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Articles 1 - 23 of 23

Full-Text Articles in Construction Law

Towards An Urban Disability Agenda, Samuel R. Bagenstos Nov 2020

Towards An Urban Disability Agenda, Samuel R. Bagenstos

Articles

The overwhelming majority of Americans with disabilities live in metropolitan areas. Yet those areas continue to contain significant barriers that keep disabled people from fully participating in city life. Although political and social debate has periodically turned its attention to urban issues or problems — or even the so-called “urban crisis” — during the past several decades, it has too rarely attended to the issues of disability access. When political debate has focused on disability issues, it has tended to address them in a nationally uniform way, without paying attention to the particular concerns of disabled people in cities. Even …


Defective Construction Cgl Coverage: The Subcontractor Exception, Christian H. Robertson Ii Nov 2017

Defective Construction Cgl Coverage: The Subcontractor Exception, Christian H. Robertson Ii

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

In the construction industry, commercial general liability (CGL) insur-ance is the standard policy for managing property damage risks. Histori-cally, CGL policies do not cover an insured’s own defective construction because the insured controls its own work and can reasonably foresee the damage that may result from defective work. But what about the defective work of an insured’s subcontractor? Practical considerations limit an in-sured’s effective control of every aspect of a subcontractor’s work, and this limitation complicates the insured’s ability to foresee future risks. In 1986, the increasing involvement of subcontractors led general contractors to in-sist upon protection from subcontractor work …


Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency Act Of 1972, John A. Stevens Jan 1974

Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency Act Of 1972, John A. Stevens

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The 1959 Pennsylvania legislation, while commendable for its goals and its innovative financing concepts, proved inadequate over the years in meeting the changing housing needs in the state. In an attempt to correct the deficiencies of this legislation, Pennsylvania radically revised its housing law by enacting the Housing Finance Agency Act of 1972. This note undertakes a historical analysis of both the 1959 Act and the 1972 Act. Then, the new act is contrasted with similar statutes in other states. Finally, the effectiveness of the Pennsylvania legislation as a stimulate to the development of new low- and moderate-income housing is …


The Roles Of Architect And Contractor In Construction Management, John E. Lehman Jan 1973

The Roles Of Architect And Contractor In Construction Management, John E. Lehman

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

For the architect and building contractor the most significant aspect of modern commercial construction may not be the design but rather the management, consisting of coordination and administration, of large-scale building projects. Despite the importance of construction management, especially in mammoth and complex projects such as New York's World Trade Center, legislatures have been slow to respond to the needs and practices of the construction industry. Although the skills involved indicate that the role of construction manager is more appropriately assumed by a contractor, the laws of several states provide that only a licensed architect can take responsible charge of …


Affirmative Action: A Robin Hood Hiring In Federally Aided Construction, Frederick W. Lambert Dec 1968

Affirmative Action: A Robin Hood Hiring In Federally Aided Construction, Frederick W. Lambert

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Executive Order 11246, promulgated in September 1965, requires that all federal financial aid applicants incorporate into construction contracts and sub-contracts the same guarantees of equal employment opportunity that are required of parties in a direct contractual relationship with the government. Each contractor must "take affirmative action to ensure that [job] applicants are employed… and treated during employment" in a nondiscriminatory manner and must guarantee that his subcontractors will also take such affirmative action. Responsibility for enforcement of the Order was delegated to the newly-established Office of Federal Contract Compliance (OFCC). The OFCC drafted guidelines 6 requiring contractors and major subcontractors …


Conservation And Rehabilitation Of Housing: An Idea Approaches Adolescence, J. Michael Warren Mar 1965

Conservation And Rehabilitation Of Housing: An Idea Approaches Adolescence, J. Michael Warren

Michigan Law Review

From the time of construction, buildings are subject to the physical elements, the wear and tear of time, and the constant march of progress which transforms yesterday's luxuries into today's necessities. Left unchecked, these forces tend to produce the slums and blight that traditionally have been the curse of urban areas. Private, charitable, and civic organizations were the first to deal with the problem of improving conditions in slum areas. Later, state and local governments joined the effort, and although they were somewhat more successful than the pioneers in the field, without federal assistance the task proved to be beyond …


