If you are a general contractor (or the contractor responsible for hiring subcontractors), please make sure to procure a worker’s compensation and employer’s liability insurance policy.  Also, don’t think you are “fully covered” if you have worker’s compensation through a professional employer’s organization, otherwise known as a PEO. If you go with a PEO, or […]

The post QUICK NOTE: PROCURE WORKER’S COMPENSATION IN THE NAME OF YOUR COMPANY IF YOU ARE A GENERAL CONTRACTOR appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

A recent case out of the Middle District of Florida, The Peninsula at St. John’s Center Condominium Association, Inc. v. Amerisure Ins. Co., 2025 WL 1547631 (M.D.Fla. 2025) discusses what a party must do to RIGHTFULLY recover under a Coblentz agreement under Florida law: “In Florida, a party seeking to recover under a Coblentz agreement […]

The post RIGHTFULLY RECOVERING UNDER A COBLENTZ AGREEMENT appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

In government contracting, there is a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) on differing site conditions.  See F.A.R. 52-236-2. This regulation, and the standard, would apply outside of government contracting when you hear about differing site conditions claims. I. TYPE I DIFFERING SITE CONDITIONS A type 1 differing site conditions claim occurs when “[s]ubsurface or latent physical […]

The post TYPE I AND TYPE II DIFFERING SITE CONDITIONS CLAIMS appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

If you are pursuing an all-risk first-party property insurance claim on behalf of an insured, or defending such a claim on behalf of an insurer, a recent case includes a short snippet explaining the corresponding burdens of proof: To make a claim under an all-risk policy, the insured must establish that her home suffered a […]

The post QUICK NOTE: BURDEN OF PROVING AND DEFENDING ALL RISK PROPERTY INSURANCE CLAIMS appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

A recent matter with the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals discusses a cardinal change theory of liability. A cardinal change “occurs when the government effects an alteration in the work so drastic that it effectively requires the contractor to perform duties materially different from those originally bargained for.” … A cardinal change can occur even […]

The post CARDINAL CHANGE EXAMINES THE ENTIRE, FACTUAL UNDERTAKING appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

“There are generally two types of specifications: design specifications, which tell the contractor in detail how the work is to be performed; and performance specifications, which tell the contractor the end result that is expected and leave it to the contractor to determine the best way to get to the result.” Appeals of Skanska USA […]

The post IMPOSSIBILITY OF PERFORMANCE AS EXCUSE TO FAILURE TO ACHIEVE PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATION appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

In the previous posting, I discuss the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals’ case of Quality Trust, Inc.  That case deals with a claim known as constructive suspension.  However, the case also discusses unabsorbed home office overhead damages known as Eichleay damages, which are hard damages to prove.  Below describes the elements a party MUST prove […]

The post QUICK NOTE: EICHLEAY DAMAGES (UNABSORBED HOME OFFICE OVERHEAD) appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

A claim for constructive suspension does exist: “Constructive suspension occurs when work is stopped absent an express order by the contracting officer and the [G]overnment is found to be responsible for the work stoppage.”  “A constructive suspension will be found on the same elements and has the same effect and consequences as an actual suspension.”  […]

The post A CLAIM FOR CONSTRUCTIVE SUSPENSION DOES EXIST appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

Ogden v. Defelice, 50 Fla.L.Weekly D937d (Fla. 5th DCA 2025), is a construction case that doesn’t talk about construction issues. Go figure. Nonetheless, it does touch upon two worthy considerations: (i) admissions in answers to lawsuits; and (ii) fictitious names. Both issues apply to construction disputes. In this case, plaintiff sued a person d/b/a (doing business […]

The post ADMISSIONS IN ANSWERS TO CONSTRUCTION LAWSUITS MATTER appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

Just because you are pursuing a claim for unjust enrichment does not mean you don’t have to still prove your damages with a reasonable degree of certainty. You ABSOLUTELY do: Under Florida law, unjust enrichment damages must reflect the reasonable value of the plaintiff’s labor and costs expended for the benefit of the defendant or […]

The post UNJUST ENRICHMENT DAMAGES MUST BE MEASURABLE AND QUANTIFIABLE appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.