Delaware Revises its Payment Act and Mandates that All Construction Contracts Be Governed by Delaware Law

On June 25, 2012, Governor Jack A. Markell signed legislation that provides for significant revisions to a statute formerly known as the “Delaware Building and Construction Payments Act.” By enacting House Bill 109, the statute has been renamed the “Building Construction Procedures Act” (the “Act”).

More significantly, the scope of the Act has been expanded to include all services provided on construction projects. In addition, the Act now provides that all construction contracts must be governed by Delaware law and all litigation, arbitration, mediation or other dispute resolution procedures must take place in the state of Delaware. Specifically, the Act states:

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Pennsylvania Does Not Adopt the 2012 International Code Council’s Model Construction Codes

On January 18, 2012, the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code Review and Advisory Council (the Council) voted 11 to 5 against the adoption of the 2012 I-Codes, the model building codes published by the International Code Council (ICC). The Council, however, did make an exception regarding the accessibility portion of the 2012 model code. Based on this vote, the Council is now charged with submitting a report to the Secretary of Labor and Industry by July 2012, and the bulk of the 2009 edition of the ICC’s codes will remain the basis for Pennsylvania’s uniform construction code.

Because the 2012 I-Codes were not adopted, the ICC’s new “green building” model code, called the International Green Construction Code will not be included in Pennsylvania’s construction code.

Many of Pennsylvania’s construction trade organizations celebrated the Council’s decision, because they believe the implementation of new codes would add additional costs that the construction industry cannot afford. Similarly, the Council voted against the 2011-I Codes, because, inter alia, the new codes were complicated and impossible to enforce.

© 2009- Duane Morris LLP. Duane Morris is a registered service mark of Duane Morris LLP.

The opinions expressed on this blog are those of the author and are not to be construed as legal advice.

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