Damages, Contract Terms, Construction Industry

Consequential vs. Direct Damages

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 8/5/2025

Many construction contracts include a provision that prohibits the parties from recovering “consequential” damages in the event of a breach. Sometimes parties will negotiate and agree to a waiver of consequential damages that...more

Court Rejects Subcontractor’s Safety Excuse for Jumping Ship

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 7/29/2025

A federal judge in Oklahoma last week ruled against an electrical subcontractor who quit work before finishing because it was allegedly unsafe to continue. The court found that the subcontractor was simply losing money, and...more

Disrupted Operations – Owners Beware! – Part 2 (DAMAGES)

Gray Reed on 2/20/2025

Liquidated damages are intended to provide predictability to the owner and contractor as to the financial consequence of not completing a project in a timely manner. Since liquidated damages are intended to compensate the...more

From Confusion to Clarity: A Guide to Handling Concurrent Delays in Construction Projects

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 1/16/2025

Over the years, general contractors and commercial developers have debated their rights during a concurrent delay. When a concurrent delay happens, the question arises: should the general contractor receive a) an extension of...more

Offset, Setoff, and State Trends in Withholding Clauses

Frantz Ward LLP on 1/15/2025

States have been slowly clawing back at a higher-tier’s ability to withhold payments owed to its lower-tier subcontractors, aiming to protect subcontractors from undue financial hardship and ensure that payment disputes are...more

Lost Productivity Damages in Construction: The Modified Total Cost Method

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 12/27/2024

Here at Bradley we frequently represent clients pursuing or opposing claims for lost productivity on construction jobs. The gist of those claims is that something happened which decreased productivity and thereby increased...more

The Subcontractor Performed. The Prime Contractor Paid. But a Hacker Ended Up with the Money. Who Is Responsible?

Venable LLP on 6/6/2024

When hackers gain access to a subcontractor’s information systems and divert the prime contractor’s payment to themselves instead of to the subcontractor, does the prime contractor still have to pay the subcontractor?...more

Signature Lines Matter: When a Contract Amendment Is Not Really an Amendment

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 5/24/2024

Construction law is largely a matter of contract law. Yes, there are federal and state statutes that deal with construction issues and, yes, construction cases sometimes involve tort claims, but more often than not,...more

Court Rejects Contractor’s Claim That COVID-19 Rendered Performance Impossible

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 10/6/2023

A fundamental premise of contract law is that promises must be kept. If legally enforceable promises or “contracts” are not kept, courts may step in to enforce them by ordering performance, awarding damages, or granting some...more

Liquidated Damages Disproportionate to Actual Damages Deemed Unenforceable

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 9/11/2023

Construction contacts often include provisions that provide for pre-determined or “liquidated” damages in the event of a breach. Such provisions can provide certainty to the parties as to the consequences of a breach and can...more

The Saiber Construction Law Column: January 2023

Saiber LLC on 1/12/2023

New Jersey courts recognize that every contract contains an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, which requires that neither party to the contract shall do anything which will have the effect of destroying or...more