Minnesota contractors working with clients who have suffered property damage are reminded of the Commerce Department's admonishment against “public adjusting” of insurance claims.
Prior to September 2010, contractors could, and did, advocate aggressively on behalf of homeowners. Anectdotal reports suggest that the practice was typically viewed as a service to and benefit for homeowners facing repairs to property damage, particularly storm damage. Then came Commerce Department bulletin 2010-4 , which put the kibosh on this practice.
According to the bulletin, a contractor offering his or her repair, reconstruction, or replacement services is a normal trade practice. Permissible practices include:
- offering an opinion to an insured as to whether roof damage is from a storm or other incident normally covered by a homeowner’s policy;
- recommending to the insured to file an insurance claim with the insurer;
- providing an estimate of repair which the insured may submit to the insurer;
- being present when the insurance adjuster inspects the damage and answering the adjuster’s questions.
What crosses the line is offering “representation” services related to the claim on behalf of the homeowner, offering to “exclusively negotiate” the claim settlement with the insurer(s) involved, particularly as part of the repair contract, or requiring the property owner to have the contractor “negotiate” the terms of the claim settlement on the owner’s behalf. Such actions, offerings, or representations by a contractor may constitute acting as a public adjuster. The terms, written or otherwise, of the agreement with the property owner and other facts may demonstrate whether the actions constitute violations of Minnesota insurance law. Even the offering, in a marketing sense, of such “representation” may constitute a violation, which could result in action by the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
A contractor must be licensed as a public adjuster in order to:
- enter into a contract authorizing the contractor to negotiate or effect the settlement of a claim for a fee or compensation;
- advocate on behalf of the insured or offer assistance to the insured to prepare, file or complete the insurance claim; or
- advertise or solicit for employment as an adjuster of such claims.
In addition, effective Aug. 1, 2010,
important statutory changes occurred affecting the
building trades industries. Please note the new language found under:
• M.S. § 325E.66, which prohibits a residential roofer from advertising or promising to rebate all or part of an insurance deductible when providing goods and services to an insured who will pay for the goods and services from the proceeds of a property or casualty insurance policy. This section also allows the insured or insurer to bring an action in court for damages if a residential roofer violates this section.
• M.S. § 326B.811, which provides that a homeowner has the right to cancel a contract with a residential roofer for goods and services to be paid from the proceeds of a property or casualty insurance policy within 72 hours after notification by the insurer that the claim has been denied. This section requires a residential roofer to provide a disclosure and a cancellation form to the homeowner before entering into a contract. This section also requires a residential roofer to refund any payments within ten days after a contract is canceled, unless the roofer is entitled to compensation for emergency services performed.
Contractors who perform roofing services need to review existing form contracts to confirm compliance with the new requirements.
A common question related to Chapter 7 filings is what happens to pre-petition liens obtained by creditors (liens perfected prior to the filing of a bankruptcy petition).
Lien Types
A lien is type of security interest in favor of a creditor to secure payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation. The liens with which most debtors in bankruptcy are concerned are: 1) a mortgage secured by the debtor’s residence or other real property, 2) the title to a motor vehicle, 3) a PMSI ( Purchase Money Security Interest) in an item of personal property acquired on an installment plan such as a TV, appliance or furniture set. When the debtor files bankruptcy, the debtor can usually keep such assets, provided that the debtor continues to pay for the item and honor the original contract. In many instances, a creditor can demand either payment of the outstanding balance or a reaffirmation of the debt, which may offer substituted (and sometimes more favorable) repayment terms in exchange for the non-dischargeability of the outstanding obligation.
A fourth lien type is a judgment lien, often acquired on the basis of a money judgment for unpaid debts such as credit cards. In Minnesota, once a creditor obtains a court judgment on an outstanding debt, the creditor can file it with the clerk of court by filing an affidavit giving the defendant’s name, occupation and address, a process called docketing. A docketed judgment creates a lien on real property owned by the debtor at the time of docketing and as well as any real property the debtor may later acquire.
Liens Normally Survive Bankruptcy
Secured debts are treated differently in bankruptcy than unsecured debts. Under Chapter 7, liens normally pass through unaffected by the debtor’s discharge. This fundamental protection is part of why creditors are willing to extend credit in the first place.
Avoiding Liens
Some liens are avoidable (removable) by the debtor in Chapter 7, but no lien is automatically terminated by the bankruptcy process. Lien avoidance is only available for some lien types, and only by taking specific affirmative action. The debtor bears the burden to prove all factors material to avoidance of any particular lien. Generally, liens can be avoided only to the extent of an exemption that the debtor is entitled to claim, and provided that the lien arose as a non-possessory, non-purchase money lien on certain kinds of the debtor’s property. Non-possessory, non-purchase money means the property pledged as collateral for the debt was not retained by the creditor (debtor still possesses the property), and the debtor owned the property independent of the debt giving rise to the lien. PMSI’s are not avoidable, because the lien arises out of the debt incurred to acquire the property. A loan from a pawn shop, where the creditor retains possession of the collateral, are not avoidable because the lien is possessory.
Examples of avoidable liens include home equity loans, or personal loans where the borrower’s car is the collateral. A judgment lien is usually avoidable to the extent of the equity that would have been exempt in the absence of the judgment lien (as opposed to a voluntary mortgage which normally is not avoidable).
Statutory liens, such as tax liens and mechanic’s liens, are not avoidable, and will survive the bankruptcy case unaffected.
Court Action Required
The debtor must seek avoidance by affirmative motion in the court. Absent the court’s affirmative order avoiding a lien, the lien will remain in effect against the debtor’s property and may be enforced by the creditor after the bankruptcy case is over and discharge is entered. This is true even if the debtor could have avoided the lien, but failed to take the necessary steps.
A debtor must file a motion to avoid each avoidable lien with bankruptcy court. There is then a hearing (if requested by the creditor) to determine whether to reduce or eliminate the lien on the debtor’s exempt real or personal property. Liens are avoidable to the extent of allowable exemptions, so the result can be partial avoidance (amount of the lien is reduced) or complete avoidance, depending upon the value of the lien, the collateral, and available exemptions applicable to the property in question.
If an avoidable lien was overlooked during the bankruptcy case, the court may permit the debtor to reopen a closed bankruptcy case so that the debtor can pursue relief.
In Minnesota, there is also a state court procedure whereby judgment liens may be discharged following a bankruptcy discharge. Application for discharge of judgments (applicable to all judgments, not just those that give rise to judgment liens) is necessary to remove judgments from the state court records, because the federal bankruptcy proceeding does not do so automatically. Section 548.181 permits a debtor to seek discharge of state court judgments for which the debt has been discharged in bankruptcy. Creditors may only object to the application for discharge if 1) the debt was excepted from discharge by the bankruptcy court or 2) the judgment was an enforceable lien on real property at the time the bankruptcy discharge order was entered. Section 548.181 affects judgment liens that either failed to attach because the lien was not perfected before the petition was filed, or failed to attach due to some exemption to which the debtor was entitled, i.e., 548.181 applies to avoidable judgment liens. It may be possible to seek an application to discharge a judgment, and thereby annul the associated judgment lien, under Section 548.181 and have the lien effectively avoided in Minnesota district court even without re-opening the bankruptcy case, though I have not attempted to do so.
A general contractor is liable to homeowners for its failure to inform them of pre-existing damage to their home. Further, liability under this theory is not covered by a commercial general liability (CGL) insurance policy because the liability is not caused by an “occurrence” and is not caused by “property damage,” as those terms are used in the standard form CGL policy. The court also confirmed the established principle that a contractor is liable for damage arising from its own defective work, and this liability is not covered by a CGL policy.
Plaintiffs hired Remodeling Dimensions, Inc. (RDI) to build an addition on the home. during the course of work, they also asked RDI to remove and then reinstall a window on a different portion of the home. Plaintiffs in this case advanced multiple theories of liability in an arbitration proceeding, including failure to notify of pre-existing damage.
Investigation showed damage on both the addition and on the unmodified portions of the home. Because RDI performed the work on the addition, this damage was excluded from coverage under its CGL policy. A typical CGL policy incorporates the business-risk doctrine via exclusions for “your work,” and therefore does not provide coverage for a breach of contract action grounded upon faulty workmanship or materials where the damages claimed are the cost of correcting the work itself. In this case, exclusion “m” excluded coverage for “‘[p]roperty damage’ to ‘your work’ arising out of it or any part of it and included in the products-completed operations hazard.” This type of claim is considered a warranty obligation of the contractor and is effectively uninsurable.
