I recently learned of a clause that a large general contractor has put in its contracts’ terms and conditions that make certain types of behavior a breach of contract. The clause states, in part: “XV. It is the goal of...
Big Jake was a rough, old-school project manager for a general contractor. He thought subcontractor work was never completely up to par and should go faster. Weekly, Big Jake emailed each of his subs that more crews were...
“Becky,” CFO of Amp-Up Electric, was worried about cost overruns on a school project. She discussed the problem with her friend “Alex” of Voltmore Electric. (The names have been changed to protect the innocent.) Here’s what...
Past articles have discussed difficult problems in contract language. Methods for making sense of ambiguities or simple imprecision in contract drafting have been developed by the courts. These rules work successfully, more...
Many disputes clauses have a statement to the effect that, in the event of a lawsuit or arbitration, the “prevailing party” will recover its attorney’s fees and costs. You might think it is a great idea to have that in your...
In my March column, I posed three problems from actual cases. These concerned imperfect contract language that caused financial impacts to the electrical contractors. When these issues are presented in court, there is little...
The problems electrical contractors are facing from the coronavirus epidemic are not only extremely difficult ones, but government actions seem to make the situation even more chaotic. There is an old curse that applies here...
For as long as people have been making contracts, they have been making imperfect ones. When a court is asked to make sense of faulty agreements—before a judge throws up his hands and says, “I can’t make any sense of this”...
It seems that every time an electrical contractor signs a construction agreement, it has the same hopes: the job will run smoothly, the bid was good, payments will be made on time and the other contracting party can be...
Some time ago, I started a list of “lies” that I have heard repeated to me. I am now up to #67. Among the items on the list are: No. 33: “I am trying to be reasonable.” No. 59: “I am not trying to tell you how to do your job...
Do you know what QA/QC means? Do you know how these terms may apply to your work? Very generally, quality assurance is a process, or set of directions that, if followed, is supposed to prevent mistakes. Quality control, on...
Believe it or not, the word and concept of “new” is not clearly defined in the law nor in general. We are familiar with the idea of something new meaning unused or maybe simply not old, but beyond that, we may give this...
It is not often easy to determine the cause of project disruptions. You know the schedule is in disarray, and other trades are impeding your work. Maybe the general contractor is the culprit, maybe the mason did not finish on...
A guideline for proper conduct was given to me years ago: You have acted ethically if you would not mind having your actions described in the morning newspaper. I have drawn situations in this article from real-life...
At the beginning of the Republic, tariffs were the primary source of money for the federal government. They were, and are, basically a tax. Since then, tariffs have been imposed, and the rates set, for innumerable...
Imagine bidding on a large shopping mall project. With so many trades working at the same time in a congested area, you need a designated lay-down area. Site access is important, as temporary roads are being built by others...
The following scenario is true, and my rendition of it comes from a recent case. First, the electrical contractor said to the owner: “Is there any problem with your financing for my job?” The owner said, “Come with me to my...
Contractors have a number of concerns when facing a lawsuit. What worries many contractors is the cost of attorney fees. Whether you are considering a lawsuit to collect on a claim or you are being sued, the expense of...
Everyone depends on everyone else in construction. All parties rely on the designer for accurate drawings; the subcontractors trust other subs will not interfere with their work; and all subcontractors expect the general...
In my January column, to start off your new year with fresh thinking, I posed seven scenarios. The key question in each was whether the electrical contractor acted reasonably. Before you read the answers below, pull out the...
