On February 22, 2020, Leah Rochwarg and Wendy Wendrowski will participate as panelists in a program at the American Society of Civil Engineer’s Construction Institute Summit regarding a design professional’s obligation to indemnify its client (to compensate its client for losses sustained because of the design professional’s acts or omissions). While many design contracts include an obligation for the design professional to indemnify and hold its client harmless from such losses, it is less common for a design contract to include an explicit obligation for the design professional to defend its client (to pay up front the client’s costs to defend against an action to recover such losses). The panel discussion will focus on different states’ rules of interpretation regarding the issue of whether an indemnity provision that does not expressly include a duty to defend nonetheless implicitly includes such an obligation.
Find more information about the Construction Institute Summit on the American Society of Civil Engineer’s website.
Federal contractors already subject to a myriad of reporting requirements should be prepared for yet another. Effective December 23, 2019, a new Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) provision entitled “Reporting of Nonconforming Items to the Government Industry Data Exchange Program” requires federal contractors and subcontractors to report to the Government-Industry Data Exchange Program (“GIDEP”) certain counterfeit or suspect counterfeit parts and certain major or critical nonconformances. The new FAR provision (48 C.F.R. § 46.317) and clause (FAR 52.246-26) applies to both civilian and defense contracts over the simplified acquisition threshold, currently $150,000.
On January 28, 2020, Seyfarth Partner Mark Johnson will be presenting a Lorman webinar titled “Understanding ConsensusDocs 755 and 756.” ConsensusDocs recently published the new Standard Master Subcontract Agreement Between Constructor and Subcontractor (CD 755) and the Standard Project Work Order (CD 756). Mark will discuss the ConsensusDocs approach and philosophy to its construction forms compared to other industry forms, explore the key revisions made to the existing CD 750 Standard Subcontract Form in order to transform it into the CD 755 and 756 forms. Mark will also explore other key provisions and risk allocations contained in the 755 form, from both the General Contractor and Subcontractor perspectives.
Foreign states and their agencies engage in a variety of construction projects in the United States, all of which are subject to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (“FSA”).
Airports Council International is the only global trade representative of the world’s airports, and the Airports Council International represents airports interests with governments and international organizations such as ICAO, develops standards, policies and recommended practices for airports, and provides information and training opportunities to raise standards around the world. The team is led by Washington, DC attorneys James Newland, Randel Johnson, Christa Dommers, Leon Rodriguez, and Alex Passantino. We are looking forward to continuing to serve as cross-disciplinary counsel to the world’s airports owners, operators, and developers.
While China commands the media spotlight in the global war on trade, new trade battles are being waged south of the equator. On Monday December 2, 2019, President Trump announced that he would reinstate tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from Argentina and Brazil amid accusations that those countries have been engaging in a “massive devaluation of their currencies.” The President’s announcement, which came via Twitter, also urged the Federal Reserve to take measures to counter foreign currency devaluation, which negatively impacts US manufacturers and farmers ability to fairly export their goods.
On October 23–24, 2019, Seyfarth attorneys Teddie Arnold, Joe Dyer, and Anthony LaPlaca will be presenting the Seyfarth Shaw Government Contracts Handbook at a 2-day seminar in Sterling, Virginia. This presentation will educate attendees on various components of federal government contracting, including Congressional oversight initiatives, procurement and formation issues, strategies for self-governance and compliance, claims and appeals, and other hot-button issues.
On September 18, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed California’s Assembly Bill 5 (“AB 5”). This landmark bill takes effect on January 1, 2020, and will require gig economy workers to be reclassified as employees instead of independent contractors. As it relates to the construction industry, AB 5 provides that the “relationship between a contractor and an individual performing work pursuant to a subcontract in the construction industry” shall be governed by pre-existing law, provided that the contractor satisfies seven new criteria set forth in AB 5.
Introduction 
The Illinois Contractor Prompt Payment Act, 815 ILCS 603/1, et seq. (the “Act”) was first enacted in 2007 and designed to safeguard contractors and subcontractors on private projects by providing a mechanism to expedite payments for work performed. The Act applies to all private construction projects in Illinois, except those involving single family residences or multiple family residences with twelve or fewer units in a single building. With the Act, Illinois joined a growing number of states that had enacted similar legislation.