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Evan Brown is an associate in the Construction & Design section of Stoel Rives’ Real Estate group. Evan has experience with a variety of litigation, transactional, and alternative dispute resolution matters for clients in the construction industry, including interpretation of contracts, statutes, and regulations; claim development and assessment; discovery, including electronic discovery; motion practice; and appeals.

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Construction contracts generally outline when and how contractors should notify parties about potential claims for additional compensation and/or time. These provisions are intended to provide project stakeholders with the information necessary to address unforeseen circumstances and streamline claim resolutions within the project rather than resorting to legal actions. However, in some cases, the contract provisions

Originally published as an Op-Ed by the Oregon Daily Journal of Commerce on December 15, 2022.

A common feature of construction contracts is a clause requiring formal mediation of disputes relating to the project. Sometimes the clause is aspirational, merely “requiring” that the parties consider mediation. Other times, however, the clause is designed as a binding

Originally published by the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce on November 3, 2022.

In a 5-4 decision, the Washington Supreme Court recently ruled in Tadych v. Noble Ridge Construction, Inc. that a contract provision providing a one-year limitation period for filing a construction defect lawsuit was “unconscionable” and therefore unenforceable.

The court’s ruling revives a

In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and economic sanctions imposed by countries around the world in response, supply chain disruptions and the resulting scarcity of construction have resulted in price escalation that threatens construction project budgets. To allocate the risk of these sorts of cost increases, project owners and contractors may use