Practice
Construction Disputes & Risk
Construction disputes can bring contracts, insurance, indemnity and damages into the same matter. The useful starting point is often to map the project relationships and the documents that assigned work, responsibility and risk.
What may shape the dispute
The parties' roles, the scope of work, change orders, notice requirements and project communications can affect how a claim should be understood. Contractual indemnification, insurance procurement and additional-insured questions may also change the practical allocation of defense costs or loss.
A dispute may involve alleged property damage, delay, payment, defective work or another claimed project loss. Those labels do not by themselves resolve which agreement, insurance program or factual record controls. The relationships among those materials can be as important as any one document.
Records worth gathering
Preserving the project record can make the sequence of work, notice and claimed damage easier to evaluate.
- Prime contracts, subcontracts, exhibits, change orders and purchase orders
- Insurance requirements, certificates, policies, endorsements and tenders
- Daily reports, schedules, photographs, inspection records and meeting minutes
- Notices, emails, payment applications, invoices and claimed-damage support
- A chronology identifying the work, participants, events and material communications
How related issues overlap
A construction claim can become an insurance dispute, while a coverage position can depend on the construction contracts and underlying allegations. Considering the project agreements, tenders and litigation posture together helps identify where responsibility may be contested and which issues should be preserved.
Discuss a matter
Share the basic facts and documents you believe matter. The firm will review the information before determining whether it can assist.
Contact Seltzer Counsel