As to the failure to advise of pre-existing damage, the Plaintiffs’ expert testified that, in the course of its work, RDI discovered that the window had not been installed properly and that RDI should have informed the Plaintiffs of that fact. In the CGL policy, “occurrence” was defined to mean “an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general harmful conditions.” A failure to inform is not a cause of the damage, and liability based upon a failure to inform does not arise out of an occurrence because the failure to inform is not an accident. Further, RDI’s liability was caused not by property damage itself but by a different form of injury – the loss of a claim against the contractor that built the original part of the home.
Impact for Contractors:
1) Your CGL policy will not cover liability for damage caused by your own work. If you use your own employees rather than actual subcontractors, you will not have insurance coverage for any damages arising out of defective workmanship or materials.
2) Your CGL policy doesn’t cover failure to inform. If you discover anything that looks like pre-existing damage, stop work, document the damage and advise the property owner in writing of what you found. Before continuing, get a signed waiver of claim from the property owner. Make sure your people on the job site have been trained in this procedure.
Cordes v. Frederick J. Hanna &
Associates, P.C.
, Civ. No. 10-1344
(D. Minn. 6/7/2011)
RICHARD H. KYLE, United States District Judge
Plaintiff alleged that Defendant Frederick J. Hanna & Associates, P.C. violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq., by (1) leaving multiple messages on her home voicemail that were overheard by others and (2) sending her a letter suggesting that an attorney had reviewed her account, when there had been no such review. The Court granted her Motion.
Important lessons for both debt collectors and debtors:
Debt collectors need not intend to communicate with persons other than the debtor to violate the FDCPA. The fact that collection messages are actually overheard by third parties is sufficient basis to seek damages under the FDCPA. The messages in issue were left on an answering system associated with the Plaintiff’s home phone number. The answering system was accessible by Plaintiff’s boyfriend and by her roommate, both residents. each of these individuals heard some of the messages. In Zortman v. J.C. Christensen & Associates, Inc., Civ. No. 10-3086, (D. Minn. Apr. 29, 2011), the debt-collector defendant left several voicemail messages for the plaintiff on her home and cellular phones, which were overheard by her children. The plaintiff claimed that the messages violated Section 1692c(b), and the defendant responded that it could not be held liable because it did not “purposefully or deliberately disclose . . . information to a third party.” Id. at *1. Zortman offered several persuasive reasons why the defendant’s argument did not hold water:
1) Section 1692c(b) contains no scienter requirement,
2) the FDCPA is a strict-liability statute, which conflicts with requiring intent,
3) the term “communicate” does not focus on the intended recipient, one may communicate with an unintended audience
4) the FDCPA’s “bona fide error defense” is inconsistent with a requirement that a debt collector intentionally communicate with a third party in order to be liable.
Form letters from law firms seeking to collect a debt are also violations whenever an attorney was not directly and personally involved with the account. The letter in question was signed by “Frederick J. Hanna & Associates, P.C.” rather than any individual attorney. If form letters are signed “on behalf of” the attorney shown in the signature block by someone else, that may also indicate an actionable violation. Personal and substantial involvement of an attorney is the deciding factor.
Originally posted on June 8, 2011 by Will
The MN Court of Appeals recently determined that a corporate officer-employee’s ownership of more than 25% of a limited-liability company (LLC), when that LLC owns more than 25% of the corporation, is dispositive when determining if the corporate officer’s employment is non-covered, rendering the officer ineligible for unemployment-compensation benefits. See Bergen v. Sonnie of St. Paul, Inc. , No. A10-1498 (MN App. June 6, 2011).
Significantly, the corporation failed to file an election to designate her employment as covered employment. Under MN law, certain types of employees and owners are defined as non-covered for purposes of unemployment benefits, including “employment of a corporate officer, if the officer owns 25 percent or more of the employer corporation, and employment of a member of a limited liability company, if the member owns 25 percent or more of the employer limited liability company.” Minn. Stat. § 268.035, subd. 20(29). An employer (your LLC or S-Corp., for instance) may file an election for coverage for employees who are otherwise non-covered, and if that election for coverage is accepted by the commissioner, those employees may be eligible for benefits. Minn. Stat. § 268.042, subd. 3(a).
If you are the owner of a small business in Minnesota, you should consider whether to make such an election to cover yourself for unemployment benefits. Of course, we at Rogers Law Office would be happy to assist you in exploring this option.
