YouDig?

Dear YouDig? Archives

2.21.19

The Oscars and Construction

Dear YouDig? Readers,

We Dig Oscar season.  Here are 10 of the Best Picture winners and how they may help remind us of some best practices to avoid legal pitfalls on construction projects. You Dig?

  1. The Sting (1973): Perform Your Due Diligence.

Watch out for booby traps and fake fronts.

  1. The Godfather (1972): Know Who You Are Dealing With.

You don’t want to “swim with the fishes.

  1. Forrest Gump (1994): Find a Purpose and Focus.

Find your “Jenny” to motivate the team.

  1. Gone with the Wind (1939): Establish Tight Job Site Security.

Put your things away so they don’t blow away.

  1. No Country for Old Men (2007): Be Tech-Savvy.

Air hammers are more powerful and accurate than handheld.

  1. Titanic (1997): Adjust Quickly to Changes.

Don’t sink the project by failing to adjust swiftly.

  1. West Side Story (1961): Play Nice with Your Project Partners.

Sharks and Jets must get along.

  1. The Deer Hunter (1978): Start Quickly, Work Efficiently and Finish On Time.

Don’t let your project become your Vietnam!

  1. Gladiator (2000): Revenge Is Best Served Cold.

Seek justice only for what is right.

  1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975): Don’t Burn Out

Escape from the asylum once in a while with your chums to get mind right.

 

John Swansinger is the author and founder of YouDig and is a partner in Buckingham, Doolittle & Burrough, LLC‘s real estate and construction practice group. He works with contractors, developers and construction owners on construction law issues including construction contracts, commercial agreements, construction litigation, subcontractor issues, insurance liability, breach of contract and more. He can be reached at jswansinger@bdblaw.com or 216.615.7356.

YouDig is an online resource that connects the construction community with vital issues affecting the industry and is a component of the business law firm Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, LLC that is specifically geared toward construction.

1.23.19

Forgot to Buy Insurance

Dear YouDig?,

We thought we had insurance coverage if a subcontractor screws up. Now we hear that the Ohio Supreme Court says we might not? What is going on? I would never be caught dead without comprehensive insurance. I don’t want my tombstone epitaph to read, HE DIDN’T BUY THE INSURANCE.

-In Good Hands?

1.11.19

Preacher Gonna Preach – Don’t Get Caught …

Dear YouDig?

We are owed mid-six figures for excavation work we finished six months ago. The general contractor is playing dodgeball and claims it hasn’t been paid.  We want to make a claim to get our dough.  Problem, it looks like we blew the lien rights. Our now former contract administrator never filed the notice of furnishing.

-Rock and a Hard Place

12.27.18

2018 Year in Review

Dear YouDig?Readers,

Oh the places we’ve been!
Another year of Dear YouDig? nears the end!
Thank you for your support!
We now raise our glasses to 2018!
Onward we go! But first here’s a lil’ reminiscing!

Happy New Year, Everyone!

John Swansinger

12.14.18

The Finger – Is it pointing at you?

Dear YouDig?

We supply roofing materials to large-scale construction projects.  When a roof goes bad, we always end up in a legal blame game.  Last year we were dragged into a major defect case that clearly wasn’t our fault.  Tens of thousands of attorneys’ fees and lost productivity later and we reluctantly kicked in on a settlement.  Now we are named in a federal  lawsuit. This is killing my holiday spirit.  Talk to me.

-Mercy on the Righteous