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Construction Law Authority / Posts tagged "Contracts" (Page 2)

Being Indemnified for Your Own Wrongdoing

Despite the general rule that parties to a contract may agree to any terms they want, there are some terms that must satisfy certain requirements in order to be enforceable, like indemnification provisions. Even in short, simple, standard form documents, like work orders, the provisions must satisfy the requirements, or you might not be able to rely on them when you need them most....

The Good Faith Exception to Fraudulent Liens

The good faith exception to fraudulent liens does not protect all liens recorded in good faith from being deemed fraudulent. With the holding in Medellin v. MLA Consulting, Inc., it is more important than ever for a lienor to be sure the amounts in its lien are for work that will properly support a lien, or it runs the risk of its lien being deemed fraudulent....

Bid Protest Filing Deadlines Are Strict, Unless….

The general rule is that bid protests must be timely filed in order to be considered. Most government agencies in Florida have specific deadlines for which a bid protest must be filed. These deadlines are expressed in terms of days, or even hours, and may specify the exact method that the protest or notice of protest must be submitted to be considered timely filed. A Protest filed after the deadline is usually considered a waiver of the protestor’s rights.  There are, however, scenarios where a protest technically filed after the deadline may still be considered. This is exemplified in the recent case Pro Tech Monitoring, Inc. v. State Department of Corrections. There, a protesting bidder was supposed to hand-deliver its formal bid protest petition to the clerk by a certain date. The agency’s clerk, however, did not stamp the petition in until the next day, and the agency determined the protest was untimely. However, the protestor had tried...

THE LAW IS THE LAW, AND SOMETIMES IT ISN’T “FAIR”

Sometimes the law isn't as you would expect. In fact, sometimes the law can dictate a result that you think is unfair. Therefore, it is always best to have someone research what the law is, instead of assuming it says what you think would be fair. As an example, some might find the law regarding the recoverability of home office overhead damages counterintuitive....

Construction Contracting for the Owner – Essential Terms of construction contracts

I wanted to address key terms for any contruction contract.  Although some of these may seem mind numbingly obvious, I have seen contracts over the years that failed to address very critical points. 1. Scope of Work - What are you trying to get done?  For more detail go here. 2. Contract Price - What is the price and how do we determine that? It depends on the type of contract.  Does the price include permitting, bonding or additional insurance? 3. Start Date and End Date - When do you want the work to start? When should it be completed? 4. Insurance - How much and who has to carry it? 5. Indeminfication - Who has to hold who harmless?   6. Dispute Resolution - Are you agreeing to arbitration or litigation in the case of a dispute?  Which disputes are subject to these provisions? What jurisdiction will these disputes be resolved in? Does the prevailing party get their legal fees back?...

Construction Contracting for the Owner – Types of contracts

There are several types of contracts which are used in between owners and contractors. The primary ones are lump sum contracts, unit price contracts, time and materials, construction manager and design-build.

Lump Sum:

A lump sum contract is the most basic agreement between a contractor and owner. The contractor agrees to provide specified services for a specific price. The owner agrees to pay the price upon completion of the work or according to an agreed payment schedule. T lump sum includes the costs of labor and materials and the contractor’s overhead and profit. The benefits of a lump sum contract for the owner are primarily that the costs are known at the outset of the project and the contractor has the risk if additional materials or time is needed.

Unit Price:

In a unit price contract a fixed price is established for each unit of work. A common example for condominium associations is a unit price for cubic feet of concrete repair on a balcony renovation project. This is useful as the price is set for the that unit of work.  Like a lump sum contract, the contractor is paid an agreed upon price, regardless of the actual cost to do the work. Unlike a lump sum contract the agreed upon price is usually for a small component of the work and not the entire project so the final cost may not be known at outset since the contract quantities at bid time are only estimates. Any contract for cost plus should require the contractor to keep careful records so as to be able to show quantities.

Time and Materials:

In a time and materials contract the contractor charges an hourly rate for labor, and there can be a certain percentage added to the materials and labor for profit. The perceived benefit for the owner is that they are not paying for any fluff that a contractor may build into the lump sum, and contractors are ensured that they will a fair profit. However, this contract shifts the price risks completely from the contractor to the owner. In the absence of checks and balances for the types of materials used and the actual time spent, including a guaranteed maximum price the owner could be giving the contractor a blank check.