Recent Articles

U.S. Government Accountability Office Report

Brenda T. Redfern
March 15, 2012 16:20

The U.S. Government Accountability Office ("GAO") has recently issued a report setting forth statistics for bid protests for the fiscal years 2007 through 2011. See GAO Report here. The report also contains a synopsis of a number of recent notable GAO decisions on various issues including...

Lynn Thompson Wins Two Bid Protests at GAO for BISC Client

Christopher Solop
January 11, 2012 22:24

Lynn Patton Thompson recently secured 2 wins for client W.B. Construction and Sons, Inc. before the General Accountability Office (GAO) in Washington, DC. The protests involved separate procurements and different issues, and Ms. Thompson prevailed on both. On December 16, 2011, the GAO issued its...

Appeals from School Board Orders--Do not delay!

Christopher Solop
December 01, 2011 15:34

If you are bidding on a project for a school board and are aggrieved by the decision to award the contract to another party, you must appeal the order "within ten (10) days from the date of adjournment of the meeting at which the order is entered."  Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-115....

"Redesignated" HUBZones Expiring October 1, 2011 - May Affect Your HUBZone Eligibility

Lynn Patton Thompson
September 08, 2011 13:38

  On October 1, 2011, "redesignated" HUBZone areas will expire. These areas were previously set to expire at earlier dates, but in 2004, Congress extended and "grandfathered" their HUBZone status until the results of the 2010 Census were published. The original...

Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES) offers E-Verify Assistance

Christopher Solop
July 20, 2011 14:39

In an article published on June 9, 2011, by Brenda Redfern, employers were reminded that effective July 1, 2011, the Mississippi Employment Protection Act requires all Mississippi businesses to E-Verify all new employees. In conjunction with this statutory mandate, the Mississippi Department of...

The Duty to Proceed--Do I really have to do change order work without getting paid?

Christopher Solop
July 12, 2011 19:49

During the course of construction, contractors will sometimes find that the owner and/or architect are demanding more work than the contractor reasonably interprets the plans and specifications to require. The typical owner and/or architect solution to the dispute is simply to tell the contractor...

Claims for Construction Defects--Where did I put my insurance policy?

Christopher Solop
July 05, 2011 16:12

Mississippi contractors should know that Mississippi law (§15-1-41) allows a party to bring suit for defective construction within six (6) years “after the written acceptance or actual occupancy or use, whichever occurs first, of such improvement by the owner thereof.”  ...

General Disclaimers in Plans and Specifications

Christopher Solop
June 27, 2011 18:40

In an attempt to avoid liability for the various deficiencies in its plans and specifications, some architects and engineers rely upon the general disclaimers set forth in the contract documents. However, the United States Supreme Court has held these general disclaimers are unenforceable as a...

July 1, 2011 Deadline for ALL Employers to Comply with Mississippi Employment Protection Act

Brenda T. Redfern
June 09, 2011 15:49

By now, most employers have heard of the federal "E-Verify" program which is designed to identify and prohibit employment of illegal aliens. In the 2008 legislative session, the Mississippi Legislature adopted the "Mississippi Employment Protection Act" ("MEPA") which...

CONTRACTORS SHOULD PREPARE FOR 3% WITHHOLDING FROM GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

Brenda T. Redfern
June 03, 2011 19:07

As part of the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 ("TIPRA"), Congress required federal, state and local governments to withhold 3% on payments made to government contractors and some others from payments made for property or services. Implementation of the law was set...