Katz & Stone's practice includes advising clients in contract negotiations, handling performance problems, the documentation and pricing of requests for equitable adjustment based on delays, lost productivity, variations and impact, termination, as well as the prosecution and defense of construction claims. Our practice areas span the entire life of a construction project.

Bidding and Negotiating

• Bid document review - We help our clients understand and interpret specifications that are relevant to the client's bidding strategy.
  
  
• Bid protests - We represent clients before public bodies in asserting (or defending against) bid protests based on claims of non-responsiveness and/or non-responsibility.
  
  
• Contract review - We advise clients in the risk management review of proposed contracts and subcontracts to identify and resolve contract clauses that attempt to avoid, minimize and/or allocate significant construction risks.
  
  
• Preparation of construction contracts - We assist clients in the development of standard form and project-specific contracts designed to minimize construction risk exposures.  We have years of experience with the forms of contract typically used in the construction industry, e.g., lump sum, guaranteed maximum price, design-build, EJCDC, FIDIC, RIBA, CDB, AIA, AGC, and ASA.
  
  
• Negotiating construction contracts - We represent clients in the negotiation of proposed contracts with owners and/or general contractors and their counsel.
  

Performance Issues

• Scope of work disputes - We help clients prepare claims for equitable adjustment or an increase in contract value resulting from extra work, change orders, variations, and other changes, increases or decreases in the contracted scope of work and conditions of performance.  Related services include reviewing relevant contract documents to ensure that there is a sound contractual basis for the change in scope, preparing notice of the scope change in order to conform with contract notice requirements, and, where necessary, seeking recovery for the change in scope under the dispute procedures allowed by the contract.
  
  
• Delays and delay claims - We assist our clients in identifying and documenting excusable and compensable delays to the project schedule for which relief is available under the contract documents or as a matter of law.  Our attorneys help determine the factual and legal basis for entitlement to an extension to the schedule; assist the client in complying with all requisite notice requirements; evaluate whether a time extension request is arguably barred by such risk allocation provisions as 'no damages for delay' clauses; assess the impact of the delay on the project schedule and project costs; and represent the client in recovering for delay according to the dispute procedures under the contract.  In this particular area of our practice, our attorneys often work with the client's scheduling personnel or consultants.
  
  
• Acceleration claims - We help clients develop the issues associated with acceleration claims. Our attorneys analyze whether or not the work has been accelerated either by constructive order or directed order to accelerate; assist clients in calculating and proving the impact of acceleration on the project schedule and construction costs; evaluate the documentation required to establish the existence and impact of acceleration on project performance; and represent our clients in recovering acceleration claims according to the dispute procedures under the contract.
  
  
• Lost efficiency and productivity claims - Claims for lost productivity and/or efficiency resulting from such impacts as change orders and changed job conditions are among the most difficult to recover, owing to the challenges of proving impact and calculating damages.  Katz & Stone has considerable experience in the successful prosecution of lost efficiency and lost productivity claims, whether the claim arises from errors and omissions in the contract documents, delays in responding to requests for information (RFIs), changes in the work, changes in sequence, or from any other reason which affects the efficiency of the contractor's field operations. We assist our clients in documenting and giving notice of the reasons contributing to lost efficiency; assessing the impact of lost efficiency on the client's performance; selecting and calculating alternative methods for proving the financial impact of lost productivity on job costs; and recovering lost productivity claims according to the disputes procedures under the contract.
  
  
• Design liability - We help evaluate claims against design professionals arising from allegations of professional malpractice. Working with the client's expert, we assess whether or not there has been a violation of the standard of care applicable to the project and, if so, the impact of the violation upon the claimant's performance.  Where the claim against the designer cannot be negotiated to a successful resolution, we represent our clients in the resolution of the dispute under the relevant contract procedures.
  
  
• Default termination - Clients often retain Katz & Stone after they have been terminated for default.  Our services in this area include a review of the contract's termination procedures to determine whether or not the termination is procedurally correct, as well as a review of the underlying facts to evaluate whether the bases alleged for termination are meritorious.  Where we conclude that the termination was defective, whether for procedural or merit reasons, we represent clients in actions to reverse the termination and recover damages from the party who terminated our client's performance.
  
  
• Performance bond claims - When a bonded contractor is terminated for default or abandons the project, claims are made against the contractor's performance bond surety. We are experienced in both prosecuting and defending against bond claims and have successfully represented owners, contractors and sureties in such actions. We also have extensive experience in recovering from sureties who fail to process bond claims in good faith.
  
  
• Defective work - We assist clients in asserting and/or refuting claims based on defective work.  Related services include analyzing the level of performance provided in contrast to the level of performance required under the contract documents and assuring that timely notice is given in connection with the performance of remedial work for which reimbursement is sought.
  
  
• Warranty claims - We represent clients in the prosecution and defense of warranty claims for post-completion defects.  Our services in this area include a review of the level of performance rendered, whether the defects alleged were caused by external forces for which the client is not responsible, whether such claims may still be maintained under the prevailing statute of limitations or statute of repose, and whether there are related performance bond and/or completed operations insurance coverage issues.
  
  
• Payment disputes - A considerable part of our practice is devoted to representing clients in payment disputes.  Whether we are asserting payment claims on behalf of contractors and subcontractors (or suppliers), or defending against such claims on behalf of owners, contractors or sureties, we are thoroughly familiar with, and experienced in the various methods of recovering contract payments, including mediation, litigation, arbitration, and other forms of alternative dispute resolution, as well as mechanic's liens and payment bond claims.
  
  
• Occupational safety and health administration enforcement actions - We have considerable experience in representing clients in challenging occupational safety and health enforcement actions under both federal and state regulatory schemes.  We assist clients in developing successful defenses to the citations and litigating them, if necessary.
  
  

Contract Dispute Resolution

We routinely represent clients in the resolution of construction contract disputes.  Our work in this area includes the following services:

• Mediation - When our clients consent or are required by their contracts to mediate, we represent them in the mediation and assist them in structuring arguments designed to appeal to mediators.  Often, our clients' disputes are successfully resolved in mediation, thus avoiding the need for litigation or arbitration.
  
  
• Construction arbitration - Many standard form construction contracts provide for binding arbitration. We have lengthy and successful experience in representing parties in complex construction industry arbitrations, whether under the Construction Industry Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association, or before contract-specific arbitration tribunals or under arbitration systems of other countries, for example, Bermuda.
  
  
• Litigation - When the contract documents require that the parties must resort to litigation to resolve their disputes, Katz & Stone represents its clients in both state and federal courts.  We are experienced in the successful litigation of complex construction disputes and in the management and analysis of the voluminous project documents that often accompany such disputes.  Where necessary, representation extends to appeals in state and federal appellate courts.