Construction Law
We know building starts with relationships.
Hilger Hammond construction law attorneys have deep experience protecting clients’ interests in construction law. A significant portion of our practice involves serving as general counsel and special litigation counsel to all players in the construction industry.
Our team of construction law attorneys work across the spectrum of the construction industry on matters relating to the preparation and negotiation of complex multi-party construction agreements; the pursuit or defense of construction defect, delay and lien claims, and many more matters specific to the construction industry.
We know that disputes must be resolved efficiently and effectively. We actively engage in pre-suit facilitation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. Where litigation is necessary, we have appeared in tribunals across the country, including state and federal courts and private arbitration panels.
Our Clients:
Construction Law Services
- Review of contract documents
- Contract drafting: AIA, AGC, EDJC, DBIA and ConsensusDOCS
- Negotiation of contract terms
- Assistance with Building Information Modeling
- Assistance with Integrated Project Delivery Methods
Litigation and Dispute Resolution
- Contract disputes
- Construction lien foreclosure
- Contractor theft and trust fund claims
- Payment and performance bond claims
- Construction defects
- Change order and formal claims
- Project schedule claims
- Schedule acceleration, compression, and loss of productivity claims
- Differing site conditions
- Project closeout and payment disputes
- Warranty claims
- Design defects
- Design professional liability claims and defense
- Defense of job site injury claims
- Mediation and arbitration
- Construction manager and design builder liability claims and defense
- Green building issues
- Blue print deviation issues
- Building code violations
- Professional licensing proceedings
- Mold Claims
- OSHA and MIOSHA investigations and claims
- Federal Miller Act claims
- Bid disputes and public procurement
- Insurance claims
- Risk management assessment
- Global risk management strategies
- Captive insurance
- Micro-captives and I.R.C. 831(b)
Project Management and Construction Consulting
- Contract document preparation and tracking
- Contractor qualification and background investigation
- Implementation cash-flow management principles
- Evaluation of treasury management services and financing
Construction Law Representative Cases:
- Negotiated $200 million IPD client for a general contractor
- Negotiated a complex settlement in litigation involving a defunct development and multiple subcontractor liens and bank mortgages
- Resolved claim against engineer prior to initiation of arbitration
- Obtained a summary disposition in a lawsuit concerning a claim of lien
- Successfully defended a general contractor at trial on a claim by subcontractor for a significant change order.
- Prepared and negotiated numerous commercial and residential construction contracts, including custom agreements and agreements prepared or endorsed by trade associations such as AIA, AGC, DBIA, EJCDC, and Grand Rapids HBA
- Evaluated bid irregularities and potential bid protests on behalf of owners and construction professionals involved in public projects
Hilger Hammond Construction Law Attorneys
Stephen Hilger
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Benjamin H. Hammond
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Aileen M. Leipprandt
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Mark A. Rysberg
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Christopher E. Nyenhuis
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Construction Law Resources & News
Changes to the 2017 AIA A201 General Conditions: Section 1.1.8 on Initial Decision Maker
This is part 1 of a 15-part series on the changes to the AIA A201 General Conditions. This part deals with section 1.1.8.
In the 2017 changes, particularly section 1.1.8, there are some fairly significant changes to the Initial Decision Maker clause. The changes are as follows:
First, in my humble opinion, the whole Initial Decision Maker process is a bad idea. It usually ends up, by default, being the Architect under section 15.2.1 because people generally do not change the language and select a third-party. So, you basically have the fox guarding the chicken coop. The Architect, as the Initial Decision Maker, has a lot of control over the outcome of the dispute.
This scenario was attempted to be worked out by the language that “the Initial Decision Maker shall not show partiality to the Owner or Contractor…” but that does not fix the problem. How do you deal with a breach of this provision?
Construction Contract Clauses, Part 7 – Indemnification and Insured Contract Coverage
Indemnification provisions frequently appear in construction and commercial contracts. They operate to shift risk from the party being provided indemnification to the party providing indemnification. The principle behind such risk shifting is to shift potential risks onto the party or parties that are best able to prevent, mitigate, or insure those risks. In that respect, indemnity provisions do not necessarily need to be a source of disagreement during contract negotiation.
Consider, for example, indemnification provisions that require one party to indemnify and defend other parties from the risks relating to personal injury and property damage. At first blush, the party who is to provide such indemnity may feel that they should not assume those risks. However, agreeing to a well-drafted provision requiring indemnification for personal injury or property damage can be a benefit to all of the parties—including the party providing the indemnity. Here is how that can occur.
Construction Disputes: Arbitration or Litigation?
This is Part 1 in a 20-part series of articles dealing with issues of arbitration in the construction industry.
The question of whether to arbitrate or litigate disputes comes up fairly frequently in the construction industry. From my humble perspective, with respect to construction disputes, there are very few circumstances where I would choose litigation over arbitration. Why?
Choice of Decision Maker
With arbitration, in general, you pick the decision maker(s) as opposed to being assigned a judge through a blind draw in the court system. That level of arbitrator selection may range from picking from a list under the American Arbitration Association Rules to hand picking a blue-ribbon panel of arbitrators or even a single arbitrator through private arbitration. If you are assigned a judge through the courts, you may end up with a judge who does criminal proceedings in the morning, divorce proceedings before lunch, and then handles your complex construction law dispute in the afternoon, in 15-minute increments, along with multiple other disputes in what looks to an outsider like a giant cattle call. Unless your contract provides otherwise, you may also be in the unlucky position to try your complex construction disputes to a jury.