Construction

The Construction Law Practice at Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper has some of the leading construction attorneys in New Jersey. We also have a number of attorneys that are nationally recognized for their capabilities and knowledge. We have represented clients in some of the largest construction disputes in the state and have established some of the leading reported case law on issues arising out of public contract law.

Lindabury provides the full scope of legal services to businesses and other organizations in the construction industry—everything from the inception of the projects, including negotiation with the design team, to final wrap up of the project, resulting in acceptance and final payment to architects, engineers and contractors. We also provide representation in all venues for disputes arising out of projects, including representation in arbitration and mediation.

We represent a broad range of clients in all areas of construction law, including trade associations, owners, contractors, vendors, sureties and insurance companies. We are general counsel to the Mechanical Contractors Association of New Jersey and are recognized as special counsel for the Mechanical Contractors Association of America. We are also counsel to the New Jersey Chapter of the American Subcontractors Association. Additionally, we have represented some of the major institutional owners and sureties and have a working familiarity with all areas and disciplines involved in the construction process for both public and private projects.

Our Construction Law attorneys have been involved in a great variety of projects, extending as high as $50 million. We have provided extensive representation of entities in public construction projects, including construction of numerous projects under the Education Facilities Financing Act and the oversight of the New Jersey Schools Construction Corporation.

We are particularly well-suited for representation in school construction projects because of our extensive representation of school boards. We have represented several dozen school boards across New Jersey and have a deep knowledge of the administrative regulations and state and federal law governing their operations.

Areas of Practice
  • Contracts
    • Development, preparation, administration of Owner - Contractor contracts
    • Preparation, review and negotiation of Owner - Architect/Engineer contracts
    • Development, preparation, administration of Contractor - Subcontractor contracts
  • Bids and Bidding
    • Government procurement
    • Review and oversight of bid documents and procedures for public bidding
    • Presiding over the bid process and resolving all bidding complaints and deficiencies
    • Defense and prosecution of bid challenges
    • Advice and counsel regarding bid mistakes - right to withdraw bids
    • Advice and counsel regarding material and waiveable bid errors
  • Claims
    • Defense and prosecution of claims including:
      • Change orders/extra scope
      • Delay claims
      • Acceleration
      • Liquidated damages and extensions of time
      • "Pay-when-paid" contracts
  • Construction Liens and Municipal Mechanics Liens
    • Preparation and filing of liens
    • Advice and counsel regarding lien waivers
    • Advice and counsel regarding lien requirements and deadlines
    • Prosecution of liens
  • Surety Claims
    • Filing of surety claims
    • Negotiation with the surety
    • Contractor default and termination
    • Contractor bankruptcy
  • General Counsel
    • Interface with owner and design professionals on recommendations for awards and thereafter implementation of the construction process including notice to proceed, execution of contracts, review of insurance and surety bonds.
    • Advice and counsel regarding the progress and administration of the construction project.
    • Final resolution of any and all claims, disputes, outstanding liens or any other outstanding matters needed to be resolved prior to final and full acceptance of the projects to the satisfaction of the owner.
  • Owner Representation

Our construction law team produced a multi-part series titled, Protecting Your Investment, which outlined strategies for building material and labor suppliers so they may protect their business from customer defaults. Links to the series are below.