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From Clans to Contracts: The Irish Roots of Suretyship by Adrian D’Arcy

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When we think of St. Patrick’s Day, we think of shamrocks, parades, and maybe a good stout.  But long before most of the western world adopted the typical revelry associated with St. Patrick’s Day (and Ireland by default), Ireland had provided the world something surprisingly modern: a sophisticated system for guaranteeing promises – – suretyship.

Ancient Ireland operated under Brehon Law, a legal system that functioned for over a thousand years — without prisons, police forces, or centralized enforcement. If one wonders how people in this society made sure debts were paid and contracts were honored? They used sureties.

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Adrian D’Arcy and Ashley Robinson Co-Authored “Electronic Signatures and Indemnity Agreements – Risks with Attorney-in-Fact Provisions” for the Winter 2025 Edition of Surety Bond Quarterly

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Electronic Signatures and Indemnity Agreements – Risks with Attorney-in-Fact Provisions, an article written by Adrian D’Arcy Ashley Robinson was published in the Winter 2025 Edition of Surety Bond Quarterly.

Surety Bond Quarterly is the official, professional magazine of the National Association of Surety Bond Producers, providing industry insights, news, and developments for surety professionals, contractors, project owners, and government officials on surety bonds, construction, and related topics.

Adrian and Ashley discuss how electronic signatures have become prevalent across the United States, discuss the legal structure which facilitates electronic signatures, and detail possible risks associated with indemnity agreements being executed electronically with a focus on issues related to attorney-in-fact provisions.

Click on the thumbnails below to read the article.

 

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Ashley Robinson Co-Authored: Understanding Sureties: Why Do They Do What They Do?, for the ABA’s Construction Lawyer Fall 2025 Magazine, “Managing Expectations”

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D’Arcy Vicknair special counsel, Ashley Robinson, co-authored an article in the American Bar Association’s Constrution Lawyer Fall 2025 Magazine, “Managing Expectations”: “Understanding Sureties: Why Do They Do What They Do?”

Ashley, along with Douglass Wynne Jr., detail how to learn about the risks sureties face when financing principals, their rights to contract funds, and how they can assert defenses related to the obligee’s actions and project specifications.

 

 

Click on the image below to log into the American Bar Association’s website to access the article.

Sureties and Pay-If-Paid Clauses: Balancing Subcontractor Protection with Freedom to Contract, by Adrian D’Arcy and Ashley Robinson

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D’Arcy Vicknair founding partner, Adrian D’Arcy, along with Special Counsel, Ashley Robinson, co-authored an article titled “Sureties and Pay-If-Paid Clauses: Balancing Subcontractor Protection with Freedom to Contract” for the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section’s magazine, The Brief. Adrian and Ashley used their collective expertise in the field of surety law to delve into pay-if-paid clauses.

 

 

 

 

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Louisiana Supreme Court: Claims for Indemnity are not Premature, by Margaret Davis

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Louisiana Supreme Court Clarifies that Third Party Demands and Cross Claims for Indemnity are Not Premature Before a Decision on the Main Demand, by Margaret N. Davis

On Friday, the Louisiana Supreme Court issued a written opinion in Daniel Bennett v. Demco Entergy Services, LLC et. al., No. 2023-CC-01358 (5/10/24) finally settling an important conflict in Louisiana law. The Court found that cross claims for contractual indemnity and defense are not premature when they are asserted before liability is determined in the main demand. For several years, a circuit split emerged based on several Louisiana Supreme Court decisions that led courts in some circuits to find that cross claims for indemnity were premature before liability was determined. In the construction context, this frequently led to harsh consequences for general contractors, because while they waited for liability to be determined in the main demand, their indemnity cross claims against subcontractors were perempted (dead or unactionable) after five years under La. R.S. 9:2272.  In short, cross claims could be premature during the five-year limit and perempted after the five-year limit.

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