Construction Law
During all phases of a construction project, from conception to completion, our attorneys offer advice and counsel to our development, design, and construction clients, including owners, developers, design professionals, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and insurance carriers. Our expertise includes the negotiation, drafting, and review of contracts; interfacing with government officials and consultants; advising clients on the performance issues that often arise during the course of construction; pursuing and defending mechanic’s liens, surety bonds, and other claims for payment; and representation in complex, multi-party litigation concerning product and construction defects.
Our attorneys know how projects come together, and they know how projects can fall apart. Unfortunately, the nature and complexity of business relationships involved in a construction project sometimes lead to disputes over performance, payment, and responsibility. In the event a client's project becomes the subject of actual or threatened legal action, our attorneys are prepared to vigorously protect the interests of the client.
Butler Williams & Skilling, P.C. is known for knowledgeable and cost-effective legal representation. Because the cost of litigation sometimes outweighs its benefits, the pragmatic solution of a dispute can call for compromise. Our attorneys are respected for their ability to settle disputes without resorting to litigation, and offer assistance in mediation, arbitration, and other forms of alternative dispute resolution.
Representative Engagements:
- In the construction defect context, we played a leading role in the defense of over fifteen lawsuits in Virginia state and federal courts against a supplier of fill material used in the construction of numerous commercial projects, schools, and churches. Collectively, these cases sought over $60 million, and the litigation spanned more than seven years. Our attorneys were instrumental in reducing the claims and in ensuring that the parties responsible for the damage were at the table in each case. In one case, our deposition of the owner’s construction expert resulted in the reduction of the claim from $11 million to $4 million. In another case, our client was dismissed altogether. All of the cases were resolved to the satisfaction of our client and its insurance carriers.
- Our attorneys have significant experience in the area of drafting, reviewing, and interpreting contracts relating to construction. We prefer to review contracts before our clients sign them, but when that is not possible, our attorneys are well-versed in contract interpretation and enforcement. In one case involving a non-compete agreement between two bidders on a federal government project, we successfully defended a lawsuit which sought to prohibit our client from bidding on the contract. On our motion, the non-compete agreement was declared void as violative of federal government regulations favoring competition, and the case was dismissed with prejudice. The client went on to obtain several contracts with the government.
- Our attorneys achieved the legal equivalent of a “hat trick” for one client, a site work contractor who was sued when a large portion of a retaining wall it was contracted to build around a shopping center collapsed. The client faced a large claim by the shopping center owner, and the same owner refused to pay monies owed to the client. To make matters worse, the client’s insurance carrier refused to defend the claim. Our attorneys forced the insurance carrier to comply with its obligation to defend the claim, litigated and ultimately obtained a favorable settlement of the claim, and also collected for the client most of its unpaid retainage.
- One of our clients had trouble getting paid for its role in the construction of a natural gas pipeline through several counties in Southwest Virginia. Our attorneys pursued parallel courses of action, suing the utility company in federal court while simultaneously filing in state courts over 200 mechanic’s liens against utility easements in three counties. Ultimately, the client received payment.
- Construction can be a dangerous activity, often resulting in injuries and deaths; claims often follow. Our lawyers are experienced in defending such claims. For example, a client engaged in the leasing of scaffolding systems was sued when a project superintendent, involved in the renovation of an office building, fell from a ninth-floor platform and was killed. We moved to dismiss the claim against our client on the ground that the client was a “statutory employer” of the decedent, with the result that the claim was barred by workers’ compensation laws. The decision was upheld by the Supreme Court of Virginia in Peck v. Safway Steel Prods., Inc., 262 Va. 522, 551 S.E.2d 328 (2001).
- Another fatal accident involved the installation and testing of a CO2 fire suppression system on a U.S. Navy ship. In that case, we successfully defended several lawsuits brought in federal court against the manufacturer of the system. Plaintiffs alleged, among other things, that the system manufactured by our client was defective. Ultimately, all of the cases were settled with no monetary contribution by the client.