Category Archives: tips

Common Sense Tip: Don’t lose your cool when sued

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Common Sense credit cardDespite the vast number of legal shows on television, as you might suspect:  getting sued is not cool.

Immediately, when threatened with litigation, it seems like everyone and everything is out to get you.  Allegations in complaints can cut deep.  You may want to just bury your head in the sand.  Don’t.  Problems denied can turn figurative mole hills into mountains.   Here are three common sense tips for dealing with the initial shock of being named in a lawsuit:

1.

Run, don’t walk, to your attorney.  If you have insurance coverage, talk to your agent immediately to report the loss so that a claims attorney can be assigned to your case.  Court deadlines are not something to be missed, and so you’ll want to get professional help on your team asap.

2.

Immediately begin to gather all documentation relating to the Project.  If you have regular paperwork or computer deletion/destruction policies, stop them at once.  Notify everyone in your company that litigation is pending (or threatened) and place holds from any automatic or scheduled deletion of documents. 

3.

Make lists.  Your attorney will need all sorts of information about the Project, even stuff you may not deem relevant.  Making lists can get your attorney up to speed quickly and efficiently.   Lists may include:

  • a general timeline of your involvement with the Project and any key dates (Notice to Proceed, Substantial Completion, First notice of defects, etc)
  • a list of the Project’s players; that is, all companies that you know worked on the Project, their role, and their key employees
  • a list of your employees that dealt with the Project in any capacity, their contact information, and, if they are no longer with your company, whether or not they left on good terms

Ever been in litigation?  Tips you wish you had known right away?  Comment below.

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Photo adapted from “common sense” by Benjamin Gray via Flickr/Creative Commons/Share Alike.

LEED, HealthyBuilt Homes, and Green Building classes (Tues Tip)

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pencil

More classes from the NC Solar Center to help get you up to speed on the latest in green construction building in North Carolina.  This time, 3 half-day workshops in Raleigh:

11/3  Morning:  NC HealthyBuilt Homes (HBH) Program Orientation – an intro to HealthyBuilt Homes, statewide residential green building certificate program

11/3  Afternoon:  LEED for Homes Program Orientation – an intro to LEED for Homes, a national residential green building certificate program

11/4  Afternoon:  Green Residential Verifier/Inspector Basics Workshop – a workshop on  best practices as a “green verifier” for the various residential green building programs in North Carolina

Will you be attending one or more of these classes?  If so, drop me a line and let me know what you think of the courses you take.  Know of a course or class that might interest construction professionals in North Carolina?  Let me know in the comments below.

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Photo “pencil” by [email protected] via Creative Commons licnese. 

Free marketing webinar for homebuilders

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Good Friday morning to you all!

bar graph increasing resultsJust got in word last night of a *free* upcoming webinar (this coming Thursday).  The webinar is to help homebuilders market themselves.  The details:

What:  “How to Profit from Your Most important Brand-Yourself” 
 
When:  Thursday, October 28th at 8pm (Eastern Time) 
Who:    Mike Jeffries of Rivers of Revenue/ Construction Programs & Results (CPR)
Why:   Learn free tips to market yourself in this tough economy
How:  Register (for free), then attend via web and/or telephone
 

If you sign up, drop me a note afterwords to let me know if you felt the program was worthwhile.  I strive to inform my readers of upcoming events they may enjoy, but want to make sure I mention only quality programs.  So, feedback (good, bad, or indifferent) is appreciated!

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Photo “Bar Graph” by  KevinZHengli via Flickr/Creative Commons license.

 

Pre-holiday reminder: plan for delays (Tues Tip)

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colored leafAs the weather (finally) begins to turn to fall, people begin to make plans for fall and winter holidays with family and friends.  While negotiating the ins and outs of whos turn is it to get you for Thanksgiving this year, remember to plan for holiday delays on your construction projects.

Schedules matter.  And yet, vacations, holidays, weather, sickness, and other delays happen.  As I’ve written about previously on this blog, it is important that you prepare for delays in advance & document unanticipated delays. 

You know you will not have a full crew working 100% between Thanksgiving and Christmas, or between Christmas and the start of the new year.   Neither will your subcontractors.   Plan on it, and accomodate those delays now, ahead of time.

You also need to make temporary arrangements to fill in the gaps during holidays and vacations– both your own absence from the project and that of other trades.    Figure out who should be the contact person in charge in your absence.  Notify everyone who needs to know.  Inquire of your subs, owners, and material suppliers how they are staffing around the holidays.  Advance planning now equals fewer chances for costly delays.

Think of it as an early present to yourself to save yourself from last minute problems!

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Photo “Fall Color, Autumn Colour, New England” by FreeFoto.com via Creative Commons License. 

The Attorney on your Shoulder (Tues Tip)

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cat on shoulderI once had a rather abrasive (okay, mean) driver’s education teacher.  He had to drive around all day, risking life and limb, with student drivers who had no clue what they were doing.  I think that would make anyone a little abrasive, so really, I don’t find fault.  However, one tip that he taught me was truly one of those “tips you remember”.  He told all his students that, no matter what else they took away from his class, they should imagine that he was always hovering at their shoulder, and they should drive accordingly. 

How does my drivers’ education teacher relate to construction law issues?

Just like my driver’s ed teacher’s tip for safe driving, today’s Tip is a simple one.  Indeed, perhaps you might even find it a bit silly.  But picture your attorney (and you do have one, right?) hovering over your shoulder when you go about the business of your work. 

Should I really write that offensive reply email while I’m so hot I could scream? Will this one day be used against me in a court of law?  Did I make sure to have a written contract before we started this project?  What should I do to avoid that costly mistake, and get that attorney off my shoulder?  If I set up documentation systems now, at the start of the project, and follow them consistently, will the attorney knock off the nagging?  You get the picture.  Plan for the worst and hope for the best, as they say. 

No one plans to be in a lawsuit.  But it happens.  Make sure that if it happens to you, you have the best chance of a favorable outcome.

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Photo “Shoulder cat sitting” by Oceanic (Drew Robinson) via Flickr/Creative Commons License.