Construction Laws and Customs: California by Teresa L. Polk, SMTD Law LLP, with Practical Law Real Estate Status: Law stated as of 20 May 2026 | Jurisdiction: California, United States This is an updated version of the Q&A guide to construction projects in California. This Q&A addresses state law and [...]
Construction Laws and Customs: California by Teresa L. Polk, SMTD Law LLP, with Practical Law Real Estate Publisher: Thomson Reuters A Q&A guide to construction projects in California. This Q&A addresses state law and custom relating to public and private construction projects, including prompt payment laws, retainage, project delivery systems, [...]
Written by Ali Salamirad, Partner at SMTD Law LLP It is still too early to know how many banks will suffer the same, or similar, fate as SVB. It seems certain, however, that commercial real estate and construction lending from smaller regional lenders will tighten. As a result, an owner’s access to [...]
Written by Ali Salamirad, Partner at SMTD Law LLP The SVB collapse will impact many construction industry companies including project owners, general contractors and their sub-tiers - most of whom don't bank directly with the defunct lender. Additional regional bank failures will only make things exponentially worse. Here is what [...]
Written by Ryan B. Luther, Attorney At Law SMTD Law LLP California Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.230 permits a party to notice the deposition of a business entity, requiring that that entity designate the person “most qualified to testify on its behalf” as to matters specifically described in the [...]
NEW YEAR = NEW RULES California Public Contract Code section 9204 (PCC § 9204”) took effect January 1, 2017, and has significantly changed the public works’ claim process. California contractors need to familiarize themselves with these new provisions. Prior to the adoption of PCC §9204, there was no consistency between [...]
In 2012, California made sweeping changes to its retention laws on public works projects. These changes (Public Contract Code sections 7200, et. seq.) have impacted how contractors are able to deal with retention and when retention is to be paid. The following is an overview of some of the retention [...]
In a recent unpublished California Court of Appeals case, a subcontractor's preliminary notice was invalidated even though it had been timely and properly served. The subcontractor served a preliminary notice on a project. He served the prime contractor and the reputed owner, as required. He served the notices [...]
Preferential contracting programs such as the Small Business Administration’s 8(a), HUBZone, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned and Women-Owned Business and various Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (“DBE”) programs, have become increasingly attractive to contractors looking for ways to mitigate the impact of the dismal state of the local construction market. Contractors should be aware that [...]
This article will address the legal, licensing and practical issues that contractors should consider before making a final decision regarding whether to participate in a construction joint venture. I. The Joint Venture Agreement Once you have identified a partner and determined that your business interests are best served by joining [...]