Litigating the Invisible Boundaries of Tidelands and Wetlands
The author urges uniformity in standards for establishing the two invisible lines that are dominant in coastal law, i. e. , the main high water line and the wetlands line. A high degree...
Negotiation and Contract Management
A contract is the result of a negotiation leading to an agreement between two parties. A successful contract usually meets the needs of both parties. Satisfaction of needs is the reason...
Coping with Litigation
Engineers should learn legal philosophy, even though it seems unrelated to traditional technical practice. Monitoring changes in legal theory that may increase engineers'...
Get Involved with Cladding Design
Structural engineers should get involved with cladding design for their buildings. Including disclaimers for responsibility in the design contract will not prevent trouble or lawsuits,...
Information Availability
There seems to be a great deal of concern about lack of availability of information concerning the results of failure investigations. In most court cases there is virtually no technical...
On Stealing Software
Current estimates of illegal software copying vary from two to ten copies per program on the market. The Copyright Act of 1976 specifically disallows such copying, but much so-called piracy...
Resolving International Construction Disputes by Arbitration
Arbitration as a means of settling construction disputes is increasing. It can be particularly useful in international disputes, where parties often seek to avoid litigation in foreign...
The Engineer as Expert Witness
Increased specialization in technical fields and the increasingly litigious nature of our society have resulted in a great deal of collaboration between lawyers and engineers in litigation...
What To Do When the Suit is Served
The way in which principals of a design professional firm respond to a law suit alleging liability has great bearing on the way in which the suit progresses and on its effect on the firm....
When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going
In his inaugural address, ASCE's president describes his innovative approach to optimizing ASCE performance. He is (1) Challenging staff members and committees to improved...
Are Contractors Treated Fairly�
Too often, specifications and contracts are written vaguely. The contractor has to deal with many unknowns and unpredictable factors. What can be done to ease this situation and reduce...
Protecting Your Firm against Liability Claims
In recent years, lawsuits against design professionals have sharply increased. One consulting firm in four now faces a liability claim. Many suits result when the same architect, engineer,...
An Engineer Rebuts a Contractor's Charges of Unfair Contracts
An engineer responds to the article, Are Construction Contracts Fair, (CE, May, 1975) by contractor George A. Fox and lawyer Max E. Greenberg. Engineers should not be given additional...
Bailey's Crossroads: A/E Liability Test
In March 1973, a 24-story reinforced concrete building under construction at Bailey's Crossroads, Va., partially collapsed causing a total collapse of an adjoining parking...
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