From planning and design through actual completion, disputes can arise at any point of a construction project. Often these disputes impact multiple parties and involve complicated issues with a number of possible causes. Safety issues, cost overruns and losses due to delays and the need to make repairs are just some of the issues that can affect a construction project.

SOHJ has argued a wide variety of construction-related disputes, earning the reputation of being a go-to firm for effective and efficient dispute resolution. In each instance, we work with our clients to determine their goals and devise the best plan of action, which may include anything from litigation to arbitration or negotiated settlement.

Our lawyers are expert in all aspects of dispute resolution and construction law and remain current on industry and legal developments. We regularly handle trials and appeals involving construction disputes, as well as international and domestic arbitrations. Representing local, national and international clients, we have advised and argued cases on behalf of international engineering and construction firms and owners. Among the cases we have handled are professional malpractice, professional negligence, defective products and workmanship, delay and cost-overrun disputes, breach of contract, and a host of other claims.

In addition to extensive experience with resolving construction disputes, our lawyers publish and speak on construction-related topics and are active members of industry associations.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS:

Our $34.5 million win for a publicly traded national engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor against the owner in a federal court jury case was recognized by The National Law Journal as one of its “Verdicts of the Week” and ranked 68th on the “NLJ 100” list of the largest verdicts of the year.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS:

• Representing an offshore platform engineering and construction firm in a breach of contract action arising out of the construction of an offshore gas production facility, in which our client is seeking $170 million in damages resulting from the facility owner’s delays and changes. The case is particularly complex, involving more than 9 million documents (more than 6 terabytes of data) and witnesses in Kuala Lumpur, Monaco, Schiedem, Netherlands, Houston, Halifax, Calgary, among other places.
• Defending a commercial contractor against claims that it negligently built a wharf, requiring an additional $35 million in costs to stabilize it. Involving multiple potentially liable parties, liability allocation and complicated geotechnical engineering and structural design issues, there is a suit by the wharf owner against the designers for negligent design as well as the designers’ claims against our client for negligent construction.
• Representing a contractor in an international arbitration, we recovered $91 million in damages as compensation for owner-caused changes to an offshore oil production platform in the Bay of Campeche Mexico and delays.
• Representing a major government contractor in a breach-of-contract action related to a civil construction project in Iraq, we obtained the dismissal of the case on jurisdictional grounds, and subsequently reached a favorable settlement on behalf of our client.
• Represented an international, publicly traded engineering, procurement, and construction company in a contract dispute with a subcontractor relating to the installation of fiber-optic cable in the central business district of major U.S. city.
• Representing a national hotel chain in a multimillion-dollar breach-of-warranty case against the contractor and manufacturer regarding exterior-wall products, we obtained a favorable settlement for our client.
• Represented a power company in a multimillion-dollar construction claim against the contractor for its power plant seeking liquidated damages based on unexcused delays. We obtained a complete victory for our client, which included an approximately $10 million judgment on its counterclaim and no recovery for the claimant.
• Representing the claimant-defendant in an ICC arbitration over the construction of a power plant in Peru, we obtained an award of approximately $10 million on our client’s counterclaim with a finding of no liability on the respondent’s claims. After the award was affirmed on appeal by the federal district court, we settled the case for the full $10 million ICC arbitration award.
• Represented an engineering company on its breach of contract claims against the owner of an oil refinery in Siberia, in the Former Soviet Union, in an arbitration decided under Russian law. The two-week arbitration, which took place in London, England, concluded with a final award of approximately $14 million in our client’s favor.
• Represented a publicly traded national engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor in an international arbitration against the owner of the world’s largest steel plant in Trinidad. Related to the implementation of a reliability centered maintenance (RCM) program and owner’s breaches related to same, the case concluded with a favorable settlement by which our client received a substantial payment.