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The article examines the state-agent immunity for private contractors under Alabama law. Topics discussed include the role of a constitution, statute and common law as sources of law providing immunity to a private contractor, classification of private contractors as agents of the state by the courts, and circumstances that may warrant the entitlement of a contracting entity and its employees to state sovereign immunity and state-agent immunity.

The article addresses the 2019 revision to the Private Works Act, the culmination of a long history of legislative efforts to protect contractors, laborers, suppliers and others who contribute to the improvement of an immovable, and its significance in Louisiana law.

Esports is now a multibillion‐dollar industry that has quickly become one of the most discussed segments of the entertainment industry. There has been a rush to mention esports alongside other more traditional sports like baseball, basketball, football, and hockey, but the comparison may not be apt. Esports leagues are fundamentally different from traditional sports leagues because the competitive games that make up esports are the intellectual property of the game makers. This unique structure results in individualized relationships between the game makers, esports producers, the teams, and the competitors. This article is among the first to examine the legal status of esports competitors. In doing so, we discuss the employment conditions within esports that make them unique. The industry is poised to face significant labor‐related challenges in the near future, so the article also analyzes the labor issues esports competitors and leagues face, and the importance for stakeholders to pay attention to the legal status and working conditions of the competitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the licensing of contractors under Florida law, and it mentions the impact of unlicensed contracting on Florida's construction industry, as well as information about Section 489 of the Florida Statutes which deals with the licensing requirements for contractors. The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) is examined, along with the loss of contract rights, nonlicensure through negligence, and several contractor-related legal cases.

The article provides practical advice for consumers on how to collect monetary damages from contractors under the Florida Homeowners' Construction Recovery Fund (Fund), and it mentions the legislative purpose of the Fund, as well as the Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB). According to the article, the Fund covers construction contracts for residential work with certain contractors licensed by the CILB. Civil final judgments and arbitration funds are assessed.

The article discusses the author's claim that the U.S. Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals should not have jurisdiction of any legal claims involving fraud, and it mentions America's Contract Disputes Act (CDA) of 1978, the nation's False Claims Act, and contract litigation involving the Green Dream Group LLC building performance firm and Daewoo Eng’g & Constr. Co. Ltd. According to the article, a contractor's right to forum selection should be limited to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

This article is a continuation of Shae McCrystal, "Organising Middle Earth? Collective Bargaining and Film Production Workers in New Zealand" (2014) 26(1) NZULR104, which considered whether self-employed workers in New Zealand could lawfully engage in collective bargaining. The notable omission from that article was the legal status of any strike action undertaken in conjunction with such bargaining. The present article explores exactly that question, considering the liability that may arise when a group of self-employed workers collectively withdraw their labour in the pursuit of better terms and conditions of engagement. This is explored through the lens of labour law and competition law, with comparative analysis that draws parallels with the legal position in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is an approach to bid-rigging agreements from the perspective of competition law, analyzing the interrelation between free competition and public procurement considering that the public sector is the place in which bid-rigging agreements show its harmful effects and how competition rules can be an effective tool in the fight against this scourge, all in the context of finding a proper balance between the principles of free competition and objective selection. The methodology used in this research consists in an exhaustive analysis of the main resolutions issued by the Superintendency of Industry and Trade regarding the violation of Article 9 of Decree 2153 of 1992; the study of some constitutional and administrative court decisions in collusion, state procurement agreements, and restricted competition issues, and the study of the rules of law applicable to the aforementioned matters. Likewise, this research gives a general overview of domestic and international doctrine regarding the mentioned issues and of some studies conducted by national and international organizations regarding collusion, bid rigging, transparency and corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In June 2015, the High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations established by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and chaired by former East Timor President José Ramos-Horta, published its comprehensive review of U.N. Peacekeeping Operations. The Panel observed that it takes an average of six months from when a peacekeeping mission is authorized by the U.N. Security Council to when the mission is deployed. The Panel further explained that although rapid and effective deployment comes at a cost, responding more quickly saves lives and can avoid a larger, more costly response later. In its request for the Secretary- General to develop options for a new rapid-reaction capability, the Panel suggested evaluating the merits of having a small, standing U.N. force, transferring personnel and assets from other U.N. missions, and instituting national and regional standby arrangements. Each of these options, however, has been available for years, relies heavily on the political will of countries and regional organizations, and has not previously been sufficient to address the requirements of rapid deployment to new missions or crisis situations. This Article suggests that the U.N. also evaluate the potential use of private military and security companies (PMSCs) to serve as a U.N. rapid-reaction force. In short, the U.N. already relies heavily on PMSCs, it is legally permissible for PMSCs to be engaged in peacekeeping operations, PMSCs are well trained and equipped, and the U.N. could contract with PMSCs to hold a PMSC corporate entity and its employees to higher standards of conduct than country-supplied peacekeepers, who benefit from the privileges and immunities of the U.N. There have been numerous legal, moral, and practical objections raised to the potential use of PMSCs, which are considered in detail. The Article concludes, however, that given the U.N.'s urgent need for a reliable and sustainable rapid-reaction capability, this option could be considered alongside other proposals for reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critics of Renard Constructions (ME) Pty Ltd v Minister for Public Works (1992) 26 NSWLR 234 say that the court in that case confused termination with rescission when awarding restitutionary quantum meruit (ROM) to the plaintiff contractor against the repudiating principal. This alleged confusion became known as the "rescission fallacy". This article seeks to disprove the existence of the rescission fallacy and goes on to argue that in fact, Renard and subsequent cases did not go far enough because they only established the contractor's right to "get what its work is worth" where the contract's failure was the principal's fault. In fact, a repudiating contractor should be recognised as having the same rights because RQM has not been fault-based since unjust enrichment replaced implied promise or quasi-contract as the juridical basis for RQM awards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an essay on the finality of adjudication under the New Zealand Construction Contracts Act of 2002. Topics include remedies for the recovery of payments, the laws protecting construction contractors, and the enforcement of payment obligations. Information is provided on juridical review in New Zealand.

The article examines the U.S. government's failure to incorporate contractors into its current scheme for compensating foreign tort victims. Topics discussed include efforts of State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), three different compensation schemes used to compensate victims of U.S. government and limitations on the military's ability to pay compensation for contractor under the Foreign Claims Act (FCA).

The article focuses on issues related to very important person (VIP) rooms such as licensing of contractors who make it run or gaming promoters in Macao. Topics discussed include a report issued by the Macao Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau regarding revenue generated from VIP rooms in Macao that accounts for 65-72 percent of the total gaming revenue, VIP rooms contracted to a third party in Macao and the regulation of VIP contractor as a gaming promoter.

So-called "public programs" in U.S. health care pervasively contract with private entities. The contracting does not merely involve the purchase of drugs, devices, information technology, insurance, and medical care. Rather, government agencies are increasingly outsourcing decisions about the nature and standards for such goods and services to private entities. This Article will examine two models of outsourcing such decisions. In private licensure, firms offer a stamp of approval to certify that a given technology or service is up to statutory or regulatory standards. Via deputization, firms can pursue a regulatory or law enforcement role to correct (and even punish) providers who have failed to meet standards or acted fraudulently. Both private licensure and deputization provide new models for administrative governance in rapidly changing, technically complex fields. But they can also be abused if private licensors or deputies are not adequately supervised, or if they are faced with too crude an incentive framework. This Article suggests some best practices for the outsourcing of responsibility to these health care decision makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article argues that reporting administrative agreements does meet the stated goals of the implementation of Federal Awardee Performance Integrity and Information System (FAPIIS) and discusses the reasons behind it. It discusses the responsibilities of a contractor for entering into an administrative agreement and precautions to be taken by the agencies to avoid breaching of an administrative agreement.

In recent years there has been an increase in the number of franchise-related disputes challenging a franchisee's status as an independent contractor in the case of claims by a franchisee or third party against a franchisor. This article analyses how US courts have assessed the franchisor-franchisee relationship on the basis of statute and common law, in particular in the context of master franchise systems. The author concludes that recent case law has opened the door to vicarious liability claims by subfranchisees against master franchisors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the U.S. government's use of private contractors for national security operations. Topics include the liability of private government contractors, the completion of covert actions by non-government workers, and the classification of contractor acts as 'state functions.' Information is provided on the ex post facto problems with government-contractor contracts.

The U.S. and the World Bank sanctions systems seek to ensure that firms and individuals conduct their work with integrity and that they comply with rules and regulations governing public procurement. The sanctions systems rely on the use of deterrence, which is most often achieved through debarment or exclusion of non-compliant contractors. However, in recent years, scholars introduced a self-cleaning theory, which proposes that firms and individuals should be allowed to regain the possibility of participation in public contracts if they have taken effec-tive measures to ensure that wrongful acts will not recur in the future The proponents of the self-cleaning theory argue that this will improve integrity, that contractors have a fundamental right to public contracts, and that it will increase competition. The application of the self-clean-ing theory to the U.S. and the World Bank sanctions systems illustrates that self-cleaning itself may not improve integrity due to lack of deter-rence, and that there is no fundamental right to public contracts, but that using self-cleaning instead of debarment increases competition. Since both integrity and competition are important objectives, there is a need to reconcile the existing tension The application of the self-cleaning theory to the U.S. and the World Bank sanctions systems demonstrates that it is possible to improve integ-rity and, at the same time, increase competition. These competing objec-tives may be achieved through designing a sensible sanctions framework, which takes into account a more flexible approach towards debarment and maintains deterrence, through restitution and other means [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses British engineering and constructions contracts and negotiations, as well as an analysis of the role of the programme in a New Engineering Contact (NEC) as of May 2013. NEC version three (NEC3) is addressed in relation to the obligations of contractors, project completion dates, and critical activities of work. Project managers are mentioned in clause 31.3 of a standard NEC3 document. Programme revisions and the assessment of compensation events are also mentioned.

The article focuses on the U.S. court cases Saleh v. Titan Corp. and Al Shimari v. CACI International Inc., which dealt with the combatant activities exception under the U.S. Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). Topics include the expansion of the exception to include private military contractors (PMC) and command authority.

The article discusses the tax law developments made in the year 2012 in Connecticut. It informs that the Connecticut Supreme Court evaluated whether an out-of-state entity has necessary relation based on its in-state activities to collect and remit sales tax. It also discusses the guidance on the treatment of nonresident contractors and sales and use tax matters rulings issued by the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (DRS).

The False Claims Act is widely considered the nation's preeminent civil litigation weapon against fraud by federal contractors. Under the Act's newest theory of liability known as implied certification, a contractor is liable for civil penalties and treble damages if it knowingly presents a claim for payment to the government and fails to disclose its violation of a contract provision, statute, or regulation material to the government's decision to pay the claim. While a majority of federal courts of appeals have embraced the implied certification theory, they have struggled to define the scope of a contractor's duty to disclose in the absence of an agreement between the contracting parties. Under the default rule developed by the Second Circuit in Mikes v. Straus, liability attaches only when a contractor submits a claim and fails to disclose its violation of a material contractual, statutory, or regulatory provision that the government has expressly identified as a condition of payment. A broader default rule, enunciated by the First Circuit in United States ex rel. Hutcheson v. Blackstone Medical, Inc., imposes liability when a contractor submits a claim and fails to disclose its violation of a material contractual, statutory, or regulatory provision, regardless of whether the provision was an express condition of payment. Because the choice between these two default rules can be outcome determinative in cases with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, there is an urgent need to resolve the split of authority and ensure uniformity across the federal courts. This Comment argues that the U.S. Supreme Court should resolve the circuit split by recognizing the implied certification theory and adopting the express condition-of-payment requirement set forth by the Second Circuit in Mikes. The Court should recognize the implied certification theory because the language and structure of the False Claims Act support liability for at least some undisclosed contractual, statutory, and regulatory violations; Congress has emphasized that the Act broadly targets fraud against the government; and the theory comports with the common-law recognition of fraud by omission. At the same time, neither the statutory language nor legislative history authorizes the use of the implied certification theory to police garden-variety contractual breaches or statutory or regulatory violations. Accordingly, the Court should adopt the Mikes express condition-of-payment requirement, which confines liability to cases of clear fraud In addition to enforcing the proper limits of implied certification liability, the Mikes rule has two distinct advantages over the Blackstone alternative: it provides federal contractors with fair notice of punitive antifraud liability, and it reduces their compliance and litigation costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the possibility of resolving public contracts by mutual agreement between the Administration and the contractor. It will be taken into consideration the different types of public contracts, to the extent that the possibilities of conventional termination in administrative contracts are more limited than in private ones. Significant emphasis will be given to the effect that the situation of declared insolvency of a contractor in this issue. And, finally, the paper tackles the procedure and the content and effects of conventional termination of public contracts, also taking into account a possible bankruptcy situation of the contractor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses contractor liability in Tennessee for the work done by a subcontractor as of April 2012, focusing on the Tennessee Supreme Court case Federal Insurance Co. v. Winters which deals with a contractor's implied duty to perform the services required by a contract, as well as the implications of this court decision on service providers and customers. The impact of this decision on future service contracts in Tennessee is also examined.

Copyright of Romanian Review of Private Law / Revista Română de Drept Privat is the property of Universul Juridic Publishing House and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article focuses on the U.S. court case Turner Construction Co. v. United States, which dealt with a conflict between the U.S. Army and the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Topics include the authority of the GAO to enforce contractor disputes, the issuance of nonbinding recommendations by the GAO, and the practice of de novo review of contractor bids during disputes.

The article focuses on the U.S. court case Stanford v. Roche, which dealt with employee invention ownership. Topics include the U.S. Bayh-Dole Act, ownership disputes over inventions created as part of federally funded research activities, and the U.S. Patent Act. Information is provided on patent and inventor ownership for independent contractors.

This article addresses the criminal responsibility of the contractor when it appropriates money given by a public authority in advance to execute a contract for services. It is possible to analyze whether the embezzlement charge, and under what conditions could be done in accordance with the doctrine and jurisprudence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under existing conditions of business activity, there are certain difficulties in the field of financing and granting funds to business entities, operating on national and international level, and attempt to overcome them is made by introduction of specific methods, techniques and contractual instrument. One of these methods is factoring business and factoring agreement, as the contractual instrument of its realization, which emerged in the mid 1950s, in United States of America. There is no unified opinion in legal theory and legislation in different countries, in terms of terminology, conceptual and legal definition of the factoring contract. This paper analyzes the existing legislation and its shortcomings for the successful realisation of the factoring operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is mostly relying on sphere of autonomy of the contractual parties and combining elements of existing designated contracts, such as contract of assignment, service contract, loan agreement , agreement on bank guarantee and contract of commission. Starting from the specific structure and different types of factoring agreements affecting the rights and obligations of contractual parties, and its demarcation with other similar agreements, this paper seeks to answer questions of improving the factoring business and the existing legal framework in BiH, by introduction of special rules in existing Law on obligations or adopting special regulations that will relate to these topics with particular emphasis on solutions provided by the Convention on International Factoring made under the UNIDROIT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the U.S. military's use of private contractors in waging its wars has drawn increased attention from the academic literature, largely related to the growing number of cases filed by U.S. servicemen and contractor personnel against companies like Halliburton and Kellogg, Brown & Root. These suits have garnered the attention of the legal academy, particularly as federal courts dismiss such suits as nonjusticiable under the political question doctrine—a doctrine of judicial restraint long associated with voting rights and gerrymandering caselaw. The recent application of the political question doctrine to cases involving military contractors raises familiar questions regarding the scope of the judiciary's role in monitoring the actions of coordinate branches and the pragmatism of the judiciary playing such a role at all. This Note considers these matters through the lens of the functional political question doctrine. It concludes that while federal courts may have the institutional capacity to play some role in administering tort suits against private contractor firms, that participation should be carefully cabined to avoid any judicial interference with the military's authority to set standards for combat. Thus, while in-field negligence claims will usually present nonjusticiable political questions, fraudulent recruitment claims will not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the changes to the Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act of the Illinois legislature. The act outlines the rules that contractors and workmen must follow when making repairs to residential property. The aim of the act is to protect homeowners from the pitfalls of inefficient home repair projects. The definition and scope of the act are explained. It cites MD Electrical Contractors Inc. v. Abrams and Fandel v. Allen cases to demonstrate the conflicts in the enforcement of the act.

This article provides owners, and particular oil, gas, and oilsands producers, with an overview of various procurement processes and specific suggestions on how owners can structure such processes, draft tender documents to meet their goals, and avoid the liability that often arises out of the tendering process. In particular, the scale and cost of oil, gas, and oilsands projects, as well as the change in market conditions, raise new issues in the procurement context that owners should consider. The article concludes with a discussion of joint ventures, the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act process, and project liability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the effect of the revision of the Article 85-1, section 2 of the Taiwanese Government Procurement Act that was proclaimed on July 4, 2007. It notes that the latest statute is regarded as the most important change in the area of Taiwanese construction law as it gives an opportunity for contractors to submit arguments that arise from government procurement contracts. However, the statute holds major controversial issues regarding its applicability.

The article discusses changes to documents issued by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) that introduce initial decision makers (IDMs) for dispute resolution. Contractors had requested the implementation of the IDM due to questions regarding the impartiality of architects in architectural disputes. The authors note that the documents do not offer information on the selection of an IDM, guidelines for IDM procedures or provisions for IDM liability regarding decisions. They comment that the documents fail to clarify whether the authority of the IDM overrides that of the architect regarding contract interpretation and that they require that requests for mediation be filed within a month of an initial decision.