Liquidated Damages and Delay Attorneys
Overview
Liquidated damages are fees presented to the contractor for failing to complete the project by the date specified for in the contract documents. Each day completion is delayed beyond the specified time, the contractor shall forfeit and pay to the agency involved a specified sum of money, which may be deducted from any payments. Some valid, excusable delays that will allow for an extension of time are things that are out of the contractors control such as but not limited to Acts of God, owner requested changes, or bad weather.
The liquidated damages and delay attorneys at Flores Ryan, LLP have expertise in every aspect of liquidated damages and delay remedies. We provide the legal expertise to ensure that each liquidated damages and delay dispute is handled efficiently and effectively. Our extensive experience as liquidated damages and delay attorneys allows us to advance disputes strategically to maximize the likelihood of a rapid and substantial recovery.
ARTICLES
Notice Of Nonresponsibility: Is It Enforceable?
This article covers the basics of California Notice's of Nonresponsibility
CSLB Arbitration: Will It Work For Me?
Contractors can learn the specifics of what CSLB mandatory & voluntary arbitration is and the criteria required in order to participate in such arbitrations.
Establishing Breach Of Contract: You’ve Got To Prove It!
This article contains suggestions and strategies for establishing breach of contract.
Don’t Go Changin’…Unless You’ve Followed Your Change Order Procedure
This article provides a basic overview of change orders, from what a change order is to the consequences of failing to follow change order procedure.
KEY POINTS
- The law governing liquidated damages clauses in commercial contracts (California Civil Code §1671(b)) provides that the clause is valid unless the liquidated damages imposed for a breach are "unreasonable under the circumstances existing at the time the contract was made".
- Construction contracts often provide for the payment of liquidated damages at a set amount per day for each day the project is delayed beyond the completion date stated in the contract.
- Liquidated damages clauses should be drafted with caution, an owner with substantial interest payments on a construction loan alongside possible loss of rental income from delays may be exposed to even greater losses than the liquidated amount.
- When a surety takes over on a project from a defaulting contractor and completes the work, it stands in the same position the contractor did and is similarly liable for liquidated damages under the contract.
FORMS
Below you can generate the following forms applicable to public works disputes: