If a contractor cannot meet deadlines on a construction project or a subcontractor pulls out of a new project bid in order to pursue a more attractive opportunity, the project owner and/or prime contractor face potentially significant damages, which can include corrective work, costs of completion or substitute performance, and delay. In my latest column

In too many cases, the developers, builders and designers of a construction project focus on starting work and pay inadequate attention to making sure important details of their insurance coverage are fully in place. Coverage denials can result from deferring to “standard” insurance forms, relying on informal broker assurances and not taking the time to

If you incur property damage on your construction project site and want to know if insurance will help you compensate for it, several challenges arise. First, you need to determine if you have an insurance policy that could provide coverage. Second, you must determine the extent to which the policy covers property damage and related

On December 13, 2019, I will be giving a presentation on construction-related topics arising from commercial lease improvements.  The presentation is part of a two-day seminar on Advanced Commercial Real Estate Leases, co-chaired by my colleague, John A. Fandel, and hosted by Law Seminars International.  Topic will include insurance coverage, mechanic’s liens, scheduling, indemnity, safety,

Construction contract exampleSubcontractor default insurance (“SDI”) — insurance  that covers certain losses related to a subcontractor’s material breach of a subcontract — has been gaining in popularity over bonds among general contractors. However, for a number of reasons, sureties assert that bonds are better than SDI, despite the common complaint about bonds that sureties are slow to

Ultimately, improving our companies, like improving ourselves, is up to us and our own diligence and persistence in identifying and implementing improvements on an ongoing basis. A strong market as we start 2019 means a great opportunity to review for and ensure solid implementation of legal compliance and financial goals for your construction projects –