An often-overlooked part of contract negotiations is the language included in the performance bond.  While the owner or contractor (bond obligee) requires a performance bond and pays for it, negotiating efforts are typically spent on the main contract language itself rather than the bond.  A common go-to performance bond form used in the construction industry…

The recent Connecticut Appellate Court decision in Electrical Contractors, Inc. v. 50 Morgan Hospitality Group, LLC, 211 Conn. App. 724 (2022), eliminated any remaining doubt regarding a subcontractor’s right to payment for work performed when the subcontract includes a “pay-if-paid” provision. A pay-if- paid provision that makes an owner’s payment to the general contractor (GC)…

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Contract Documents program recently released a limited number of state-specific Sworn Construction Statements and Lien Waiver and Release forms for use on construction projects. At the same time, the AIA also released generic versions of the waiver and release forms for use in states without specific statutory requirements.

At…

Below is an excerpt of an article published in Construction Executive on August 9, 2022 authored by Megan R. Naughton, co-chair of Robinson+Cole’s Immigration Group. 

Although the visa options are limited, there are some that can be explored by construction companies in the United States, including the following.

H-1B

The H-1B visa category…

The purpose of a liquidated damages provision in a construction contract is to establish in advance a fair amount of compensation to the injured party for a breach of contract to avoid spending time and money fighting over uncertain actual damages after they occur.  Generally, to be enforceable, a liquidated damages provision must satisfy three…

Terminating a contract is a serious and sometimes risky decision. Whenever a client seeks advice regarding termination, a lawyer should stress the importance of strict compliance with the contractually specified termination provisions. One misstep by a terminating party who otherwise did nothing wrong could be a material breach of contract exposing the terminator to potentially large damages,…

Below is an excerpt of an article co-authored by Megan Baroni and Jon Schaefer and published in Construction Executive on June 28, 2022. Megan and Jon are partners in Robinson+Cole’s Environmental, Energy + Telecommunications Group.

Most contractors don’t know they can be cited for an OSHA violation even if their own employee is not exposed to…