Looking Back — and Ahead — After Two Years of a Pandemic

In my column for the Daily Journal of Commerce from two years ago, I wrote that proceeding with ongoing or planned construction was not without impact or risk tied to COVID-19, and I provided a checklist for owners, designers and contractors to help them decide whether to continue a project or start a new one given the circumstances. A year later, I noted the vastly increased amount of time I was spending working on force majeure provisions in construction or design contracts. In my latest column, I look at the impacts supply chain issues, labor shortages and inflation, as well as the conflict in Ukraine, are having within the construction industry. You can read the full article here.

Originally published as an Op-Ed by the Oregon Daily Journal of Commerce on April 14, 2022.

Construction Project Scheduling & Delay Claims CLE — Seattle

By Mary DeVuono Englund on April 22, 2022 Posted in Construction Claims, Washington

On May 6, 2022, I will be presenting as part of The Seminar Group CLE seminar Construction Project Scheduling & Delay Claims, which you can attend in Seattle or online. Intended for architects, attorneys, contractors, engineers, and municipal and government employees, the seminar will cover critical-path schedule and delay concepts and legal concepts and strategies for addressing schedule delay, disruption, and acceleration claims.

I will be discussing several projects as case study examples of:

Strategies for addressing delay — from project planning to dispute resolution
Approaches to reduce delay in the planning phase
How to know when one contract method is more efficient than another
How to use contract provisions to address delay
Understanding delay claim issues and how to resolve them

Click here to learn more and to register. You get $100 off by using the faculty discount code: FAC100

Another Risk Management Tool for Private Owners in a Volatile Construction Market

By Tamara Boeck on March 25, 2022 Posted in Construction Industry, Risk Management

Traditionally, private owners of construction projects have not considered bonds — either payment or performance bonds by the general contractor — because of the additional cost and because they felt confident that the contractors and their subcontractors, suppliers and vendors on their projects would meet the obligations of the contract terms. However, in today’s volatile market, with the uncertainty introduced by understaffed contractors and subcontractors due to labor shortages, unskilled labor, supply chain failures, unchecked inflation, and other factors, owners have reason to question that sense of confidence. In my latest column for the Daily Journal of Commerce, I offer some suggestions, and caveats, for private owners to consider in using performance bonds to manage their risk. Read the full article here.

Originally published as an Op-Ed by the Oregon Daily Journal of Commerce on March 16, 2022.

How to Know When Bidding Practices Cross the Line

By Sean Gay on February 22, 2022 Posted in Bids/Bid Protests

An unfortunate side effect of growing economic stimulus and infrastructure spending is an environment that encourages unethical and illegal bidding practices. In my latest article for the Daily Journal of Commerce, I look at several categories of such practices and provide some strategies for firms to reduce their prevalence. Read the full article here.

Originally published as an Op-Ed by the Oregon Daily Journal of Commerce on February 18, 2022.

Managing Engineering Liability and Risk in Oregon

By Sean Gay and Zachary Davis on February 17, 2022 Posted in Oregon, Risk Management

On February 25, 2022, my colleague Zachary Davis and I will be presenting as part of a HalfMoon Education live interactive webinar Managing Engineering Liability and Risk in Oregon. Zachary will present “Law of Engineering Malpractice,” an overview of professional liability claims. I will present “Understanding How Contracts Can Shift, Reduce (or Increase) Risk,” an overview of contract law and key concepts. Click here to learn more and to register online.

Every Construction Project Comes With Risk, but It Can Be Managed

By Karl Oles on January 28, 2022 Posted in Construction Contracts, Risk Management

In my latest article for the Daily Journal of Commerce, I provide a few suggestions for contractors, and perhaps project owners as well, to manage risk through a construction contract. Provisions that can be included in a contract to achieve that end might include:

The owner limits its potential claims to direct damages and waives claims for consequential damages.
The contractor’s maximum liability to the owner is capped at a stated sum.
The contractor’s potential liability for late performance is limited to a set amount per calendar day.
The contractor’s bid includes contingency to guard against unforeseen risks, or provisions to address material price escalation or “force majeure” events such as pandemics.

Read the full article here.

Originally published as an Op-Ed by the Oregon Daily Journal of Commerce on January 20, 2022.

Ideas to Help Contractors Build Better Projects in the Year Ahead

By Antonija Krizanac on December 22, 2021 Posted in Construction Claims, Construction Industry

The year 2021 was an interesting and unsettled one in the construction industry — bids and projects grew in numbers in some market sectors and regions yet slowed or halted in others. An aftereffect of this activity was a variety of claims and disputes, which, coupled with the ongoing pandemic and increasing market uncertainty, particularly with respect to the supply chain, led to a year of disruption for the industry. In my latest article for the Daily Journal of Commerce, I provide some suggestions for those in the construction industry, and specifically contractors, to get ahead of similar claims and disputes in 2022. Read the full article here.

Originally published as an Op-Ed by the Oregon Daily Journal of Commerce on December 20, 2021.

Don’t Overlook Your Liquidated Damages Provision

By Nicholas Karkazis on November 22, 2021 Posted in Construction Contracts, Risk Management

Among contractual provisions that sometimes go unnoticed or unappreciated is the “liquidated damages” provision, which is often used in construction contracts to identify the amount of damages that a contractor will owe the owner if there is a delay in completing construction. In my latest article for the Daily Journal of Commerce, I provide some tips for owners and contractors to avoid the potentially harsh consequences, waiver of a potential benefit, or unnecessary litigation that can be the byproduct of inclusion of this provision in a construction contract. Read the full article here.

Originally published as an Op-Ed by the Oregon Daily Journal of Commerce on November 18, 2021.

‘Project Float’: Who Owns it and What Should Be Done About It?

By David Cox on October 20, 2021 Posted in Construction Contracts, Risk Management

Construction projects are complex and often experience delays. The party responsible for the delay can find itself subject to potentially severe consequences. There are various ways project owners and contractors can cause project delays, and each party wants to “own” the project float to be able to apply the project’s extra schedule time toward its own delays and avoid potential liability. Courts have grown increasingly sophisticated in determining how much and to which parties float should be allocated in disputes over delays. In my article for the Daily Journal of Commerce, I examine the question of who owns the project’s float and discuss “float-sharing” and “float-allocating” clauses, for which owners and contractors often negotiate in their contracts to protect themselves against construction delays. Read the full article here.

Surety Bonds vs. Subcontractor Default Insurance

By Andrew Gibson on September 21, 2021 Posted in Construction Contracts, Insurance

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 for the Daily Journal of Commerce, I discuss the characteristics of the two most important options that exist for owners and prime contractors to protect themselves against such risks – performance bonds and subcontractor default insurance (SDI) – and provide some suggestions to help them pick the appropriate one. Read the full article here.

Originally published as an Op-Ed by the Oregon Daily Journal of Commerce on September 16, 2021.