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Practical Construction Law

Fee:

$995

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Provider:
Federal Publications Seminars, A Thomson Business

Topic(s):
Construction

Who Should Attend?
Anyone involved in construction operations

Full Seminar Description

• 13.75(60 minute)
• 16.5(50 minute)
• 16.0(CPE) hours of credit.

Daily Schedule

9:00a.m.- 4:00 p.m.

The law—if properly recognized, understood and applied—can be an ally, not an enemy. That’s what this course—Practical Construction Law—is all about.

The course’s purpose is to instruct you in the law’s realistic application to your construction operations. It endeavors to show you, in down-to-earth terms, the factors that must be considered at every stage of the construction process—factors that can help you, that can further your objectives,—that can harm you, and how the law can shield you from such harm.

To do this, we have commissioned two specialists in construction law. They are professionals who work, day in and day out, with construction contractors—professionals who know the things that happen and how they happen—and, most importantly, professionals who know what can and can’t be done about it all.

We offer the program in concentrated form—three days of hard work by both you and the instructors. We offer it in the belief that it will make you aware of the law’s value as a partner in your business.

Course Curriculum

• Local vs. Out-of-State Corporation
• Registration in New State
• Joint Venture Considerations
• Business Licenses
• Sales and Use Taxes
• Consequences of Failure to Comply
• Cures for Failure to Comply

Types of Contracts

• Fixed-Price Competitively Bid
• Unit-Price Competitively Bid
• Cost-Plus Negotiated
• Limited-Cost-Plus Negotiated
• Design and Build
• Turnkey
• Construction Management

Bidding on Private Work

• Analyzing the Bid Invitation
• What to Look For and Out For
• “Information” Invitations
• Problem of Missing Elements
• Evaluation Standards-Price and Others
• Owner Rejection of All Bids
• Strict Bidding, Negotiation and Mixtures

Bidding on Public Work

• The “Low Bidder” Statutes
• Responsiveness of Bid
• Alternates in Invitations and Bids
• Variations in Public Procedures
• Politics, Influence, Ethics . . .Trouble

Mistakes in Bidding

• What Can Happen
• Bidder’s Unilateral Mistakes
• Bidder-Owner Mutual Mistakes
• Procedures for Relief
• Types of Remedies

Bid Bonds

• Bond Types and Terms
• Other Forms of Security
• Use in Private Work
• Use in Public Work
• Liability and Defenses

Payment and Performance Bonds

• Standard Bond Forms
• Scope of Coverage
• Who Recovers and How
• Contractor Defenses to Liability
• Surety Defenses to Liability
• Rights of the Surety
• Indemnity Provisions

Standard Contract Forms

• Owner-Architect: AIA
• Owner-Engineer: NSPE
• Architect-Engineer: AIA and NSPE
• Architect-Contractor: AGC
• Owner-Contractor: AIA, NSPE and AGC
• Contractor-Subcontractor: AIA
• Construction Management: AIA and AGC
• State & Municipal Provisions
• Similarities and Differences in Forms
• What to See and What to Avoid

Uniform Commercial Code

• What Is It
• Application to Construction Work
• Application to Equipment
• Application to Subcontracts
• Avoiding the Code
• Effect on Contract Formation
• Effect on Contract Terms
• Unconscionability
• Commercial Impracticability
• Validity of Liability Disclaimers
• Warranties

Interpreting the Contract

• Rules of Interpretation
• Contract’s “Four Corners”
• Parties’ Intent
• Concurrent Interpretation
• Custom and Usage
• Technical Terms
• Grammatical Errors
• Specific vs. General
• Mention One/Exclude Others
• Reasonable and Consistent Analysis
• Avoiding Useless Performance
• Contract as a Whole
• Interpretation Against Drafter
• Evidence Outside the Contract
• Implied Terms

Authority and Responsibility

• Actual and Apparent Authority
• Who Can Bind Whom
• Owner/Architect/Contractor Reps
• Contract Interpretation Authority
• Authority to Order Performance
• Ordering Contract Changes
• Prescribing Authority Limits
• Preventing Unauthorized Acts
• Owner/Architect Supervision, Coordination and Cooperation
• Failure to Enforce Contract

Contract Changes

• Owner’s Right to Change Work
• Contractor’s Duty to Perform
• Owner/Contractor Agree Changes
• Owner’s Unilateral Change Orders
• The “Constructive” Change
• Defective Plans and Specifications
• Erroneous Interpretation
• Higher Standard of Work
• Improper Rejection
• Dictating Performance Methods
• Impossibility/Impracticability
• Contractor’s Protest Before Performance
• Remedies

