We're planning on having jobs (time and materials) in response to Hurricane Laura in Louisiana. Does Louisiana loosen up the requirements for the Notice of Contract since the state is in the state of emergency?
1 reply
Aug 28, 2020
After a natural disaster like Hurricane Laura, it's common for some regulations to be relaxed - such as legal deadlines, licensing requirements, notary requirements, and some others. However, unless there's been explicit direction about a specific requirement being loosened up, it'd be wise to do what you can to comply with the notice requirement and to assume nothing has changed.
For now, it's probably a bit too early to tell how, exactly, the state will act regarding filed Notices of Contract. Considering the damage done to Southwest Louisiana, it's safe to assume that there will be serious delays in getting documents filed there. Honestly, it will probably be impossible to e-record or mail documents there for recorded for an extended period of time. But, it's possible they might begin accepting documents for manual recording within a few weeks or come up with some other creative solution.
In the short term, the best course of action is probably to prepare any and all required notice documents, to share them with the necessary parties, and to look out for information from the state and affected parishes.