In a recent Board decision dated December 13, 2023, the United States Army Corps of Engineers sought to amend its answer in the case of APPEALS OF – KELLOGG BROWN & ROOT SERVICES, INC., under Contract No. W912GB-13-C-0011....more
If you are a homebuilder, residential housing developer, construction industry insurer, or any one of the many participants in the industry providing affordable and decent housing for the citizens of South Carolina, you are...more
In BCD Associates., LLC v. Crown Bank, CA No. N15c-11-062 (Super. Ct. Del, May 2, 2022), the trial court found that when a bank pays a contractor directly, it can create a legally binding relationship subject to the terms of...more
7/11/2022
/ Breach of Contract ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Loans ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loan Agreements ,
Misrepresentation ,
Promissory Estoppel ,
Real Estate Market ,
Renovations ,
Third-Party Beneficiaries ,
Unjust Enrichment
Sometimes you “do” bad things. Sometimes you “look like” you do bad things. Just look at the difference between Bad-boy Jack and my youngest daughter, who just “looks like” she’s up to no good. In the world of construction...more
In life, rejection is often hard to swallow. In construction, that rejection can sometimes amount to millions of dollars. A Massachusetts court recently held that an owner’s rejection of the contractor’s payment...more
I have seven children, and two of them have flown the coop. I also have two grandchildren who are ripe for spoiling. You see, grandchildren are a different type of kid, which means I get to treat them different than the...more
Virginia has joined 11 other states that have expressly prohibited “pay if paid” clauses in construction contracts. If you have construction projects in Virginia, then read on. If you want know whether your state prohibits...more
6/15/2022
/ Condition Precedent ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Terms ,
Contractors ,
New Legislation ,
Pay if Paid ,
Pay When Paid ,
Prompt Payment ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Subcontractors ,
Virginia
North Carolina Avenue is one of the hottest properties in Monopoly, says most of my kids. And if you are a contractor or subcontractor in North Carolina, the law makers recently afforded you some additional protections to...more
In WDF, Inc. v. City of New York, No. 652478 (N.Y. Sup.) (Mar. 12, 2021), the contractor filed suit to recover damages from the City on numerous combined waste water treatment projects. The contractor claimed that the City...more
3/19/2021
/ Breach of Contract ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Disputes ,
Construction Litigation ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Terms ,
Damages ,
Delay Claims ,
Discovery ,
Document Productions ,
Document Retention Policies ,
Public Projects
What’s a goocher? If you saw the movie, Stand By Me, then you know exactly what I mean. And there are times when parties to a construction contract face a goocher. ...more
3/17/2021
/ Breach of Contract ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Disputes ,
Construction Litigation ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
Payment Terms ,
Performance Standards ,
Real Estate Development ,
SD Supreme Court ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Time Restrictions ,
Timely Project Completion ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
Long before I was an attorney, I heard this tale that if you endorsed a check that had the words “PAID IN FULL” written on the check, then you were accepting the check as full payment of whatever was owed. But I have never...more
It happens all the time! The owner-contractor agreement contains a “no damages for delay” clause; a clause requiring that all changes be in writing before work is performed; and a clause requiring partial lien waivers and...more
9/25/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Disputes ,
Construction Litigation ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Terms ,
Delay Claims ,
Failure To Pay ,
No Damage For Delay ,
Real Estate Development ,
Waivers
If you are left in the dark about something, you don’t have the information you should have to make an informed decision. Delay claims on a construction can be confusing, especially when you think about the delay to the work...more
9/24/2020
/ Business Disruption ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Litigation ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
Damages ,
Delay Claims ,
Public Projects ,
Sovereign Immunity
In Wickersham Construction and Engineering, Inc. v. The Town of Sudlersville, Maryland (Sept. 22, 2020), the United States District Court for the District of Maryland held that a construction contractor had waived certain...more
They say that hindsight is 20/20. Who is they, anyway? The old proverb means that it is easy to understand something after it has already happened. In the world of construction contracts, preservation of claims made in...more
It goes without saying that in the world of construction contracts … words matter! There is language in the Goes decision that a cost-plus contract imposes upon the contractor an implied duty to incur reasonable and proper...more
3/3/2020
/ American Institute of Architects ,
Best Practices ,
Change Orders ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Litigation ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Termination ,
Contract Terms ,
Failure To Pay ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fixed Price Contracts ,
Lump Sum Payments ,
Payment Terms ,
Project Management ,
Prompt Payment ,
Real Estate Development
It almost goes without saying that if you have to pursue or defend a delay claim, you are going to need some evidence (preferably by an expert) to establish or to challenge entitlement to the damages sought. And we all know...more
It kind of goes without saying, but you should probably bring your expert to a dispute if there is going to be a battle of the experts. One contractor recently learned this lesson to the tune of $65,000....more
12/9/2019
/ Appeals ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Disputes ,
Construction Litigation ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Terms ,
Damages ,
Delays ,
Expert Witness ,
Federal Contractors ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Renovations
In VVM Builders, LLC v. Atkins Construction Group, LLC, No. CV195021541S (Oct. 31, 2019), the Superior Court of Connecticut squarely addressed this precise issue in a case involving a change order dispute between a contractor...more
11/26/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Change Orders ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Disputes ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Terms ,
Damages ,
General Contractors ,
Invoices ,
Motion to Confirm ,
Notice and Demand For Payment ,
Subcontractors
As you may be aware, one of the greatest risks on a construction project involves the payment process. Just like my kids expect to be paid for the lemonade they sell, contractors and subcontractors expect to be paid on a...more
A court recently held that the type of contract delivery method did not change the applicability of the differing site conditions clause.
Appeal of John C. Grimberg Co., Inc., ASBCA No. 58791 (Oct. 25, 2018) involved the...more
Construction disputes often involve voluminous amounts of discovery, including documents in the hand of third parties. And if the case is subject to arbitration, it is likely that there will be a dispute about whether the...more
11/19/2019
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitrators ,
CIGNA ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Disputes ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
Depositions ,
Discovery ,
Discovery Disputes ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Motion to Compel ,
Non-Parties ,
Summons ,
Third-Party
There is objection evidence. There is subjective evidence. And sometimes, it is a combination of both A case cannot go much worse when a court’s opinion starts with the following: “This case concerns a contract in which a...more
11/15/2019
/ Construction Contracts ,
Construction Defects ,
Construction Litigation ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Termination ,
Contract Terms ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Termination for Default ,
Timely Project Completion ,
US Air Force
Given the amount of leftover Halloween candy in our house, you bet that I can make some deals with my kiddos: “If you do this, I will give you some candy” … or … “If you don’t stop doing this … I won’t give you any candy.”...more
11/6/2019
/ Construction Contracts ,
Construction Disputes ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Terms ,
Delay Claims ,
General Contractors ,
Non-Payment Clauses ,
Prompt Payment ,
Retainage ,
Statutory Violations ,
Subcontractors
Do you think that there is a difference between “furnishing” labor and “performing” labor? (Is there a difference between Godiva chocolate and Palmer’s?) Well, the Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma recently held that...more