Changed (Differing Site) Conditions

• Pre-Bid and Post-Bid Conditions
• Physical and Non-Physical Conditions
• Man-Made Conditions
• Conditions Below Ground
• Latent Above-Ground Conditions
• Owner’s Fraud; Concealment
• Owner’s Innocent Misrepresentation
• Site Investigation and Other Inquiry
• Reliance on Owner’s Data
• Notice by Contractor
• Contractor Duty to Perform
• Remedies

Delays and Acceleration

• Scheduling Techniques
• Agreement on the Schedule
• Schedule Revisions
• Notice of Delays
• Unexcusable Delays
• Damages for Delay
• Excusable Delays
• Suspensions of Work
• Time Extensions
• Dollar Recovery
• Elements of Acceleration
• Recovery for Acceleration

Calculating Damages

• Basic Principles of Recovery
• Damages Aspects of Changes, Changed Conditions, Delays, Aacceleration
• Labor Costs
• Material Costs
• Equipment Costs
• Other Direct Costs
• Inefficiency Factors
• Disruption Costs
• Costs of Unchanged Work
• Field Overhead
• Home Office Overhead
• Extended Overhead
• Loss of Business
• Loss of Bonding Capacity
• Profit

Subcontract Provisions

• Tying Sub to Contractor’s Liability
• Flow-Down Clauses
• Scope of Work Clauses
• Modification Clauses
• Payment Clauses
• Indemnity Clauses
• Default Clauses
• Disputes Clauses
• Special Provisions

Subcontract Administration

• Bid Shopping Risks
• Sub’s bid withdrawal
• Firms Subcontractor's Bids
• Subcontractor's Obligations
• Monitoring Subcontractor's Performance
• Contractor’s Coordination Duty
• Contractor’s Cooperation
• Subcontractor's Access to Site
• Job Site Conditions
• Disputes Between subcontractors

Subcontractor Defaults

• Assistance to Defaulting subcontractor
• Financing the Subcontractor
• Reletting Subcontractor's Work
• Subcontractor's Performance Bond Surety
• Notice and Demand on Surety
• Surety Defenses
• Irresponsible Sureties
• Payments to Sub-subs,Suppliers
• Monitoring Sub’s Payments
• Contractor’s Direct Payments
• Avoiding “Double Payments”
• Lien and Bond Releases
• Sub’s Payment Bond Surety

Owner Inspection and Acceptance

• Formal Acceptance
• Punch-List Problems
• Implied Acceptance
• Acceptance of Defective Work
• Effect of Failure to Reject
• Impact of Interpretations
• Certificate of Final Completion
• “Substantial Performance” Doctrine
• “Economic Waste” Principle

Contractor Warranties

• Workmanship Warranties
• Construction Warranties
• Analysis of Warranty Clauses
• Major and Minor Coverage
• Implied Warranties
• Proof of Warranty Breach
• Owner’s Waiver of Warranty

The Sick Owner

• Payment Problems
• Bankruptcy of Owner
• Rights Against Construction Lender
• Lender’s “Inducements”
• Preventing Foreclosure
• Creditor’s Rights
• Practical Bail-Out Possibilities

Preparation of Claims

• Documentation Systems
• Daily Logs
• Use of Tape Recorders
• Polaroid photos
• Notices, Letters and Memos
• Experts
• Charts and Graphs
• Models and Samples
• Coordinating Visual Aids
• Your Lawyer-When and How

Negotiating Settlements

• When to Negotiate
• How to Prepare
• Selecting Your Team
• Analyzing the Opposition
• Negotiation Techniques
• Morals and Manners
• Last Ditch Positions
• Memorandum of Agreement

Arbitration of Disputes

• Owners/Subs/Other Primes Disputes
• Federal Arbitration Act
• State Arbitration Statutes
• Common Law Arbitration
• Contract Arbitration Clauses
• Arbitration Procedures
• Enforcement and Challenge of Award
• Effect on Continuing Performance
• Waiver of Arbitration Rights
• Disadvantages of Arbitration

Relief in the Courts

• Federal and State Courts
• Where to Go
• Lien Rights and Limitations
• Jury or Non-Jury Trial
• The Discovery Tool
• Presenting the Evidence
• Practical Considerations
• Types and Extent of Relief

Sponsor Background:

Instructor(s):

Instructor Background:

Lee C. Davis Partner in the Atlanta law firm of Griffin, Cochrane & Marshall • Concentrates his practice in construction law • Lecture on construction law at Colorado State University, and at the American Law Center in Moscow (Emory University) • Co-author and lecturer on Environmental Problems On The Georgia Jobsite published by Federal Publications • Member of the Atlanta Bar Association, the State Bar of Georgia, and the American Bar Association Section of Public Contract Law.

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