Catching Killer Clauses in Contract Negotiations
By James T. Dixon
January 25, 2024
Risk-management personnel who are in the business of reviewing and negotiating construction contracts have some simple tools at their disposal to make sure their edits are addressing all of the killer risk-shifting clauses in those contracts. One of those is the index to that doc...
How Builders Use Technology to Win Infrastructure Contracts
By Wayne Nunziata
January 25, 2024
Last year’s Pittsburgh area Fern Hollow Bridge collapse and the I-95 Philadelphia collapse may portend more infrastructure spending to come. The U.S. Department of Transportation's 2021 national inventory estimated that 44,000 bridges nationwide are rated in poor condition. Contr...
Living Language: Keeping Your Contracts Up to Date
By Brian Perlberg
November 1, 2023
Contracts provide a foundation for the success—or, if done wrong, the failure—of every construction project. Keeping them current is essential. You should evaluate and update your contracts based on the latest technology trends, legal developments and the insurance market.
How d...
An Attorney's Perspective on M&A Activity Among Construction Companies
By Dan Rosenberg
October 20, 2023
As a construction attorney with decades of legal experience and years serving in-house as senior executive and general counsel to a large construction firm, upon returning to private practice, Dan Rosenberg has developed a niche assisting companies in buying or selling constructi...
Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing Applied to Pass-Through Agreements
By Scott D. Cessar
May 30, 2023
Pass-through claims are claims by a party that has suffered damages but does not have a contractual relationship with the entity that caused the damages. In the construction industry, subcontractors commonly have claims for additional costs based on actions or inactions by the ow...
Six Ways to Put the Brakes on Social Inflation
By Julie Zando-Dennis
May 9, 2023
Construction contractors, their brokers and agents and their insurance providers can work together to help curb the rising costs caused by social inflation to the construction industry.
Social inflation is a term used by the insurance industry to explain how and why the cost of ...
Key Provisions Every Subcontractor Should Consider Before Entering an Agreement
By Trent Cotney
April 24, 2023
When prime contractors and subcontractors do business together, success is reliant upon clear, effective communication. And that communication starts with the contract. Both parties must be aware of their responsibilities and liabilities, and those details lie in the contract pro...
COVID-19 Likely No Longer Covered Under Force Majeure
By Rachel E. Pelovitz
January 30, 2023
A recent decision by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has shaken up construction contracts. While companies could claim “force majeure” to exempt themselves from contractual obligations during much of the pandemic, this decision challenges ongoing validity of those...
Risky Business: Contractual Protections in the 'New Normal'
By Daniel Lund III
December 5, 2022
The point of contracts is to create certainty to avoid litigated or arbitrated disputes. Still, the various parties in the construction process may have different risk tolerances. For example, general contractors are often characterized as “risk-tolerant.” That risk, though, is u...
Include Materials Price Escalation Clauses in Construction Clauses
By Robert Alfert Jr.
November 15, 2022
The construction sector has been in a bull market for an unprecedented period of time. With the novel impacts from the coronavirus—and all the associated side effects, such as government moratoria, shipping delays and materials availability—we are now in a market of extreme volat...
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