All posts by : Alves Radcliffe

Construction sites located in the Bay Area and Central California bustle with activity from the break of dawn to before the sun sets to end the workday. The dedicated professionals hired for residential construction projects work hard to keep the projects on track to finish on time and within the budget agreed to by both the general contractor and the residential property owner. Because of the detailed planning required to complete a residential construction project, issues can arise that if not addressed immediately, and can lead to the client or the general contractor taking legal action.

Taking legal action presents many negative outcomes for both parties, which include temporarily stopping or permanently ending a project. An experienced construction attorney helps residential property owners prevent one or more legal issues from disrupting a project. Construction disputes are common occurrences, which leads to the question, what are the main causes of disputes in the construction industry?

Design and Planning Errors

As a residential property owner, you spent time hearing the design plans of the team of professionals working for the general contractor. You received every important piece of information that allowed you to approve the start of your residential construction project. Whether you signed a contract for a minor home renovation or the construction of a new property, you expected the design plan to be implemented without a hitch.

However, changes and variations in the original design plan are common, which can put residential property owners at odds with the general contractor in charge of a construction project. Design and planning errors typically develop early in a project when one or more issues cause the general contractor to change the original design plan. If you experience design and planning errors, a construction attorney can help resolve your real estate dispute.

Delays by a Contractor

Every phase of a residential construction project is extremely time-sensitive. Just a couple of short delays can lead to a major disruption in the completion of a residential construction project. Construction delays are a common element in planning a project, from factoring in inclement weather to a supply chain breakdown for vital materials.

One or more construction project delays can cost residential property owners a considerable amount of time and money, which can prompt the initiation of legal action. An attorney can help you interpret the legal consequences of this type of construction law violation.

Late or Inadequate Reviews by Engineers

Construction engineers play an important role in determining the status of a residential construction project. When a team of engineers delivers a late review or a review that lacks adequate information, a residential construction project can get bogged down in a wide variety of errors. Although one or more mistakes made by a team of engineers can provide a residential property owner with a valid reason to take legal action, working with an experienced construction attorney can help the client avoid the costly and time-consuming litigation process.

Alves Radcliffe, LLP — Construction Attorney

If you have a construction related dispute, call Alves Radcliffe, LLP at 916-333-3375 or send us an email. We have over 25 years of combined experience, and serve clients throughout Greater Sacramento, Northern California, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

An experienced construction attorney licensed to practice law in California provides several types of legal support for clients. For example, construction attorneys conduct exhaustive investigations to uncover evidence and determine the cause of a legal dispute. The best construction lawyers know how to address the three most common causes of construction lawsuits.

Negligence

When a construction industry professional faces claims of failure to complete their obligations listed in a contract, the construction industry professional can face a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages for what is referred to as professional negligence. Here are three common sources of professional negligence committed in the construction industry.

General and Special Contractors

The most common type of professional negligence in the construction industry concerns a general or special contractor failing to meet the stipulations listed in a construction contract. Professional negligence committed by a general or special contractor often involves one or more defects in the design and/or construction phase of a project.

Architects and Engineers

If an architect designs or approves the design of a structure that does not meet local building codes, safety regulations, and/or another type of requirement, the architect can be held legally liable for committing an act of professional negligence. Engineers also can face legal consequences for creating or approving inferior designs.

Suppliers

Suppliers owe customers a duty of care to deliver safe materials that meet the quality standards listed in a construction contract. Another legal obligation suppliers must meet is to deliver supplies by the dates listed in a construction contract. If a defect develops during a construction project and the general contractor can trace fault for the defect back to inferior materials, the supplier responsible for delivering the inferior materials can be held legally liable for professional negligence.

Payment Dispute

Payment disputes are about as common as cases of professional negligence. The disputes typically arise out of the terms written into a construction contract. Property owners assume responsibility for making payments on time, and if a property owner falls behind on one or more payments, the general contractor overseeing the project can request that a mechanic’s lien be placed on the owner’s property.

The two most common reasons for a payment dispute to develop involve project delays and ambiguously worded construction contracts. You also might have to deal with a payment dispute that results from the scope of the work required of the general contractor and the team of special contractors.

A payment dispute can trigger a domino effect, in which a withheld payment to the general contractors trickles down to every other partner working on a construction project.

