Overview
Gunster has represented clients across the construction industry for decades. Our experience in representing many parties to the construction industry — including lenders, owners, builders, developers and suppliers — allows our attorneys to continuously strive to meet and exceed each client’s needs. Our experience on a wide range of projects helps us to understand the industry and its unique challenges.
Gunster is dedicated to providing a Construction law practice that is both diverse and dynamic. Our attorneys negotiate and draft the full range of construction, design and other professional service contracts, with the goal of employing an interactive, efficient approach designed to detect problems early and to identify, assess and mitigate risk.
Our litigators have been involved in a wide variety of complicated construction claims. A sampling of the firm’s Construction litigation abilities includes:
- Bid protests, including withdrawal of a bid, responding to claims against a bid bond and disputes pertaining to bid awards and protests
- Extra and change work orders, including claims for out of scope work involving owners, contractors or design professionals, and covering such issues as contract abandonment, damage assessment and documentation
- Defective work matters pertaining to patent and latent defects analyzed from a contractual, building code or standard of care perspective
- Delays, disruptions and acceleration claims involving scheduling disputes, lost time and resulting damages
- Mechanic’s liens, stop notice and bond claims pertaining to compliance, recording or obtaining the release of liens, as well as the use of and response to stopping, making or defeating claims against lien release payment and performance bonds
- Professional liability involving design professionals and regarding plan development, detailing, consistency between drawings and specifications, constructability and changed plans
- State and federal false claims between public entity owners and contractors
- Labor and prevailing wage law disputes, such as claims brought by governmental entities or private parties pertaining to Florida prevailing wage laws and the federal Davis-Bacon Act
- Mold claims involving complex economic, health, safety and insurance questions
Litigation is not always the desired course of action to resolve conflict, particularly in complex, time sensitive, expensive and multiparty construction projects. With that in mind, our Construction team is committed to resolving even the most hotly contested disputes outside of court and with less delay and expense than in the traditional litigation process. The firm’s lawyers are involved in the arbitration and mediation of construction disputes of all kinds, which can result in significant cost and time savings for our clients.
Construction matters cannot be solved with a one size fits all approach. Our philosophy in analyzing and mitigating risk is the same whether our attorneys are negotiating a deal or helping to resolve a dispute. Early detection of problems is critical. Our team seeks to assist clients in a timely manner, and to identify threats and structure transactions and legal defenses that mitigate risk while still making the deal work.
