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.”  […]

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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 […]

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Constructing licensing is governed under Florida Statutes Chapter 489. Under Florida Statute s. 489.128, an unlicensed contractor has NO rights or remedies. Stated differently, an unlicensed contractor is “sh*t out of luck!”.   However, what’s been complicated, and it really shouldn’t be, is what contractors need to be licensed through the state of Florida by the […]

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A non-construction case touches upon important considerations regarding arbitration and agency principles. Agency principles matter and while this case deals with agency principles relative to arbitration, the principles can be extrapolated to a variety of scenarios. Here are the key facts in the case. A mother obtained tickets to a football game and brought her […]

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A contract is a contract. It should say what it means and means what it says.  A release is construed like a contract. A change order or bilateral modification is construed like a contract. The decision out of the United States Court of Federal Claims, B.L. Harbert International, LLC v. US, 2025 WL 914388 (Fed.Cl. […]

The post A CONTRACT IS A CONTRACT: RELEASES AND CHANGE ORDERS / BILATERAL MODIFICATIONS ARE CONSTRUED AS CONTRACTS appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

The Spearin doctrine is a doctrine in the construction industry that broadly means the owner impliedly warrants the constructability of the plans and specifications given to the contractor. This implied warranty attaches to a design specification, but not a performance specification. A question arises as to whether the Spearin doctrine can apply in the design-build […]

The post SPEARIN DOCTRINE CAN APPLY IN DESIGN-BUILD CONTEXT appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

A note on subrogation. There are two types of subrogation recognized in Florida: (1) conventional subrogation; and (2) equitable subrogation. “‘Conventional subrogation arises or flows from a contract between the parties establishing an agreement that the party paying the debt will have the rights and remedies of the original creditor.’” Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London […]

The post FLORIDA RECOGNIZES TWO TYPES OF SUBROGATION: (1) CONVENTIONAL SUBROGATION; AND (2) EQUITABLE SUBROGATION appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

When you are in a dispute, one of the first things you want to look at is the dispute resolution provision(s) in your contract.  What does the provision(s) say? (There could be more than one provision.) Do you need to mediate first? Are disputes decided via arbitration or litigation? Is there a venue provision? Is […]

The post FOLLOW THE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROVISION(S) IN YOUR CONTRACT appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.

Welcome to Florida! If you deal with construction defects in Florida, then you know, or certainly should know, about Florida Statutes Chapter 558.  Chapter 558  contains the pre-suit notice requirements before instituting a construction defect lawsuit. They are a “must know” if you practice in the construction defect world. While I may not be a […]

The post MAKE SURE YOU COMPLY WITH FLORIDA’S PRE-SUIT NOTICE REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSTRUCTION DEFECTS appeared first on Florida Construction Legal Updates.