Everlove & Associates, Inc. - Information Resource Management

Legal research Materials for Construction Law

Internet Sites, Fee-Based Online Research and Printed Resources

Prepared for John H. Rains’ Spring 2002 Construction Law Class at Stetson University College of Law

By Bill Cronin, Everlove & Associates, Inc.

Please send comments and suggestions to bill@everlove.net.

CONTENTS
INTERNET SITES
Government and Law Sites	Associations and Organizations
Industry News	Sample Law Firms Specializing in Construction Law
FEE-BASED ONLINE RESEARCH
PRINTED RESOURCES

If you would like to view the original text of this presentation, you can open or download this Adobe Acrobate file. It does require the Adobe Acrobat reader.

Internet Sites

Government and Law Sites

FindLaw (Construction): http://www.findlaw.com/01topics/40construction/index.html – Yahoo!-like category of construction law links and resources.

Florida Legislature (Online Sunshine): http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Welcome/index.cfm - Statutes, bills and legislative information online. Use the bill information “citator” to update construction law statutes and view pending bills during a session.

Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation: http://www.state.fl.us/dbpr/index.html – Search for licensees and their status. The site promises that visitors will be able to view and file complaints soon.

Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board is located on the DBPR’s site at http://www.state.fl.us/dbpr/pro/cilb/cilb_index.shtml. The Board also lists recent disciplinary actions.

Florida Building Code: http://www.sbcci.org/floridacodes.htm – The Florida Building Code in Adobe Acrobat. Located at Southern Building Code Congress International’s (SBCCI) web site. Includes a comparison of the Florida code to the SBCCI Standard Building Code.

Florida Division of Administrative Hearings: http://www.doah.state.fl.us/internet/ -The division’s rules, its calendar, ALJ biographies. A good source for DOAH opinions.

U.S. Court of Federal Claims: http://www.uscfc.uscourts.gov/ - Opinions, rules, forms, bar information and the biographies of sitting judges.

ABA Administrative Procedure Database: http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/admin/ - Links to APA state and federal resources.

Standard Building Code Congress International: http://www.sbcci.org/ - Information and commentary on Standard Code, International Code, and other model codes.

Florida Accessibility Code for Building Construction: http://www.dca.state.fl.us/fhcd/fbc/information/accessibility.htm – The 1997 Code from the Florida Department of Community Affairs.

Everlove & Associate’s Dirt Law: http://www.everlove.net/dirt.htm – Florida real estate Internet guide with links prepared by Nora Everlove.

Associations and Organizations

American Institute of Architects: http://www.aia.org/ - Information on the AIA, including a searchable directory of members, a professional interest area, its code of ethics and news. Useful information on types of AIA documents, document purchasing information, as well as free document guides and commentary that are useful.

American Arbitration Association: http://adr.org/ - An association of mediators and arbitrators that provide alternative dispute resolution services worldwide. The site includes a login section (“AAA WebFile”) to file claims and cases; information on reference services; member directory (with mediator resumes); links to state and federal statutes; news and events; AAA rules and procedures; and focus areas (e.g. construction). A very comprehensive site, unfortunately it was loading slowly when reviewed.

Associated General Contractors of America (AGC): http://www.agc.org/ - General information on the AGC and its members. There is information describing all AGC documents. AGC documents can be purchased here.

American Society of Civil Engineers Contract Documents: http://www.pubs.asce.org/contract.html - Documents provide a handy means for engineers to define, track, and document responsibilities, schedules and prices, and status of project completion. The Society’s documents are endorsed by the AGC.

Industry News

Associated Builders & Contractors: http://www.abc.org/wsa/homepage/homepage.cfm - a national trade association representing nearly 23,000 contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers and related firms from across the country and from all specialties in the construction industry. Emphasizing labor relation issues, they have a good directory of members. It has links to the association’s three Florida chapters. Site loads a little slowly.

Builder Online: http://www.builderonline.com/pages/builderonline/index.nsp - Online magazine for the home building industry.

Building.com: http://www.buildingsmag.com/ - Online magazine for the commercial building industry.

Engineering News – Record Magazine: http://www.enr.com/ - Provides business and technical news for the construction industry.

BuildingOnline: http://www.buildingonline.com/bolmags.shtml – Excellent Internet directory of industry sources.

Sample Law Firms Specializing in Construction Law

John H. Rains III, P.A.: http://johnrains.com/ - A sole practitioner specializing in construction law, environmental law and commercial litigation. The site gives publications, opinions and cases from the professor of the Construction Law course at Stetson University College of Law (http://www.law.stetson.edu/).

The Leiby Construction Law Firm: http://www.leibylaw.com/ - From the Florida law firm of Leiby, Taylor, Stearns, Linkhorst & Roberts, a representative web site from a law firm specializing in Florida construction law. Larry R. Leiby is author of the Florida Construction Law Manual from West Publishing (see printed materials section). Links, articles, forms, and construction cases in Florida.

Marlowe & Macnabb: http://www.marlowefirm.com/ - Tampa law firm specializing in construction law. Contractor’s links, legal forms, newsletters.

