RQ Law Blog

Contact us if you would like a copy of any opinion or would like to discuss the Court's holdings.   Wainscott v. Centura Health Corporation – Court of Appeals holds that strict compliance with hospital lien is not required (CA 08/14/14). The Court of Appeals held that minor filing and notice deficiencies should not invalidate an otherwise valid hospital lien and that substantial compliance may be sufficient to satisfy the...

On Thursday, August 28, the Court of Appeals issued a ruling regarding mechanic's liens when a building is developed into units that are then sold to individual owners. The ruling in Sure-Shock v. Diamond Lofts has important consequences for both owners and contractors.   The case arose when the developer built out and sold commercial and residential units at an old warehouse on Blake Street. An electrical subcontractor did not...

Blogs serving the legal industry, design professionals, and insurers have been a-buzz since July 3, 2014 with news from the California Supreme Court.  A number of headlines sensationalize the holding in Beacon Residential Community Assn. v. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill - but what impact does it truly have on the construction industry and architect liability in particular? In Beacon , a homeowners association on behalf of its members sued a...

A proposed change to Rule 37 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure makes clear that electronically stored information must be preserved “in the anticipation or conduct of litigation” or a party will face sanctions.  What circumstances indicate that litigation should be anticipated, triggering the duty to preserve electronically stored information?  Courts have often discussed the obligation to preserve evidence that may be relevant to pending or imminent litigation in...

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued a significant decision in a case interpreting a design professional errors and omission policy. In Dormitory Authority v Continental Casualty, a building owner sued for damages for two design defects in the structure of the building. The owner sought a declaration that the design flaws were two separate defects because, if so, two separate policies would have to respond to the claims.  The...