Ben Buskirk

Riley Smith

By Ben Buskirk and Riley Smith

Subcontractors and contractors with pending construction contract claims, read your monthly application for payment, lien waiver, and change order forms closely before signing. Failure to do so may result in a costly waiver of claims.

Imagine this: you are a subcontractor on a construction project that is nearing completion. Many of your change order requests are disputed by the general contractor. Cash flow requires that you bill for the undisputed contract balance. To do so, you execute and submit an application for payment and lien waivers on the general contractor’s forms as a condition precedent to receiving payment. Have you preserved your claims on the disputed work? A recent North Carolina Court of Appeals opinion serves as a reminder of the impact periodic lien waivers can have on pending construction contract claims.

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By Daniel J. Knight

Dear Section Members,

The NCBA Construction Law Section is hosting a day-and-a-half long CLE on September 24 and 25, 2020. Not immune to the effects of the ongoing public health crisis, this year’s CLE will take place virtually from the comfort of your office, your home, your backyard, or even a beach. Just in case you are wondering, yes, the dress code for this year’s event is “casual.”

All joking aside, this year’s CLE is a sticks-and-bricks presentation, focusing on developing a thorough understanding of the basis for the claims we, as construction attorneys, deal with on a daily basis. Segments include zoning and land use regulations, project scheduling, building envelopes, the design process, structural engineering and civil engineering. Attendees will also hear about legislative updates impacting the construction industry and learn about current trends and hot topics in the industry. Finally, for those still in need of ethics hours, this year’s CLE has been approved for 1.0 hour of Ethics/Professional Responsibility Credit.

As if attending a CLE in your pajamas or on a beach wasn’t incentive enough, the Construction Law Section is offering a $50.00 discount to the first 75 registrants. We still have several discounts left, but you better hurry.

For more information and to register, visit the North Carolina Bar Association’s website. On behalf of the Construction Law Council, we look forward to seeing you there.

By David J. Parrish 

National and international manufacturing companies continue to open new manufacturing facilities and expand their existing facilities in North Carolina and South Carolina. This raises the issue of whether the manufacturing equipment used in such facilities must be installed by a licensed contractor under a building permit. It is not uncommon that such equipment is manufactured oversees and for the foreign vendors to fly their employees into the United States to install the equipment. In a recent article, I discuss the contractor licensure requirements and/or exemptions in North and South Carolina for industrial equipment installation. Click here to read the article.

By Riley W. Smith

On June 24, 2020, Gov. Roy Cooper signed Executive Order No. 147 (“Order 147”), which extends North Carolina’s Phase 2 easing of coronavirus restrictions until 5 p.m. on July 17, 2020. Significantly, Executive Order No. 147 not only delays Phase 3 easing of restrictions but also includes certain amendments to Gov. Cooper’s original Phase 2 Order requiring additional protective measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. These additional measures, which went into effect at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 26, 2020, include a requirement for face coverings at construction sites. Specifically, and pursuant to Section II of Order 147, Gov. Cooper’s initial Phase 2 order has been amended to require that all construction workers “must wear face coverings when they are or may be within six (6) feet of another person.”

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