 |
 General Counsel’s Corner: No Fooling—Revision of AIA A312 Starts in Earnest on April 1st |
| As you may recall from past General Counsel Columns, NASBP engaged the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in a dialogue requesting the issuance of a “stopgap” amendment to the A312 payment bond as a result of concerns arising from a string of legal decisions interpreting A312 payment bond language. This dialogue was undertaken together with the Surety & Fidelity Association of America (SFAA) and culminated in AIA publishing a stand alone amendment to the A312 payment bond in an effort to ameliorate concerns. During this process, AIA clearly communicated to NASBP and SFAA that it would not issue a new edition of the A312 payment bond form unless and until it had undertaken a full-blown revision process of both the performance and payment bond forms involving the participation of all interested constituencies.That time is here. This month, AIA staff counsels contacted me to invite the participation of NASBP in the formal revision process for its bid bond, AIA Document A310, and its performance and payment bonds, AIA Document A312. AIA also is in the process of inviting representatives from trade associations for owners, general contractors, subcontractors and specialty contractors, sureties, and construction and surety attorneys. The first formal meeting is slated to occur on April 1, 2009 at the headquarters of AIA in Washington, DC. Prior to that meeting, AIA is requesting that participating organizations forward written comments on its bond forms by March 7, 2009. These comments will be compiled by AIA staff and will constitute the starting point for the revision discussions. AIA hopes to complete the revision cycle for A310 and A312 by the first quarter of 2010, with final, published editions soon thereafter.
Based on my personal experience with these document revision efforts, information from individuals concerning their negative and positive experiences relating to specific document form provisions is invaluable. To that end, I need your help! I am asking you to provide me with comments and information about you and your clients’ experiences with the A310 bid bond form and the A312 payment and performance bond forms by no later than March 2 via an e-mail to mmccallum@nasbp.org. Please succinctly describe the issue or experience (e.g., owner refused to accept bond form without owner-mandated modifications), and provide its context—that is, the type of obligee/owner (e.g., city, private developer, school district, etc.), the type of project (e.g., hospital addition, school renovation, courthouse, etc.), and the type of principal (e.g., general contractor, construction manager at risk, etc.)—together with specific bond form provision references if applicable (e.g., which provisions were modified, problematic, etc.). Your information will be confidential and not disclosed directly to AIA, but will be synthesized as part of the general NASBP comments furnished to AIA. Even if you do not have a specific experience to share, please feel free to forward to me any comments you wish to share on these bond forms. NASBP will be heavily engaged and will keep you informed of its participation in this important process. |
| These materials are provided to NASBP members and affiliates solely for educational and informational purposes. They are not to be considered the rendering of legal advice in specific cases or to create a lawyer-client relationship. Readers are responsible for obtaining legal advice from their own counsels, and should not act upon any information contained in these materials without such advice. |
Get Important Surety Industry News & Info
Keep up with the latest industry news and NASBP programs, events, and activities by subscribing to NASBP Smartbrief.