The MN Court of Appeals has affirmed the applicability of the Civil Procedure rules to mechanic’s lien actions. Because a mechanic’s lien statement does not constitute a “summons or other process” within the meaning of Minn. R. Civ. P. 4.02 and because the mechanic’s lien statutes are excepted from the Rules of Civil Procedure, Minn. R. Civ. P. 4.02 does not apply to service of a mechanic’s lien statement for purposes of Minn. Stat. § 514.08, subd. 1 (2010).
In a civil action, a summons or other process cannot be served by a party under Minn. R. Civ. P. 4.02. Because lien statements are not subject to Minn. R. Civ. P. 4.02, mechanic’s lien statements served by personal delivery by a party to the lien are validly served under Minn. Stat. § 514.08.
See Eclipse Architectural Group, Inc., et al., Plaintiffs, vs. Kevin Lam, et al.
This case serves as another reminder that mechanic’s liens are creatures of statute, and as such the specific statutory provision must be followed carefully. In this case, the lien statute was actually more forgiving than the comparable civil rule, but that is not normally the case. Advice to construction clients: always read the mechanic’s lien statutes, or develop a set of written procedures that carefully track the statutory language, to ensure perfection of your mechanic’s liens.
Camelot owns the “Block E” shopping mall in downtown Minneapolis. AMC runs a theater in leased space on the premises. The parties’ business relationship is governed by a lease agreement executed on October 1, 2007. The lease provides a five year term which is scheduled to conclude on September 30, 2012. What happens afterward is the subject of the litigation. Both sides argued the relevant lease provision is unambiguous, and sought judicial interpretation as a matter of law. Of course, both sides presented radically different interpretations of the “unambiguous” language to the court. Camelot claimed the lease will expire, and the parties may renegotiate new terms if they wish. AMC claimed it is entitled to extend the lease for two successive five-year periods on the same terms and conditions as before.
The pivotal question is whether the lease provides AMC with an “option to extend,” which continues the original lease, or an “option to renew,” which requires negotiation of a new lease. See Med-Care Assocs., Inc. v. Noot , 329 N.W.2d 549, 551 (Minn. 1983). Under Minnesota law, the words “extend” and “renew” used in the pivotal section of the lease agreement do not control – the question is whether the terms and conditions for the option period are ascertainable from the document itself. See id .
“If any contractual term for the additional period must be negotiated or determined, the statute of frauds requires a new lease, and the new period is a renewal.” Med-Care Assocs. , 329 N.W.2d at 551. But “[i]f the lease is continued by the party holding the option merely on timely notice or on some other condition, no new lease is required, and the option is an extension.” Id. If the terms and conditions of the option period can be reasonably determined in a manner prescribed in the contract , so that nothing is subject to negotiation, then you have a properly drafted renewal clause.
In the Camelot case, the relevant lease section, entitled “Option to Extend,” provides in relevant part:
“Tenant shall have two (2) successive options to extend the term of this Lease for an additional period of five (5) Lease Years . . . on the same terms and conditions as set forth herein, except that (i) Option Periods, once exercised cannot be exercised again, (ii) no Rent concessions, abatements, lease buyouts, tenant allowances or limitations on tax or expense pass-throughs granted with respect to the Lease Term hereof shall be applicable to any Option Period, (iii) Minimum Rent for each Option Period shall be as shown [in earlier sections of the lease].”
Reviewing the lease document as a whole, the court concluded that the parties appeared to have intended this language to create an extension, but on modified terms. (Slip. Op. p. 6.) None of the terms in the quoted language, other than “Rent,” were defined elsewhere in the lease agreement. The court determined that without a formula or other guidance in the language chosen by the parties, the scope and nature of “Rent concessions, abatements, lease buyouts, tenant allowances or limitations on tax or expense pass-throughs” applicable to the option could not be ascertained from the lease itself. (Slip. Op. p. 8.) In other words, the terms of the so-called option were indefinite. As a result, whatever the parties may have subjectively intended, the “Option to Extend” creates a renewal, not an extension. Id.
To create a valid, enforceable option to extend in a lease contract, at least in Minnesota, all of the terms of the lease need to be specifically defined. Any indefinite term (i.e., any term which will require negotiations to establish its value or meaning) is enough to transform an intended option to extend into an option to renew.
Originally posted on February 24, 2011 by Will
It has become almost standard in business contracts to incorporate a provision requiring the losing party to pay the prevailing party’s attorney fees and expenses in any dispute arising out of the contract. Attorney fee provisions have their place, but are not appropriate in every agreement.
