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Industry Watch – The CRUX Report Confirms What Good Contracts Have Been Telling Us All Along
One of the things I love most about construction is the process itself. When a project is working the way it should, owners, designers, contractors, and consultants are all moving in the same direction. The work is demanding, but it is also collaborative. It is disciplined. It is creative. It is deeply rewarding. When the…
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Commentary – Owner Financing Clauses in Construction Contracts Are Not Boilerplate
Most owners overlook this construction contract risk In a recent contract review, I found a redline that should concern every owner, project manager, and procurement professional. The contractor had taken the owner’s obligation to provide evidence of financial arrangements and turned any breach of that clause into a material breach. That is not a small…
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Best Practice: Why Reusing Old Liquidated Damages Clauses Puts Owners at Risk
For private owners, liquidated damages clauses are meant to manage schedule risk. But when those clauses are recycled from old contracts (written for different projects, markets, and risk profiles) they can become unenforceable. Worse, they can backfire at the exact moment you need them most. The Problem: Familiar Language, New Risk Liquidated damages clauses appear…
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Industry Watch: Why Owners Must Treat Prompt Payment and Holdback Reforms as Strategic Risks — Not Just Legal Mandates
On a recent capital program call, an owner asked — “Are prompt payment laws really going to affect us?”The short answer: not just if you’re in Canada — but soon enough if you manage cross-border capital projects. Recent Canadian reforms aren’t isolated legal quirks. They reflect a global shift toward shorter payment timelines, stricter holdback…
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Industry Watch: Rethinking Contract Risk, Beyond Schedule-Based Liquidated Damages
I have reviewed many construction contracts over the years.Most of them focus on dates and delay.Very few speak to the risks that cause the greatest harm to owners. Problem and Context A recent Lexology article on data center construction risk offers a strong introduction to liquidated damages, force majeure, and indemnity. It is a useful…