Related Links: Homepage of Wasco Masonry Bricklayers union discussion of need for bigger regional local A Tennessee masonry contractor has filed for bankruptcy protection, but the bricklayers' union says the contractor owes more than $6 million to a union pension fund. While the contractor says the amount is the result of a mistake, the union says the contractor is obligated to pay.The management of Nashville-based Wasco Inc. and its Columbia, Tenn., subsidiary, Lovell's Masonry Inc., insists its ongoing business is solid. In a January 8 press release, Wasco chief Executive Officer William A. Sneed Jr. says, "We are sound and
Photo by Tudor Van Hampton/ENR The prices should fall for drone insurance as more standardized endorsements are prepared. Related Links: Construction Industry Drones Fly in Rules Vacuum Some Firms Are Not Waiting For Regulations On Commercial Drone Operations Contractors and engineers that are using drones soon may be able to buy more types of insurance coverage from a greater number of insurers. The Insurance Services Office (ISO), which among many other services provides policy language to the industry, has recently announced that it will have up to three different endorsements adding business use drone coverage to commercial General Liability Policies by
A Tennessee contractor that the bricklayers' union says owes more than $6 million to a union pension fund has filed for bankruptcy protection.Nashville-based masonry contractor Wasco Inc. and its Columbia, Tenn., subsidiary, Lovell’s Masonry Inc., filed Jan. 6th in the Middle District Court of Tennessee.A press release from the company implies that the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing was triggered by an October judgment against Wasco and Lovell connected to litigation against the company a bricklayers' union pension fund.The suit involves liability payments from the masonry firms’ withdrawal from a plan agreement with a local of the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers
President Barack Obama's executive actions on immmigration could complicate audits of the federal eligibility for employment forms, says an immigration attorney.Known as I-9s, the forms are one of the most vexing obligations of employers because while workers fill them out employers must verify their accuracy and produce the forms during an audit.The president’s actions are based on his discretion as president in the way laws are enforced. In this case, the Obama administration will prioritize the deportation of recent arrivals and felons, but other enforcement changes are more ambiguous, says Lori Chesser, a senior shareholder at the Des Moines-based Davis
Surety claims litigation sometimes seems to exist in an alternative universe. Recent cases in Texas and New Jersey bear this out.Continental Casualty Co. claims in a lawsuit that it lost $14 million fulfilling obligations on one payment bond and four performance bonds, all issued around July 2011, following the default of Brownsville, Texas-based Leal Construction Inc.The claim is contained in Continental's lawsuit against Leal in federal court in Brownsville, Texas, and it names Cesario Leal as the first defendant.While the complaint does not elaborate on the cause of Leal Construction’s default, an attorney for the general contractor says it ceased
City of Kilgore Kilgore, Texas bills itself as the city of stars. City of Kilgore Kilgore's minor league team plays at Driller Park. A change of heart about whether to require surety guarantees on a small project shows how one small east Texas city weighed the costs and benefits — and may reflect similar decisions about surety made every day around the country.The city of Kilgore, population roughly 13,000, is a community of oil and industrial workers. It bills itself as the city of stars, referring to the stars that top sixty oil derricks throughout the city and are lighted
Related Links: Did the Sad Truland Group Bankruptcy Start with the Utah Data Center Project? Truland Group Units File for Bankruptcy Protection (subscription required) Creditors say they are owed $30 million by Truland Group, the Reston, Va., based electrical contractor, and its subsidiaries, which shut down July 31 and filed for protection in federal bankruptcy court.The total amount owed was contained in a list of claims against the company that Truland's attorneys submitted to a bankruptcy court judge in Alexandria Oct. 22. The company made the filing after numerous delays.Both Truland's main lender, BMO Harris Bank, and its surety, XL
Courtesy City of Madison Cities such as Madison, Wisconsin are the kinds of clients covered by the federal government's new municipal advisor rules. Related Links: New Federal Scrutiny of Advice to Municipal Clients SEC Rule Gives Design Frims Broad Exemption When is an engineer not an engineer?According to the U.S. Securities Exchange and Commission, whenever an engineer advises a municipality on project funding related to bond sales and debt financing, rather than project design or construction, the engineer is not performing engineering services.In that case, the SEC considers the engineering firm a municipal advisor and the firm is legally required
The cover of a report issued on the dewatering failure and flood. A federal judge in rural Michigan refused to decide a case in favor of a subcontractor based on testimony that the project manager who signed an indemnification was sleep deprived.The decision, filed in August, upheld the validity of a the signature on a backdated agreement that indemnifies the designers of a temporary dewatering structure that failed and caused an earthen dam breach along the Boardman River in October 2012.Subcontractor Molon Excavating Inc. argued before a federal judge in Grand Traverse County, Mich., that the firm’s project manager was
Related Links: Obama's Executive Order Invites Confusion Link to US Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee Report on Federal Contractor 2012 Worker Violations On its face, President Obama's July 31 executive order requiring federal contractors to list workplace-related violations when they submit bids and proposals is an attempt to keep persistent violators from continuing to win federal contracts.Why, the president asks, should violators earn checks from federal taxpayers if they won't treat their workers according to federal standards?According to the order, contracting officers and newly appointed agency "labor compliance advisors" would evaluate the violations to determine if a company