Start with the premise that any dispute resolved without the involvement of attorneys is best for all parties concerned (excluding, of course, the attorneys). Litigation is almost always damaging to both sides in terms of time and financial resources consumed. The idea and purpose of attorney fee provisions is to make each side think twice about pursuing litigation, because the risk of losing includes not only liability to the other party for any legal remedy, but also for the other side’s legal fees.
Attorney fee clauses have several benefits. Attorney fee provisions can promote recovery of unpaid accounts receivable. Where the outstanding amounts do not substantially exceed anticipated legal fees and costs, an attorney fee provision can change the economic balance and promote recovery efforts.
Attorney fee provisions help deter frivolous claims. Plaintiffs are unlikely to raise questionable claims to merely harass the defendant if they will have to pay for the defense of the claims as well as their prosecution. Attorney fee provisions can also be helpful where there is a substantial difference in resources between the parties to a contract. Where one party has limited financial resources, an attorney fee provision helps protect that party from being buried in legal fees in the face of an obvious breach by a financially advantaged party. This is really a subset of frivolous claims, where the at-fault party frivolously defends in order to put the screws to the plaintiff. The big guy can’t simply litigate his way out of liability for a breach. Where liability is clear, an attorney fee provision can promote settlement of disputes because the liable party has no interest in compounding its woes by paying both sides to litigate further.
Where the parties to a contract are relative equals in terms of sophistication and resources, however, attorney fee provisions can pervert the dispute resolution process. This is particularly true in close cases where the legal and/or factual issues are hotly contested. In such instances, an attorney fee provision can actually work to perpetuate litigation that is damaging to both sides. The prospect of recovering attorney fees can drive the litigation forward until the fees on each side overwhelm the economic value of the underlying dispute. At play in this “litigation momentum” is the fact that in close cases, both sides believe that they will prevail. Because they believe they will recover attorney fees and expenses as well as whatever remedies are available at law, the parties authorize more aggressive (i.e. expensive) litigation efforts than they might if they had to pay their own way.
Cases of clear liability do not frequently result in extensive litigation. The type of dispute that is most likely to involve attorneys is one wherein the circumstances present no obvious liability. This is precisely the type of dispute that can result in extensive, expensive litigation. This is also the type of dispute in which an attorney fee provision can promote, rather than discourage, the perpetuation of litigation.
Another disadvantage of attorney fee provisions arises in cases of insured losses. In situations where a claim may be covered by insurance (such as professional liability), the voluntary contractual assumption of liability for attorney fees and costs may not be covered unless you would be legally liable for those amounts in the absence of the attorney fee provision (e.g., pursuant to a statute that mandates an attorney fee award).
Frivolous lawsuits are far less common than commonly believed. Litigation generally occurs in close cases where liability is unclear. Before agreeing to (or insisting upon) an attorney fee provision in any contract, you should carefully consider the relative sophistication and resources of the contracting parties. You should also consider whether you and your bargaining partner(s) are willing to take on the risk that a dispute requiring litigation could result in an attorney fee award that may overwhelm the value of the underlying dispute. If you want to use an attorney fee provision, you may want to consider limiting its application only to disputes over billing and payments.
Janus was the patron of economic enterprises, frequently used to symbolize change and transition such as the progression of past to future, of one condition to another, of one vision to another. Attorney fee provisions promote both benefits and burdens. Their use should be subjected to careful consideration of past and future dealings of the parties, and of the benefits and burdens they entail.
Originally posted
on January
31, 2011
by Will
Arbitration provisions in contracts have proliferated in recent years, presumably under an assumption that arbitration is a faster and less expensive alternative to a lawsuit. Awards are binding on the parties, and judicial review is very limited, again restricting options and limiting expenses (there is no further expense or delay at risk if there is no option for appeal). As with most such things, the benefits of arbitration carry their own burdens. Arbitration is great when you win, but frustrating when you lose because there is typically no recourse. More problematic, even if the arbitrator fails to follow controlling law, you may not be able to challenge the award. Whither the avenue of challenge to arbitration awards? Down an increasingly narrow path.