New Values Under Old Oil And Gas Leases: Helium, Who Owns It?, C. Douglas Kranwinkle May 1964

New Values Under Old Oil And Gas Leases: Helium, Who Owns It?, C. Douglas Kranwinkle

Michigan Law Review

It is a well known maxim among oil and gas lawyers that "a producing well always clouds a title and a dry hole cures it." A variation of that maxim might be applied to producing wells which may or may not include, as by-products of the primary mineral, other substances that are extractible and valuable. Of course, once production of by-products begins, conveyancers give special attention to these resources, but many instruments executed before such development may be phrased in general terms without specific mention of substances unimportant when the conveyance was made. Even a recent instrument may lack specificity …


Federal Income Tax-Definition Of Collapsible Corporation, John E. Mogk Mar 1964

Federal Income Tax-Definition Of Collapsible Corporation, John E. Mogk

Michigan Law Review

In 1948 petitioner and several other taxpayers, who had previously been active in constructing homes, formed two corporations to build apartment houses. As a result of decreases in the price of building materials and savings on labor and architectural costs, each corporation was left, after completion of construction, with borrowed funds which exceeded costs of construction. In the year following completion of construction the taxpayers distributed the excess borrowed funds of the two corporations and then sold their stock in each at a substantial profit. Petitioner reported, his receipts from the distribution of the loan funds and the profit on …


Mechanics' Liens-Improvements Outside Building--Lien Allowed For The Clearing Of Land Unconnected With The Construction Of A Building, Byron Bronston S.Ed Nov 1962

Mechanics' Liens-Improvements Outside Building--Lien Allowed For The Clearing Of Land Unconnected With The Construction Of A Building, Byron Bronston S.Ed

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff filed a bill of complaint seeking to enforce a mechanic's lien for the clearing of eighty acres of land pursuant to an agreement with the owners. The bill alleged that plaintiff's lien was superior to a mortgage which, though prior in time of execution, had been recorded subsequent to the inception of the clearing contract. Defendant mortgagee demurred on the ground that land clearance did not qualify for a lien under the pertinent mechanic's lien statute which provided that "every ... person ... who shall do or perform any work or labor upon ... any building or improvement on …


Restitution--Quasi-Contract--Non-Conformance With State Building Contractors Licensing Statute As Basis For Denial Of Restitution, Stefan Tucker Apr 1962

Restitution--Quasi-Contract--Non-Conformance With State Building Contractors Licensing Statute As Basis For Denial Of Restitution, Stefan Tucker

Michigan Law Review

Defendants, owners of an apartment building containing stores and living units, contracted with plaintiff to replace the roof of the building. Pursuant to the contract plaintiff replaced the roof, and when defendants refused to pay for the work done, plaintiff sued in the alternative for damages on the contract or for restitution on an implied contract. Defendants moved for dismissal at pre-trial, contending that plaintiff was a residential alteration contractor and as such was required by state statute to have a license in order to bring an action for the collection of compensation. On appeal from pre-trial orders dismissing the …


Taxation-Federal Income Tax-Corporation Held Not Collapsible Where View To Sell Arose After Construction Completed, Amalya L. Kearse Mar 1961

Taxation-Federal Income Tax-Corporation Held Not Collapsible Where View To Sell Arose After Construction Completed, Amalya L. Kearse

Michigan Law Review

Petitioners had formed a corporation for the purpose of building and operating a housing project. After the construction was completed and most of the apartments rented, small cracks were discovered in the buildings. Without soliciting engineering or other technical opinion, petitioners sold their stock in the corporation. The Tax Court upheld respondent-commissioner's taxing the profit from the sale of stock as ordinary income rather than capital gain, on the theory that the corporation was "collapsible" under section 117 (m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939. On appeal, held, reversed. Since the view to the sale of stock did …


Atomic Energy Law-Atomic Energy Act Of 1954- Substantial Legal Restrictions On The Private Development Of Nuclear Reactors, Martin Adelman Jan 1961

