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Industry Watch: How This Commonly Accepted Clause Can Legally Shut Down Your Job
Most owners sign the AIA A201 General Conditions without ever discussing Section 2.2. Until it becomes a problem. A recent court decision analyzed in Lexology highlights what happens when an owner fails to provide “evidence of financial arrangements” as required under AIA A201 §2.2. In that case, the court sided with the developer after financial…
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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: Documentation Before Rework Is a Discipline, Not a Legal Tactic
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve walked a site, seen a condition that clearly needed corrective work, and heard a project leader say, “Let’s just fix it and be done.” There’s a natural urge to get a bad condition behind you. I get it — you’re protecting budget, schedule, and reputation. But the…
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Industry Watch: Prompt Payment Laws in Construction — Recent Cases Owners Can’t Ignore
On a Massachusetts project, an owner thought it was “just” behind on paperwork. Instead, a court found it had breached the Prompt Payment Act, deemed seven applications approved, and ordered payment of more than $4.6 million — before the owner’s own claims were even heard. That’s exactly what happened in the Tocci Building Corp. v.…