Public Works Acts.