Atomic Energy Law-Atomic Energy Act Of 1954- Substantial Legal Restrictions On The Private Development Of Nuclear Reactors, Martin Adelman

Michigan Law Review

In 1956 the Power Reactor Development Company received a construction permit from the Atomic Energy Commission to build a fast breeder nuclear reactor at Lagoona Beach, thirty miles southwest of Detroit, Michigan. Intervening pursuant to section 189 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, several unions claimed that the health, safety, and property of their members would be jeopardized by the operation of the reactor. Formal hearings were held before the AEC and a final decision affirming the issuance of a construction permit to PRDC was made by the Commission in 1959. On appeal to the Court of Appeals for …


Labor Law-Fair Labor Standards Act-- Coverage Of Construction Workers, David G. Davies Dec 1960

Labor Law-Fair Labor Standards Act-- Coverage Of Construction Workers, David G. Davies

Michigan Law Review

Respondent construction firm was engaged in building a dam, the sole purpose of which was to enlarge a reservoir that supplied water to the city of Corpus Christi, Texas. Industrial producers of goods for interstate commerce and operators of instrumentalities of interstate commerce consumed nearly half of the water supplied by the city's system. The Secretary of Labor sought an injunction against violations of the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act The district court granted the injunction; the court of appeals reversed, relying primarily upon the "new construction" doctrine. On certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, held …


Bid Depositories, George H. Schueller Feb 1960

Bid Depositories, George H. Schueller

Michigan Law Review

The decision by the United States District Court for the Southern District of California in the civil antitrust case of United States v. Bakersfield Associated Plumbing Contractors, Inc. brought in its wake considerable renewed interest, discussion, and activities concerning "bid depositories." This is apparent from the trade press and from inquiries reaching the Antitrust Division, including a number of requests for clearance of bid depository plans through so-called "railroad release" procedures. Even more recently, institution of the civil and criminal antitrust cases of United States v. Arizona Masonry and Plastering Contractors' Association provided further stimulation. The term "renewed" interest and …


Limitations Of Action - Applicable Statute - Third-Party Injury Provision Agreed To By Contractor Subject To Contract Limitation Only, Walter L. Adams Dec 1957

Limitations Of Action - Applicable Statute - Third-Party Injury Provision Agreed To By Contractor Subject To Contract Limitation Only, Walter L. Adams

Michigan Law Review

More than two years following an accident in which they sustained personal injuries when their car fell into defendant's excavation, plaintiffs filed a diversity action in a federal court stating inter alia a cause of action based upon a third-party beneficiary contract entered into by defendant street contractor and the City of Philadelphia for which he was working. The contract provided in essence that defendant alone would be liable for damage sustained by any third party "irrespective of whether or not such injuries ... be due to negligence or the inherent nature of the work." The district court dismissed the …


Constitutional Law - Relation Of Federal And State Governments Applicability Of State Licensing Statute To Federal Contractors, Lee N. Abrams S.Ed. Jun 1957

Constitutional Law - Relation Of Federal And State Governments Applicability Of State Licensing Statute To Federal Contractors, Lee N. Abrams S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

A contractor submitted a bid for construction of facilities at an Arkansas Air Force Base over which the United States had not acquired jurisdiction. After this bid was accepted by the federal government and work on the project had begun, the contractor was tried by the Circuit Court of Pulaski County, Arkansas, and found guilty of submitting a bid, executing a contract, and commencing work as a contractor without the license required by Arkansas law. The Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court. On appeal to the United States Supreme Court, held, reversed. In a brief …


Master And Servant - Independent Contractor - Inherent Danger Exception, Jerome K. Walsh, Jr. S.Ed. Mar 1957

Master And Servant - Independent Contractor - Inherent Danger Exception, Jerome K. Walsh, Jr. S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Defendant was a home-owner whose home was fumigated by an independent contractor. Plaintiff was the administrator of the estate of a water softener service man, who entered the home and was overcome by the cyanide gas used in the operation. It was agreed by the parties that the contractor was negligent in failing to lock all entrances to the home, and in not posting warnings at all entrances. Plaintiffs request to charge the jury that the work was inherently dangerous was refused. The court instructed the jury to determine whether or not the defendant had used due care in selecting …


