Construction Law
Miami Construction Lawyers
Construction law has always been a key part of our practice. We have dealt with bid disputes, the applicability of pay when paid provisions, ambiguities between plans and specifications, warranty issues, payment holdbacks, the impact of partial performance, differing work conditions, job delays, and improperly documented change orders and extras. We understand the significance of properly filed notices and demands, and not only have we enforced 713.23 and 255.05 claims, but we have also successfully resisted the imposition of fraudulent liens. Clients like the fact that we understand their issues and work with them to navigate the legal process in a skillful, competent and practical fashion.
Successful Defense Against A Municipality
It began twelve years earlier when a municipality which had hired our engineering firm client accused it of professional negligence for providing inaccurate preliminary estimates. Prior to the completion of final construction plans, the municipality jumped the gun by issuing what turned out to be an unnecessary bond offering to help finance a road improvement project. As this litigation developed, the firm’s lawyers presented arguments before four different judges, conducted two jury trials and handled an intervening appeal. However, a six person jury, having heard the case for seven days, ended our client’s ordeal by returning a zero verdict in its favor, a complete victory made even sweeter when the municipality also paid a sizable amount of our client’s legal fees and costs incurred over the course of the litigation.
Construction Contract Review
Pursuing an invitation to work on an off shore luxury hotel, a major subcontractor asked us to review the extensive contract documents and to help negotiate more favorable terms on this multi-million dollar opportunity. We linked our client’s treatment by the contractor to that of the contractor by the owner, placing our client on a more equitable, if not even, playing field. We then went about working on a joint venture agreement required by our client’s need to partner with a local entity supplying the labor.
Lien Defense
An owner who had embarked on a ten million dollar renovation of his facility asked us to intervene when he discovered a number of subcontractors and materialmen had liened his property. The general contractor, having been fired for its inability to meet scheduled time frames, had also failed to pay several of its suppliers. A close review of the facts and the recorded liens revealed a number of inconsistencies and technical flaws, allowing us to negotiate significant reductions on certain liens and to set aside other encumbrances through suit.
Favorable Bid Dispute
When we were asked to review the bids involving renovations at an airport project, we quickly discovered the improper and flawed processes undertaken in awarding a bid for the airport road improvement by the airport authority. The bid had been awarded to our client’s competitor, despite the authority’s initial reluctance to do so. The matter became more complex for our client when the authority re-awarded the bid to our client only to revoke it and again award the project to our client’s competitor. We stepped in and immediately succeeded to extend the bid protest deadline. We then went about compiling the facts and the law necessary for our client to move to disqualify the winning contractor and re-award the bid to our client.
Disclaimer: Not all results are provided, the results are not necessarily representative of results obtained by the firm, and a prospective client’s individual facts and circumstances may differ from the matter in which the results are provided.