Fee-Based Online Research

LexisNexis: http://www.lexis.com/research/ - After logging on, go to "My Sources," then "Area of Law - By Topic," then "Construction." There are various treatises under Lexis and Matthew-Bender brands. It has Stein's Construction Law (see discussion of book under printed materials) with the AIA citator, but the paper version is easier to use if it is available to you. LexisNexis also has primary law under the "Construction" topic, but it is not confined to construction law.

Westlaw: http://web2.westlaw.com/signon/default.wl – Curiously, there is no "construction" topic in the Key Number System, although you could use other topics. For example, to search for cases on construction liens you could do a KeySearch in the mechanics' liens topic. In the database directory, there is no category specifically for construction law in the "Area of Practice" section.

Printed Resources

Florida Construction Law, Steven M. Siegfried, Aspen Publishers, hardbound, supplemented annually – An overview of Florida construction law, this book has 21 chapters in two parts. Part I is on construction law generally and part II discusses construction liens and bonds. It is written as a practical treatise and includes information on the construction process, understanding contract provisions, public and private construction, construction lending, issues related to architects and engineers, insurance, remedies, liens and bonds. Includes extensive annotations and useful tables.

Florida Construction Law and Practice, Lexis (Florida Bar CLE Publication), various authors, loose-leaf, updated periodically - The book contains chapters on the rights and liabilities of different parties: owners, architects, engineers, construction managers, general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and sureties. It includes chapters on expert witnesses, trial preparation, damages, delay claims, public entities, federal construction contracts and the impact of bankruptcies. There is also a useful section on jury instructions in construction cases compiled by the Florida Bar Association’s section on Property, Probate and Trust Law. It has applicable cases, statutes, regulations and rules, both state and federal. Though written by leading authorities of the Florida Bar, caution must be exercised because it is updated only sporadically.

Florida Construction Law Manual, 4^th ed., Larry R. Leiby, WestGroup, loose-leaf, updated annually – It is geared toward the non-attorney, although it is annotated with relevant cases, statutes, regulations and rules. WestGroup promotes the book by noting that the “text is recommended by the Construction Industry Licensing Board for . . . contractor’s license examinations.” One of the few books specifically on Florida construction law, but its target audience must be considered.

Florida Construction Lien Manual, Stephen B. Rakusin, Lexis, 5 vol., loose-leaf set, updated approximately every 9 months – The book’s goal is to offer practical guidance in following statutory procedures that are “oftentimes confusing and obscure.” To that end, the manual details the law as it has been judicially interpreted and provides coverage of potential remedies in cases where lien law does not apply. A popular book among practitioners.

Attorney’s Fees in Florida: Contract, Construction Lien, Real Property, Eminent Domain, Consumer-Related Issues, Chapter 3, “Construction Liens,” James C. Hauser, Lexis – Because it is always nice to be paid.

Southeast Transaction Guide, (FL, GA, AL), Vol. 15, “Construction and Leasing,” Lexis – Includes standard forms issued by Associated General Contractors of America, the Engineers’ Joint Contract Documents Committee, sample forms from AIA, construction bidding procedure documents for competitive bidding, as well as documents that modify and supplement provisions of the standard forms. Chapters also cover financing, liens, environmental regulation and subdivision regulation.

Construction Law, Steven G. M. Stein ed, Lexis, 6 vol., loose-leaf set, updated three times a year – The purpose of the treatise is to be “the first publication of its kind to offer in a single, convenient source complete coverage of every phase of construction law practice.” It presents all major topics and peripheral topics, such as intellectual property (design protection), international standards of construction law, labor relations, etc. The set has two volumes that are citators to AIA’s A series (owner-contractor), B series (owner-architect) and C series (architect-consultant) documents. They have document cross-reference charts and document-to-case charts. It is an updated version of the AIA Building Construction Legal Citator originally published by the AIA in 1966. Cross-referenced cases are in a separate section and begin in 1886. Starting with 1974, cases are digested. The citator also can be purchased as a separate soft-bound volume with new editions every year.

Construction Law Digest, also edited by Steven G. M. Stein, Lexis - A monthly periodical with recent cases digested. The cases are from federal and state jurisdictions and contain expert commentary.

Legal Guide to AIA Documents, 4^th ed., Werner Sabo, Aspen (new editions every year or two). The Guide presents AIA documents B141, A201, B151 and A101, with discussion immediately following. It also includes alternative language for each document in separate chapters.

Construction Litigation Practice Guide with Forms, Kelleher, Corgan and Dorris (1997), Aspen, 2 vol., supplemented annually. The book’s authors have two goals: (1) to provide substantive and procedural insights into litigating complex construction claims, and (2) to provide practical examples and checklists for drafting documents in construction litigation. The book covers topics from the initial client interview to settlement and release.

Sweet on Construction Industry Contracts: Major AIA Documents, Justin Sweet and Jonathan J. Sweet, Aspen, 2 vol., supplemented periodically – Guide on preparing, interpreting and litigating A101, A201, A401 and B141 documents.

Construction Industry Formbook, James Acret, West, supplemented annually. More AIA forms with commentary and supplementary conditions, but this book emphasizes Association of General Contractors of America (AGC) forms and categorizes language as to which party it favors.