K&L Gates Construction Law Blog

BMC West Corp.  v. Horkley, 144 Idaho 890, 174 P.3d 399 (2007)

BMC West provided materials to contractor Davies for work on Horkley's commercial structure.  All sales were on an open account.  Davies did not fully pay BMC, so BMC filed liens “on the land on which the buildings were located, and on the buildings themselves.”  BMC then sued Horkley for payment and to foreclose the liens.  Horkley asserted the “open account defense,” which applies when a materialman “relies exclusively on the general credit of the purchaser, and does not look to the land, structure or building as additional security for the materials sold on credit.”  To avoid the defense and make the lien valid, the materials “must be furnished with special reference to their use in a particular building.”

Because BMC had tracked the materials sold to Davis for use on Horkley's building, it was not relying on Davies' general credit alone.  Since BMC was able to track the materials used to a specific project, the court granted summary judgment in favor of BMC.  The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed, including an award of attorney fees.

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

State of Idaho Construction Projects - Bid Opportunities

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

American Institute of Architects - Idaho Chapter

Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. - Inland Pacific Chapter (based in Spokane but serving Idaho)

Associated General Contractors - Idaho Chapter

Idaho Building Contractors Association

Idaho Building Contractors Association - Local Chapters

North Idaho Building Contractors Association

Washington State Building and Construction Trade Council (Branch Serves Idaho)

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Construction & Engineering-Related Statutes

Title 39 (Health and Safety), Ch. 41 - Idaho Building Code Act

Title 44 - Labor

Title 45 - Liens, Mortgages & Pledges

Title 54 - Professions, Vocations and Businesses (Generally)

Title 54 - Chapter 10 - Electrical Contractors and Journeymen

Title 54, Chapter 12 - Engineers and Surveyors

Title 54, Chapter 19 - Public Works Contractors

Title 54, Chapter 45 - Public Works Construction Management Licensing Act

Title 54, Chapter 52 - Idaho Contractor Registration Act

Title 72 - Workers Compensation and Related Laws

Guide to Idaho Labor Laws (Sponsored by the Department of Commerce and Labor)

State Regulations

Idaho Administrative Code (IAC)

Title 9 - Department of Labor

Title 17 - Industrial Commission

Title 24 - Section 24.21.01, Rules Governing the Idaho State Contractors Board

Local and Specialized Codes

Division of Building Safety - Industrial Safety Codes

City of Boise Municipal Code

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Steltz v. Armory, 15 Idaho 551, 99 P. 98 (1908)

Steltz contracted with Armory for the construction of a building in the city of Genesee.  The building was erected and Armory moved in and continued to use it for six weeks, until a windstorm blew down the front of the building.  Armory then refused to pay Steltz arguing that the building was not constructed in a workmanlike manner and Steltz filed this action to recover payment due under the contract.  During trial, evidence was presented that showed the front wall blew down because it had not been properly tied into the rest of the building.  The court held that the defect of not tying the front wall into the building was not an obvious or patent defect, but was a latent defect.  The Court reasoned that if the defect were obvious or patent, then Armory would have accepted the defect by taking possession without conditionally doing so.  The court affirmed the lower court’s decision to offset the cost to repair the defect from the amount still owed under the contract.

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Boise Jr. Coll. Dist. v. Mattefs Constr. Co., 92 Idaho 757, 450 P.2d 604 (1969)

Mattefs Construction submitted a bid for the construction of a building for Boise Junior College.  The bid contained a clerical error that omitted one item that constituted 14 percent of the bid.  The court held a contractor is entitled to the equitable relief of rescission if he can establish the following conditions:  “(1) the mistake is material; (2) enforcement of a contract pursuant to the terms on an erroneous bid would be unconscionable; (3) the mistake did not result from violation of a positive legal duty or culpable negligence; (4) the party to whom the bid is submitted will not be prejudiced except by loss of his bargain; and (5) prompt notice of the error is given.”  The court concluded that the clerical error in submitting a bid, which was 14 percent of the total bid, was substantial and material and did not result from culpable negligence.  The court further found that Boise Junior College would not suffer a substantial hardship since Mattefs informed them of the error before they had attempted to accept the offer.  The court did note that not all mistakes entitle a bidder to withdraw his bid, but distinguished this case on the basis that this was a clerical error and not an error in judgment, such as underestimating cost or labor.  Since the court found Mattefs satisfied all five factors, equity required the bid to be withdrawn without forfeiting the bid bond. 

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Craig Johnson Constr., L.L.C. v. Floyd Town Architects, P.A., 142 Idaho 797, 134 P.3d 648 (2006)

Town entered into a contract with Dean to prepare plans for condominiums in Ketchum.  Once Dean received the plans, Dean contracted with Johnson to build the condominiums according to Town’s plans.  The condominiums were built in two phases.  In Phase one Johnson deviated from the plans, but did not do so in building phase two.  The first winter the condominiums were completed, ice dams formed on the roofs of individual units in both phases of construction.  All three parties then brought actions against each other for breach of contract, negligence and indemnification. 

At trial, the jury found Johnson to be 90 percent at fault and Town only 10 percent at fault.  The court held that “a public or private contractor following plans and specifications prepared by another party is not liable in negligence where defects in the plans and specifications cause injuries, so long as the contractor should not have reasonably known about the defects.”  The court affirmed the jury’s verdict since there was sufficient evidence in the record to show that Johnson was negligent and failed to follow Town’s plans. 

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Puget Sound Nat’l Bank v. C. B. Lauch Constr. Co., 73 Idaho 68, 245 P.2d 800 (1952)

Saxon Painting entered into a contract with Lauch Construction to do all of the painting for a government housing project.  The contract required Saxon to apply two coats of a certain type of paint, which was provided by Lauch.  Saxon followed the specifications in the contract and completed the painting in a timely manner without any objections to the work from Lauch.  Saxon alleged that he was still owed $19,958 from the contract and three months after completing the work, a lawsuit was commenced.

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks