A number of opinions issued by Indiana appellate courts in 2022
addressed disputes related to construction projects. The most
significant of such opinions focused on four aspects of the law
that have the potential to impact many construction projects: who
may assert a mechanic's lien, enforcing arbitration clauses,
responsibility for injuries sustained during the course of
projects, and the scope of additional insured insurance
coverage.
Mechanic's Liens
The Indiana Supreme Court increased the scope of the
mechanic's lien remedy, permitting a material supplier who
supplies materials to another material supplier to assert a
mechanic's lien claim, in Service Steel Warehouse Co., L.P.
v. United States Steel Corp. 182 N.E.3d 840 (Ind. 2022). For
the past century, Indiana courts ruled that those supplying
materials for a construction project may assert a mechanic's
lien only if they supplied their materials to someone who performed
work on-site. Plotting a new course,
