[Note: This one of a series of six posts regarding mechanics’ liens: Part 1. The basics of credit risk and subcontracting. Part 2. Reallocating risk in construction projects. Part 3. Acquiring a lien. Part 4. Enforcing a lien. Part 5. Personal liability notices. Part 6. No-lien agreements.] In part…
[Note: This one of a series of six posts regarding mechanics’ liens: Part 1. The basics of credit risk and subcontracting. Part 2. Reallocating risk in construction projects. Part 3. Acquiring a lien. Part 4. Enforcing a lien. Part 5. Personal liability notices. Part 6. No-lien agreements.] This starts…
On December 12, 2008, Layne and Anita Dellamuth bought flooring materials and installation services from Carpets Unlimited. The Dellamuths made a downpayment that left a balance of a little more than $23,000. Carpets Unlimited subcontracted the installation services to Jared Keeton, who performed that work later the same month, but…
I remember a story told by a business owner who had been involved in the negotiation of a very complicated contract, with both sides represented by high-priced lawyers. In one particularly brutal negotiating session, the lawyers argued at length about a particular provision, with one side saying it should be…
Last year we wrote about a decision of the Indiana Court of Appeals, Fisher v. Heyman, that addressed the amount of damages owed to the seller of a condominium after the buyers refused to go through with the sale unless the seller corrected a minor electrical problem. See “Anticipatory Breach…
BJ Thompson Associates, Inc. leased an office from Jubilee Investment Corp. The lease included the following language: Guaranty of Performance In consideration of the making of the above Lease by LANDLORD with TENANT at the request of the undersigned Guarantor, and in reliance by LANDLORD on this guaranty the Guarantor…
Suppose that eight years ago, you hired a construction contractor to build an addition to your house in Indiana. Shortly after the construction was finished, you noticed that the roof shingles on the addition weren’t quite the same color as those on the rest of the house. You checked the…
Consider these two relatively recent cases, one from Massachusetts and one from Indiana, both involving allegations of breach of contract through the use of social media: A vice president of a recruiting firm leaves her job and goes to work for another recruiting firm. She has a covenant not to…
Indiana has a relatively little known statute, the Home Improvement Contracts statute located in Title 24, Article 25, Chapter 11 of the Indiana Code, that protects the customers of home improvement contractors by establishing certain minimum contract requirements. Home improvement contractors are well advised to ensure that their contracts comply…
In a previous post we discussed a few basic principles of confidentiality agreements (also known as non-disclosure agreements or NDAs). That post discussed the basic of these agreements and the important principles of restrictive covenants and trade secrets. Left unanswered was the critical question: How long can, or should, a…