Negligence - Duty Of Care - Liability Of Builder And Architect To Third Party, Raymond J. Dittrich Feb 1957

Negligence - Duty Of Care - Liability Of Builder And Architect To Third Party, Raymond J. Dittrich

Michigan Law Review

The plaintiff, an infant, fell from the back porch of an apartment leased by his parents from a housing authority. The plaintiff brought actions for negligence against the architect who designed the dwelling, the builder who constructed it, and the housing authority which leased it, alleging that the back porch was so designed and constructed as to create a dangerous condition for the users thereof. The trial court dismissed the complaints against the builder and the architect. On appeal, held, reversed. Despite the lack of privity between the builder and the architect and the plaintiff, a good cause of …


Quasi-Contract - Materialman's Lien For Unrequested Expenditures In The Preservation Of Another's Property, William R. Jentes Jan 1955

Quasi-Contract - Materialman's Lien For Unrequested Expenditures In The Preservation Of Another's Property, William R. Jentes

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiffs were employed to make improvements on defendant's building. While the work was in progress the roof was partially destroyed by £ire through no fault of plaintiffs. Necessary repairs were made without the express consent of the defendant, who was in Europe and who had left no one in charge of the building to act for him. The trial court entered judgment foreclosing a materialman's lien given by statute to "any person who shall, under oral or written contract with the owner of any tract or piece of land, perform labor or furnish material for the . . . repair …


Compulsory Construction Of New Lines Of Railroad, Kenneth F. Burgess May 1922

Compulsory Construction Of New Lines Of Railroad, Kenneth F. Burgess

Michigan Law Review

In the half century of public regulation of railroads in the United States, regulatory legislation has dealt primarily with functions incident to the operation of existing enterprises. The basic concept has been that railroad corporations as common carriers have voluntarily assumed obligations to the public which the public has a right to require to be performed.


Financial Details, Kent Memorial, Edwin C. Goddard Jan 1915

Financial Details, Kent Memorial, Edwin C. Goddard

Articles

The following is a statement, with such details as I should think would answer the purposes of other chapters, of the ways and means adopted for securing the present building just completed at Ann Arbor.


Recent Important Decisions, Michigan Law Review Jun 1912

Recent Important Decisions, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Agency--Fiduciary Relation--Right of Principal to Agent's Acquisitions--Patents for Agent's Inventions; Bankruptcy--Insurance Policies as Assets; Carriers--Duty Toward Alighting Passenger; Commerce--Conflicting State and Federal Regulation; Constitutional law--Restrictive Labor Laws for Women; Contributory Negligence--Children; Conveyancing--Covenants--Construction of "Business" in Restrictive Covenant; corporations--Director's Meetings--Effect of Surprise, Trick, or Fraud in Securing a Quorum; Corporations--Eleemosynary--Liability of Educational Institution for Torts; Corporations--Fraudulent Organization--Corporation a Nullity; Criminal Law--Wife Abandonment--Proper Venue; Damages--Breach of Contract--Value of Unmatured Crops; Damages--Master and Servant--Wrongful Discharge of Servant; Dedication--requisites, Sufficiency and Acceptance; Deeds--Rule in Shelley's Case; Equity--Temporary Injunction--Function and Effect; Garnishment--Possession of Garnishee--Safety Deposit Box; Husband and Wife--Power of Wife to Dispose of Her …


The Running With The Land Of Agreements To Pay For A Portion Of The Cost Of Party Walls, Ralph W. Aigler Jan 1912

The Running With The Land Of Agreements To Pay For A Portion Of The Cost Of Party Walls, Ralph W. Aigler

Articles

Owners of adjoining properties, especially in cities, frequently find it advisable and advantageous to enter into arrangements whereby their buildings shall be supported by a common wall. These arrangements are ordinarily evidenced by party-wall agreements or covenants, so-called, out of which have grown a number of interesting questions. It not infrequently happens that when one owner desires to build such a wall his neighbor, for one reason or another, is not ready to join in the undertaking, so an agreement is entered into between the two adjoining owners whereby one agrees to proceed with the erection of the wall at …