contractual and statutory notice Archive

Does the AIA A201 Provide Monetary Relief in the Coronavirus Emergency?

The coronavirus has affected every aspect of construction projects. Additional health and safety efforts, lower productivity, disruptions to the supply chain, and labor absenteeism/shortages are all now commonplace. Contractors are wise to track these costs and any associated extraordinary efforts to mitigate the coronavirus. While most agree that the unforeseeable impacts of the current pandemic […]

Can you Recover Compensation for Coronavirus Delay?

While almost every factual situation and contract is different, generally speaking, a public health emergency like the coronavirus outbreak would trigger a “force majeure” clause, which typically entitles the contractor or subcontractor to a non-compensable time extension. The owner cannot recover liquidated damages and the contractor/subcontractor cannot recover delay damages in the event of late […]

Coronavirus + Excusable Delay

While the full extent of the looming potential pandemic of the Coronavirus remains unknown, the real or imagined impacts are now being experienced in the economy, as restrictions on travel, voluntary shutdowns and other business restraints mount. So if these restrictions result in construction delays associated with labor shortages, material delays, health department shutdowns or […]

Simple Ways to Improve Your Progress Meeting Minutes

Job meeting minutes are frequently prepared by architects or owner’s representatives and distributed to contractors and subcontractors who dutifully accept them without much input or involvement. Occasionally, the minutes will specifically provide that if there is no objection made within a short amount of time after distribution, all recipients will be presumed to be in […]

Sub Suspended Work for Non-Payment without Notice

The AIA A401 subcontract allows an unpaid subcontractor to stop work until payment is received, “upon seven additional days’ written notice to the Contractor.” (§4.7.1). In a New York school construction dispute, the subcontractor was unpaid for three months and stopped work, but did so without providing the contractual 7-day notice prior to suspending work. […]