The Soto Law Group, P.A.

CONSTRUCTION PRACTICE GROUP                                                           Legal Information for the Construction Industry                                                              June 2015   THE NOTICE OF COMMENCEMENT: MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU MIGHT THINK Every construction project (should) begin with the recording of a Notice of Commencement. The notice is required to be signed by the owner of the project and recorded in the public records for the county in which the project is located. The notice should also be posted at the job location. What does it tell you? The notice typically contains the name and address of the owner, general contractor, surety and lender (if applicable). It may (but really must) contain a copy of any applicable payment and performance bond posted on the project. Why is it important? For the owner, any payments made to the contractor after the No

CONSTRUCTION PRACTICE GROUP Legal Information for the Construction Industry May 2015 2014: Cases of Interest   SLG attorneys, Oscar E. Soto and Jose A. Rodriguez, successfully   defended a national distributor of fabricated metal products from   a bankruptcy trustee’s preference and turnover claims exceeding two million dollars. The claims span Federal Courts in Delaware, Texas and Pennsylvania. The firm’s lawyers efficiently and expeditiously resolved the matter for less than 25% of the amount claimed.   SLG attorneys Oscar E. Soto and Felena R. Talbott successfully  represented the developers of a $50 million health care center in claims  asserted by the contractor and its surety. The case was successfully  resolved after extensive litigation with the developers off setting contract  balances and disputed changes orders against several millions of dollars of delay/liquidated damages.   SLG Partner, Felena R. Talbott and Associate, Jose A. Rodriguez,  successfull

     This  article is the third of a ten-part series analyzing ten critical construction clauses.   In this installment, we analyze the “Liquidated Damages Provision.” The first two articles, which addressed the indemnification clause and the mutual waiver of consequential damages clause, can be found at:  http://sotolawgroup.blogspot.com/2015/04/top-ten-construction-clauses-part-2.html I.             OVERVIEW        A  liquidated damages provision determines in advance the measure of damages if a party breaches the agreement.  The provision is most frequently utilized when a contractor fails to achieve substantial completion of the construction project by the date set forth in the contract.   Two common reasons for using a liquidated damages Provision are: (1) to avoid the difficulty and expense of proving an owner’s actual damages attributable to a contractor’s failure to achieve substantial completion on time; and (2) to incentivize the contractor to stay on the project schedu