Litigation

September 11, 2019

An Easy Way to Preserve Your Mechanic’s Lien Rights in Rhode Island

Litigation, RI Mechanic's Lien

A mechanic’s lien right is a powerful remedy to secure a contractor’s right to payment. Each jurisdiction’s mechanic’s lien statute is unique and most states strictly interpret/enforce the statutes. For multi-jurisdictional contractors, a common practice in New England, mechanic’s liens are a double-edged sword because they provide substantial leverage, but they are often costly and cumbersome to perfect. In the Solid Foundation blog, we will post regularly on issues relating to mechanic’s liens statutes throughout New England. As a start, we have put together this post that zeroes in on one fundamental requirement to preserve a general contractor’s mechanic’s lien in Rhode Island – the Notice of Possible Mechanic’s Lien pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-28-4.1.

WHO SHOULD READ THIS POST?

Contractors who perform work in Rhode Island for Owners.
Owners

WHAT A CONTRACTOR NEEDS TO DO TO PRESERVE ITS MECHANIC’S LIEN?

If

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September 04, 2019

Practical Tips on Working with Former Employees Who Are Key Witnesses

Discovery, Former Employees, Litigation

Suppose you are in-house counsel for a construction company. Your Guaranteed Maximum Price (“GMP”) is blown and the Owner has refused to execute any change orders during the Project. You know you are heading towards a claim. Within one week of substantial completion being achieved, the project manager that has managed the entire job gives his notice explaining he is leaving to work for a competitor. What do you do next? What could you have done to plan for this? In this post, I outline practical measures you can take when faced with this challenging, complex, and yet very common scenario.

Planning Measures

The best time to deal with the issue of former employees is before the employee is hired. Important provisions to be considered in employment policies and agreements include:

Confidentiality and Protection of Company Trade Secrets. An employer, particularly in the competitive market of the construction industry, has a strong and

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Our blog focuses on providing practical information and guidance relating to construction risk management and dispute resolution. We intend to highlight and summarize relevant state and federal cases, construction industry developments, newly published construction law publications to provide a meaningful resource to assist our in-house counsel, risk manager, or outside counsel readers to avoid, mitigate, or efficiently resolve disputes relating to the construction industry.

While many of our topics will have a national focus, specialized attention will be devoted to state-specific topics and developments in the jurisdictions in which our construction attorneys practice: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, and New Hampshire.