- State and Federal Regulatory Changes
California Tightens Home Improvement Contract Requirements: Email Cancellation Now Mandatory
California’s AB 1327 (Aguiar-Curry) adds new consumer-protection requirements for home improvement contracts. Contractors must now include a valid email address in the contract and allow homeowners to cancel the agreement via email. In addition, contracts must list a telephone number that buyers can use to locate and properly complete the statutory “Notice of Cancellation.” Failure to include the required cancellation notice exposes contractors to consumer complaints filed with the Contractors State License Board (CSLB), increasing regulatory and enforcement risk for otherwise routine residential projects.
👉 Takeaway
Home improvement contractors operating in California should immediately review and update their contract templates. Missing or outdated cancellation language is no longer a technical defect; it is a compliance issue that can trigger CSLB complaints. Ensure contracts clearly list an email address, phone number, and the required Notice of Cancellation, and confirm your internal processes can accept and track cancellations received electronically.
- Case Law Update
Winning Isn’t Enough: Florida Court Slashes Construction Attorney’s Fees Award
Nova Southeastern University, Inc. v. Garratt-Callahan Co., No. 4D2024-1453 (Fla. 4th DCA Oct. 15, 2025).
Facts
NSU sued three defendants (a mechanical engineer and two water-treatment consultants) over biological growth and performance issues in its chilled-water/ice-tank system. After one settlement and an arbitration award confirmed by the trial court, NSU later settled with the engineer, leaving Garratt-Callahan as the remaining defendant for purposes of contractual fee-shifting. NSU sought to recover fees incurred across all defendants, arguing the claims were ‘inextricably intertwined.’
Holding
The Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed a substantial reduction in the fee award, granting the prevailing party less than 15% of the fees sought. The court held that the claims against the non-settling defendant were not “inextricably intertwined” with the claims against the settling defendants because each defendant performed different services, at different times, under different scopes of work, and without a common core of facts. The court also rejected the plaintiff’s attempt to apply a blanket percentage reduction to address billing deficiencies, holding that courts must instead evaluate and rule on each challenged billing entry individually.
👉 Takeaway
Winning the case does not guarantee recovery of attorneys’ fees. In Florida construction disputes, fee-shifting claims must be tightly connected to the underlying claims to be considered “inextricably intertwined,” and courts will not assume overlap simply because claims arise from the same project.
- Contract Provision of the Month
Context: On many commercial and industrial projects, one of the biggest unaddressed risks involves access, delivery routes, laydown space, and staging areas. Without explicit contractual control, contractors often face delays caused by owners or other trades blocking access routes, loss of critical laydown areas due to design changes or other trades “taking over” areas, increased labor and equipment costs when material handling requires longer routes, reduced productivity from congested sites or restricted work hours, and disputes over who is responsible for access interruptions.
These impacts are rarely compensated unless the contract includes a clear, enforceable provision allocating responsibility. A Temporary Access & Staging Area Control clause protects the contractor’s ability to perform efficiently and gives a basis for time extensions, cost recovery, and dispute resolution when access is disrupted.
Sample provision:
The Owner shall provide the Contractor with adequate and continuous access to the Project site, including all delivery routes, loading zones, laydown areas, staging areas, and material-handling paths identified in the Project schedule or as reasonably required for performance of the Work. The Contractor shall not be responsible for delays, disruptions, inefficiencies, or increased costs arising from interference with, obstruction of, or reduction in access, staging, or laydown areas caused by the Owner, the Owner’s separate contractors or trades, design professionals, tenants, or other third parties. In the event access or staging areas become unavailable or materially impaired, the Contractor shall be entitled to an equitable adjustment in the Contract Time and Contract Sum to the extent its performance is impacted. The Owner shall promptly relocate or restore such areas to maintain the Contractor’s planned sequence of work. Nothing in this provision limits the Contractor’s rights under any other contract clause governing delays, suspensions, or changes.
- Contractors’ Playbook: Preparing for Opportunity in Venezuela and Cuba
As Venezuela and Cuba slowly re-engage with global markets, contractors should think less about overnight booms and more about early-stage positioning. These countries are not going to flip a switch and become fully open markets tomorrow. Any market entry will remain highly dependent on sanctions/OFAC compliance and permitted channels; however, opportunity will emerge in phases starting with repairs, rehabilitation, and critical infrastructure, long before ground-up megaprojects appear.
The first wave of work will be fix-what-already-exists projects. Decades of deferred maintenance have taken a toll on housing stock, industrial facilities, ports, hospitals, schools, and energy-adjacent infrastructure. Roofs leak. Mechanical systems fail. Water intrusion and corrosion are widespread. Contractors with experience in remediation, rehabilitation, and envelope repair will be better positioned than firms focused solely on new construction.
The second opportunity layer will come through foreign-backed projects, not purely domestic ones. Early capital is more likely to flow through joint ventures, multinational developers, NGOs, energy companies, or government-adjacent entities operating with foreign financing. For U.S. contractors, this often means working as a specialty trade, consultant, or technical partner rather than as the prime contractor at least initially.
Manufacturers and specialty contractors may find even earlier openings than general contractors. Supplying materials, systems, and technical know-how—especially for roofing, waterproofing, insulation, energy efficiency, and climate-resilient construction often come before full construction mobilization. Being known as a solution provider rather than a builder can open doors while risk remains high.
Contractors should also expect labor and logistics challenges to shape opportunity. Local workforces may require training, safety programs, and quality oversight. Materials and equipment may be difficult to source consistently. Contractors that know how to operate in imperfect conditions with remote sites, supply interruptions, and evolving regulations will have an edge.
Just as important, smart contractors will focus on relationship building now, not bidding later. Opportunity in reopening markets tends to reward companies that invested early in understanding local conditions, aligning with the right partners, and demonstrating patience. The contractors that wait for “full normalization” often arrive after the best positioning has already been claimed.
Finally, contractors should recognize that opportunity does not mean uniform opportunity. Some sectors will open faster than others. Some regions will see investment before others. Flexibility both in business strategy and project structure will matter more than scale.
👉 Takeaway: Venezuela and Cuba represent long-term opportunity, not quick wins. Contractors that think in terms of rehabilitation first, partnerships over primes, and positioning over volume will be best placed to benefit as these markets continue to open.
Upcoming Speaking Engagements & Events
- Chicago Roofing Contractors Association, Trade Show & Expo, Keynote Speaker, January 14-16, 2026, Chicago, IL
- World of Concrete, Defending ICE Raids and I-9 Audits, January 19, 2026, Las Vegas, NV
- International Roofing Expo, Keynote Panel, January 20, 2026, Las Vegas, NV
- Roofing Contractor Association of South Florida, State of the Industry Panel, January 28, 2026, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Disclaimer: This newsletter is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship.