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During the 2022 Session, the Virginia General Assembly passed SB 550, which, among other things, prohibits the application of contingent payment or condition precedent payment clauses (known as “pay-if-paid” clauses) under most circumstances. The bill also establishes prompt payment clauses for prime contracts and subcontracts on private projects, whereas, Virginia’s Prompt Payment Act was formerly applicable only to public projects. The final language of the bill included a delayed enactment clause so that the statutory changes in SB 550 will not take effect until January 1, 2023. This delay gives project owners, developers, design professionals, general contractors, and subcontractors the opportunity […]

The question regarding whether a worker is properly classified as an independent contractor or employee is fraught with controversy, legal risk and uncertainty.   A recent case illustrates the issue in the trucking world. On June 30, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court declined a petition for writ of certiorari filed by a group representing California’s trucking industry, California Trucking Association (“CTA”).  CTA’s petition sought to challenge a California worker classification law that will have a devastating impact on the trucking and transportation industries.  These industries are already in the midst of multiple, overlapping crises. The high court denied CTA’s petition challenging the […]

It is the job of the Virginia legislature to make and change the laws of our Commonwealth. Sometimes, these new or changed laws are plastered all over the news. More often than not, new and changed laws are put into effect with little to no publicity. Nevertheless, there they are, ready to be used as a tool, or weapon, when the time presents itself. Despite the world’s reaction to COVID-19, the Virginia legislature was hard at work in 2020. Part of its work included amending an existing law concerning indemnification provisions in contracts with design professionals. Historically, indemnification provisions included […]

In one of the more significant Virginia administrative law decisions in recent years, the Supreme Court of Virginia held that the “harmless error” standard does not apply to most issues in administrative appeals, restricting the standard only to procedural defects.  The decision in Chesapeake Hospital Auth., d/b/a Chesapeake Regional Medical Center v. State Health Commissioner, et al., Record No. 201510 (Va. May 19, 2022) sweeps broadly, impacting judicial review of all agency decisions subject to the Virginia Administrative Process Act (“VAPA”).  The result is likely more delay, more uncertainty, and more litigation in regulatory matters, increasing regulatory risk for clients—particularly […]