Musings thought that it would step away from its discussion of “green” construction to discuss a few interesting construction cases that came down recently in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The first of these is another warning to contractors that arbitration provisions can be waived by conduct. In Shoosmith Bros., Inc. v. Hopewell Nursing Home, the Hopewell Circuit Court of Virginia found that Kenbridge Construction Company’s waived its right to arbitration by its use of the Courts for a substantial period of time and its use of the discovery “machinery” of the Court. In short, if you want to enforce an arbitration clause, do it early to avoid an argument that you have waived arbitration.

The second case is in relation to mechanic’s liens. I find this one interesting because the Court actually refused to invalidate a lien for a minor inaccuracy in the description of the work performed. In B.P. Realty LP v. Urban Eng'g Associates, Inc. et. al., the Fairfax, Virginia Circuit Court refused to invalidate a lien because the engineering firm and defendant in the case failed to include the word “surveying” in its description of the work. The court held that this is an excusable inaccuracy.