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The Privette Doctrine, the Hooker Exception, and an Attack at a Construction Site
You don’t often hear about workers being attacked by ne’er-do-wells on a construction project. But, as they say, shite happens . . ....
Garret D. Murai
Jun 12, 20237 min read
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Supreme Court Holds that Design Immunity Does Not Protect a Public Entity for Failure to Warn
Get ready for more street signage. The California Supreme Court, in Tansavatdi v. City of Rancho Palos Verdes, (2023) 14 Cal.5th 639, has...
Garret D. Murai
Jun 5, 20235 min read
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Contractor Wins in Arbitration Only to Lose Before the Superior Court on Section 7031 Claim
If you’re a regularly reader of the California Construction Law Blog you’re aware of Business and Professions Code section 7031 which...
Garret D. Murai
May 30, 20235 min read
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2023's Bank Failures: What Contractors, Material Suppliers and Equipment Lessors Can Do to Protect T
It has been a tumultuous year for the banking industry. Since the beginning of this year the industry has seen the collapse of Silicon...
Garret D. Murai
May 8, 20234 min read
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Claim Preclusion: The Doctrine Everyone Thinks They Know
Generally, I think restraint in litigation is a good thing. Don’t go crazy on your claims, don’t go nut-so in your discovery, and don’t...
Garret D. Murai
Apr 24, 20234 min read
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“Incidental” Versus “Direct” Third Party Beneficiaries Under Insurance Policies
As they say, when it rains, it pours. Indemnity and insurance are the “Big Two” when it comes to risk avoidance on construction projects....
Garret D. Murai
Apr 24, 20239 min read
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Summary Judgment in Favor of General Contractor Under Privette Doctrine Overturned: Lessons Learned
It seems like we’ve been seeing a lot of Privette doctrine cases recently. Here’s another, Brown v. Beach House Design & Development, 85...
Garret D. Murai
Mar 13, 20235 min read
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Court of Appeal: Privette Doctrine Does Not Apply to Landlord-Tenant Relationships
We’ve talked a fair bit about the Privette doctrine which provides for a rebuttable presumption that a hirer is not liable for workplace...
Garret D. Murai
Mar 6, 20238 min read
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Professor for a Day
I had the unique opportunity this past week to lecture at USC at the invitation of Professor Alan Croll. Professor Croll is an attorney...
Garret D. Murai
Feb 27, 20233 min read
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Show Me the Money: The Good Faith Dispute Exception to Prompt Payment Penalties
California has a number of prompt payment penalty statuteson the books. Among them is Civil Code section 8800 which requires project...
Garret D. Murai
Feb 20, 20235 min read
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Just Because You Caused it, Doesn’t Mean You Own It: The Hooker Exception to the Privette Doctrine
We’ve written before about the Privette doctrine, which establishes a presumption that a hirer of an independent contractor delegates to...
Garret D. Murai
Feb 13, 20236 min read
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2023 Construction Outlook: Construction Starts Expected to Flatten
There’s a lot to worry about going into 2023 according to Dodge Data & Analytics in its 2023 Construction Industry Outlook: Inflation...
Garret D. Murai
Jan 29, 20232 min read
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Payment Bond Surety Entitled to Award of Attorneys' Fees Although Defended by Principal
For contractors involved in California public works projects the scenario is not uncommon: The general contractor awarded the public...
Garret D. Murai
Jan 13, 20234 min read
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2023 Construction Law Update
As we approach 2023 we want to wish you and yours a happy holiday season. A total of 1,726 bills were introduced during the second half...
Garret D. Murai
Dec 19, 20229 min read
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PAGA Right of Action Not Applicable to Construction Workers Under Collective Bargaining Agreement
California is one of the most employee-friendly states in the country. From strict hiring laws (don’t think about asking about an...
Garret D. Murai
Nov 28, 20224 min read
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The Right to Repair Act Means What it Says and Says What it Means
A rather short case for a short week. In Gerlach v. K. Hovnanian’s Four Seasons at Beaumont, LLC, 82 Cal.App.5th 303 (2022), the 4th...
Garret D. Murai
Nov 22, 20224 min read
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A Trivial Case
Construction defect cases leading to physical injury are rarely trivial, at least in the eyes of the injured party, but alas sometimes...
Garret D. Murai
Oct 31, 20224 min read
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Violation of Prompt Payment Statutes Not a Breach of Contract. But That's Not the Interesting Part
While construction projects can get messy, they don’t get much messier than the next case, which, while involving a fairly limited legal...
Garret D. Murai
Oct 31, 20228 min read
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Independent Contractor v. Employee. The “ABC Test” Does Not Include a Threshold Hiring Entity Test
In 2018, in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, 4 Cal.5th 903 (2018), the California Supreme Court overturned nearly thirty...
Garret D. Murai
Oct 5, 20224 min read
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Garret Murai Discusses the Mechanics of Mechanics Liens on Thompson Reuters
Thompson Reuters, which many of us lawyers know through their legal research platform Westlaw, has released a video presentation I gave...
Garret D. Murai
Sep 8, 20221 min read
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