By Leland Faux Nevada Revised Statute 482.345 requires a car dealer to post a $100,000 bond for the benefit of consumers. Recently, we’ve noticed an uptick in volume of lawsuits on these types of bonds. This article will provide a brief synopsis of some of the trends we are seeing and how a surety can … Continue reading “Motor Vehicle License Bond Trends in Nevada”

Nevada law provided that every “original contractor” is liable for “indebtedness for labor incurred by any subcontractor or any contractors acting under, by or for the original contractor in performing any labor, construction of other work included in the subject of the original contract, for labor . . . .” NRS 608.150. The statute made … Continue reading “Some Relief for the “Original Contractor” and Sureties Regarding Labor Claims”

Nevada Legislature Limits DMV Bond Claims to “Consumers “and Some Hidden Dangers You Should Know In 2011, the Nevada Supreme Court held in Western Surety Company v. ADCO Credit, Inc., 251 P.3d 714 (Nev. 2011) that a defrauded finance company was within the meaning of the phrase “any person” in NRS 482.345, thereby making the finance company a … Continue reading “No More Soup For You!”

Claims against payment bonds may be denied on both private commercial and public works projects absent a claimant’s proper registration with the Utah State Construction Registry (“SCR”), labor wage claims excepted. Understanding the SCR process and procedure will aid the surety’s representative in determining the validity of claims. This article highlights the SCR bond procedures … Continue reading “Surety Defenses Under Utah’s State Construction Registry”

If I’m not misremembering, the George Bush v. Al Gore presidential election became all about the handing chad. When the people of Florida voted, they did so using punch cards. The voting machine would literally punch a hole in the card indicating their selection. Sometimes, however, it didn’t work. The punch would not go all … Continue reading “Contract Terms 3: Avoid Hanging Chads”

TO TENDER OR NOT TO TENDER POTENTIAL PITFALLS IN TENDERING THE SURETY’S DEFENSE TO ITS PRINCIPAL IN NEVADA This law firm recently encountered several situations where a surety’s tender counsel failed to properly protect the surety’s interest in litigation, resulting in adverse results which the surety would not have suffered had it retained its own … Continue reading “To Tender or not to Tender”

Most contracts (if not virtually all) contain recitals. They will sometimes be called “recitals” or “background” or, if the attorney is old-school, use the phrase “Whereas…” a lot. When I first started studying contract law, I thought these recitals were included by convention–just something attorneys do (like use the word “whereas”). Maybe that’s what you … Continue reading “Contract Terms 2: The Recitals”

The Right Entity One of the basic elements of a contract is to know who you’re dealing with. (No, Who’s on first). If you are representing an LLC or Corporation, make sure the LLC or Corporation is identified as the party to the contract. If you identify yourself as a party, you can become individually … Continue reading “Contract Terms 1: The Parties”

A contract is not going to prevent all disputes. It will definitely prevent some, but certainly not all. I would guess that about 90% of the lawsuits my firm handles involve a contract. And, frankly speaking, many of the cases are good cases with fair arguments on both sides of the issues. So does this … Continue reading “Your Contract Has Problems. They all do.”