Florida Construction Law

In Safeco Ins. Co. of Am. v. Victoria Mgmt., LLC , 2012 WL 1606101 (S.D. Fla. May 7, 2012), the surety issued performance and payment bonds for the construction of a nursing home. The surety required the contractor and others to execute a general agreement of indemnity in its favor as a condition of issuing the bonds. The owner of the nursing home terminated the contractor and called upon the surety to complete the project in accordance with the terms of the bonded contract. The surety sued the owner for amounts due under the contract for approved change orders totaling $3,201,326.63. The surety also sued the architect for common law indemnity and professional negligence. The architect moved to dismiss the surety’s common law indemnity claim arguing that there was no special relationship between the architect and the surety or the contractor. Citing to  Amwest Surety v. Ernst & Young , 677 So. 2d 409 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996), the court...

A Motion to Dismiss may form the basis of Section 57.105, Florida Statutes sanctions if the facts upon which it is based render the motion without merit.   Gahn v. Holiday Property Bond, Ltd ., 826 So.2d 423 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002).   Trenton H. Cotney Board Certified in Construction Law Trent Cotney, P.A. 1207 N Franklin St, Ste 222 Tampa, FL 33602 (813) 579-3278 www.trentcotney.com

Getman v. Tracey Construction, Inc ., 36 Fla.L.Weekly D1363a (Fla. 2d DCA 2011): prime contractor filed a three count complaint alleging breach, unjust enrichment and lien foreclosure.  Owner filed a motion to dismiss.  Before the Owner answered the Complaint, the prime filed a motion for summary judgment.  The Court held that the prime was unable to refute all of the potential defenses or issues of fact that could have been asserted in the answer if it had been filed.  Trenton H. Cotney Florida Bar Certified in Construction Law Glenn Rasmussen Fogarty & Hooker, P.A. 100 S. Ashley Dr., Suite 1300 Tampa, FL 33602 (813) 229-3333 http://www.glennrasmussen.com