Arbitration awards are highly favored in Minnesota, and the standard of review is “extremely narrow.” Hunter, Keith Indus. v. Piper Capital Mgmt. , 575 N.W.2d 850, 854 (Minn. App. 1998). The court “must exercise every reasonable presumption in favor of the award’s finality and validity.” Id. (quotation omitted). Whether the record supports the arbitrator’s findings is not an issue for the court’s review, and the court “may not examine the underlying evidence and record, or otherwise delve into the merits of the award.” Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Sankey , 605 N.W.2d 411, 414 (Minn. App. 2000), rev. denied (Minn. Apr. 18, 2000). The arbitrator is the “final judge of both law and fact.” Cournoyer v. Am. Television & Radio Co. , 83 N.W.2d 409, 411 ( Minn. 1957).
Under both Minnesota law (Minn. Stat. § 572.19) and the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), a challenge to an arbitration award is limited to specifically enumerated grounds. Under Minnesota law, an arbitration award “will be vacated only upon proof of one or more of the grounds stated in Minn. Stat. § 572.19.” AFSCME Council 96 v. Arrowhead Reg’l Corr. Bd. , 356 N.W.2d 295, 299 (Minn. 1984). The party seeking to vacate the award has the burden of proving that the award is invalid. Nat’l Indem. Co. v. Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. , 348 N.W.2d 748, 750 (Minn. 1984). Under the FAA, the statutory grounds are the exclusive means for vacating an arbitration award under the FAA. Hall Street Associates, L.L.C. v. Mattel, Inc. , 552 U.S. 576, 128 S. Ct. 1396, 1403 (2008).
Prior to the Hall Street decision, courts in many jurisdictions recognized the manifest-injustice-of-the-law doctrine, described as an arbitrator understanding the governing legal principle but choosing to ignore it, as a basis for vacating an arbitration award. [1] See, e.g., Hunter, Keith Indus. , 575 N.W.2d at 855. The Hunter, Keith Indus. court recognized the existence of the manifest-injustice doctrine but did not reach the issue of whether to apply it as a matter of MN state law. Id. at 855-56 (stating in parenthetical that “Minnesota law favors arbitration awards and by statute severely limits the grounds upon which a reviewing court may vacate an award” and “view[ing] as significant the fact that very few of the federal circuit courts that have recognized the manifest disregard doctrine have vacated an arbitration award on that basis”). Hall Street , while not binding, reinforces a restrictive reading of Minn. Stat. § 572.19.
You Can’t Contract Around the Statute
The parties in Hall Street attempted to enlarge the grounds for judicial review by including a provision in the arbitration agreement requiring the court to “vacate, modify, or correct any award: (i) where the arbitrator’s findings of facts are not supported by substantial evidence, or (ii) where the arbitrator’s conclusions of law are erroneous.” Hall Street , 552 U.S. at 588, 128. The Supreme Court rejected these contract terms as unenforceable under the FAA, explaining that “[a]ny other reading opens the door to the full-bore legal and evidentiary appeals that can ‘’rende[r] informal arbitration merely a prelude to a more cumbersome and time-consuming judicial review process.’ ” Id. (internal citations omitted).
Impact for Contracts
Parties should expressly evaluate whether arbitration is the most appropriate forum for resolving disputes that may arise in the future. The severely restricted ability to challenge an arbitration award, even where the arbitrator disregards the law, cuts against arbitration as an appropriate dispute resolution mechanism. Full judicial review procedures are far more desirable for the protection of substantial rights, valuable property and large sums. As value increases, the “appeal” of arbitration withers. Like any dispute resolution mechanism, arbitration is not the best fit for all situations. The merits (speed, cost efficiency) should be carefully weighed against the burdens (lack of meaningful appeal) before agreeing to an arbitration clause.
Footnote:
[1] Because Hall Street held that Sections 10 and 11 provide the “exclusive” grounds for challenging an arbitration award, manifest-injustice is effectively dead under the FAA. A creative attorney may attempt to recast an arbitrator’s disregard of the law under the express statutory formula of Section 10(a)(4) of the FAA—where arbitrators exceed their powers. The Court’s discussion in Hall Street suggests, however, that the Supreme Court would unfavorably view such a stratagem.
More info:
Originally posted on January 30, 2011 by Will
Attention construction clients: Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate renewal period extended.
Minnesota law requires individuals (not corporations, LLCs or partnerships) who work as independent contractors in the building construction industry to obtain an Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate (ICEC).
The ICEC is only required for independent contractor sole proprietorships who subcontract.
See the Department of Labor & Industry website for more information:
