Summer 2002, Vol 27, No 2

Abstract: Seeking to cure perceived slow payment practices by owners, the California Legislature may have created an ineffective cure that is worse than this infrequent disease by enacting Civil Code §3110.5. This new statute was sponsored by the Construction Employers’ Association, supported by several subcontractor associations, and passed through the Legislature without any significant opposition or notoriety. Now, a broad range of construction consumers and contractors are scrambling to understand §3110.5 and how it affects their projects. Essentially, §3110.5 will add significant costs to private projects, increase the possibility of disputes and probably fail in its primary goal of securing the contractor’s timely payment stream from the owner