Project Delay

Property owners expect their projects to follow the timelines written into construction contracts. Unfortunately, many factors can force the delay of a construction project. One of the biggest problems facing general contractors in 2022 concerns supply chain disruptions. Other factors that delay construction projects include bad weather and an acute labor shortage.

Project delays typically receive four types of classifications: Excusable, inexcusable, compensable, and non-compensable. Your construction attorney reviews your case to determine which classification a project delay falls under.

Alves Radcliffe, LLP — Construction Attorney

If you have a construction related dispute, call Alves Radcliffe, LLP at 916-333-3375 or send us an email. We have over 25 years of combined experience, and serve clients throughout Greater Sacramento, Northern California, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Construction law is one of the most complex types of legal practices that frequently involves several issues surrounding a dispute between a property owner and a general contractor. Several different parties that include a homeowner, general contractor, material supplier, lending institution, and/or one or more special contractors can become embroiled in a legal dispute that takes a considerable amount of time and financial resources to resolve. Receiving legal support from an experienced construction attorney significantly boosts your case against a general contractor during a breach of contract dispute.

Hiring a construction attorney provides you with several types of legal support. First, a lawyer conducts a thorough investigation into your case. For a breach of contract, this involves reviewing the contract to determine the legal obligations placed on the general contractor. Your construction attorney then decides whether the general contractor has violated any of the legal obligations written into the contract. If the general contractor discovers one or more violations of the construction contract, you consult with your attorney to agree on the best solution to resolve the breach of contract. Another benefit of hiring a construction attorney is to learn the statute of limitations for construction defects in California.

Construction contracts establish the terms of a project, as well as ensure all parties involved in a project comply with their legal obligations. When all parties involved fulfill their legal obligations, construction projects typically run smoothly from the first to the last day of a project. However, when one party breaches a construction contract, chaos can ensue to the point when a construction project comes to a halt.

Let’s review the most common types of damages for a breach of contract by a contractor.

Compensatory Damages

As one of the most common types of compensation awarded for a breach of contract, compensatory damages cover the unfilled financial obligations written into a contract. This can include paying for the cost of materials, repairs to damage, and/or the hiring of a new general contractor to complete the project. Receiving compensatory damages might require your construction attorney to determine whether the general contractor committed one or more acts of negligence.

Restitution

Restitution returns all of the money promised by a property owner. This type of compensation is approved when a general contractor fails to complete any phases of a construction project. For example, if a general contractor agreed to complete three phases of a $500,000 renovation project and the general contractor failed to complete any of the project phases, the property owner can request restitution valued at $500,000.

Liquidated and Nominal Damages

Liquidated damages help all parties involved to avoid a bitter dispute. This type of damage is automatically agreed to because of the wording of a construction contract. The parties involved agree a breach of contract has occurred, but they decide to proceed with the project while handling the issue or issues involved in a professional manner. Nominal damages refer to the awarding of damages for a breach of contract, but the breach did not cause significant financial losses to either party.

Rescission

Rescission is a legal term that refers to terminating the rights of all parties involved in a construction project. It puts every party involved in the positions they held before signing a construction contract. Rescission is a common remedy because it does not require the parties to continue working together on a construction project.

Alves Radcliffe, LLP — Construction Attorney

If you need assistance with an indemnity clause in your construction contract, call Alves Radcliffe, LLP at 916-333-3375 or send us an email. We have over 25 years of combined experience, and serve clients throughout Greater Sacramento, Northern California, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Construction law represents a practice that exclusively covers construction legal issues, whether you are involved in a commercial or residential construction project. Some of the reasons why you need a construction attorney to provide legal support during a project include signing contracts, following zoning requirements, and ensuring compliance with every safety standard established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Construction law is important to the construction industry for several reasons. The primary purpose of construction law is to set legal guidelines for ensuring the completion of a hassle-free construction project. To understand why construction law is important for the construction industry, you first have to understand the fundamentals behind construction law.

What Are the Fundamentals Behind Construction Law?

Knowing the fundamentals of construction law can help you resolve a dispute. A construction attorney explains the underlying factors that caused a dispute, and then suggests ways to resolve the dispute. Without construction law, disputes would go unresolved and hence, projects would stall. All parties involved in a dispute must have a deep understanding of the legal issues that construction and real estate laws resolve.

Parties involved in disputes that concern violations of construction law include suppliers, general contractors, independent contractors, government regulators, and property owners and operators. Each party involved in a construction dispute should know how to protect their interests if they face a situation that involves another party accusing them of violating one or more construction laws. Working with an experienced construction attorney helps you understand your legal options when it comes to resolving a dispute.

What Are Some Examples of Why Constriction Law is Important to the Construction Industry?

Construction law is important to the construction industry for many reasons. Here are a few common examples that describe why construction law helps protect your financial interests.

Create Property Lines

An often overlooked, yet essential issue that comes up in construction law involves creating property lines. Construction law is important because it establishes the physical boundaries between two or more properties. Working with a construction attorney helps you verify zoning laws that define the use of a property.

Contract Issues

Construction law is particularly important to the construction industry when contract issues arise during a project. Contracts contain information such as costs, deadlines, and project responsibilities. Contract issues represent one of the most common reasons why both contractors and property owners hire construction lawyers. Like most contracts, construction contracts are full of loopholes and confusing legal jargon that requires the legal expertise of an experienced construction attorney.

Payment Disputes

Construction law is important to the construction industry because it describes how to resolve payment disputes. Your construction attorney describes a mechanic’s lien and how it impacts the construction project for both contractors and property owners. Getting paid in full and on time is one of the most fundamental principles established by construction law.

Alves Radcliffe, LLP — Construction Attorney

If you need assistance with an indemnity clause in your construction contract, call Alves Radcliffe, LLP at 916-333-3375 or send us an email. We have over 25 years of combined experience, and serve clients throughout Greater Sacramento, Northern California, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

When you hire a general contractor to oversee a residential construction project, you expect the general contractor to fulfill every legal obligation spelled out in a business contract. One of the most important issues to address concerns one or more construction defects. When a general contractor fails to fix a construction defect, the business contract signed by both parties should define how the homeowner should proceed with ensuring the construction defect gets fixed.

One of the legal actions that you can take involves filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. When you meet with a construction attorney for an evaluation, the lawyer you meet with conducts a thorough review of your case to determine whether filing a civil lawsuit represents the most effective legal action. Perhaps the general contractor managing your residential construction process decides to address the construction defect or both parties agree to try and negotiate a settlement.

Your construction attorney provides several types of legal support, which includes ensuring you file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages before the expiration of the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations establishes a deadline for a plaintiff to file a civil lawsuit concerning a construction defect. Each state has set a statute of limitations for filing a construction defect lawsuit. California has established the statute of limitations for construction defect lawsuits based on the type of construction defect case, such as breach of contract and one or more acts of negligence committed by the general contractor or one of the special contractors hired for just your residential construction project.

Breach of Contract

As a type of business and commercial law, a breach of contract for a construction project involves a homeowner hiring a general contractor to perform construction work on a residential property. The business contract clearly describes the responsibilities assumed by the general contractor, which includes following a process to fix any construction defects. When a general contractor refuses to follow the legal guidelines written into a business contract to address construction defects, the homeowner has the right to seek a legal remedy that can include receiving compensation for failing to repair property damage.

In California, homeowners have four years from the date of discovering a construction defect to file a breach of contract lawsuit for one or more construction defects. The four-year deadline applies to written business contracts. If the construction contract consisted of an oral agreement, the plaintiff has two years to file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.

Negligence

If a general contractor failed to follow proper construction project protocols, the homeowner might have a strong enough case to file a civil lawsuit for negligence. Causing a construction defect because of hiring an inexperienced special contractor represents an example of a general contractor committing an act of negligence. The construction attorney who represents you during a civil lawsuit must show the general contractor assumed a duty of care to prevent construction defects. Your lawyer also must prove the general contractor breached the duty of care doctrine, as well as committed an act of negligence that caused property damage and generated financial losses.

Why Hiring a Construction Attorney Can Help Build a Strong Case

Because of the complexity of California construction defect laws, hiring an experienced attorney can help you gain a better understanding of the various statutes, such as the statute of repose. Your construction attorney ensures you file a civil lawsuit before the expiration of the statute of limitations. If you fail to meet the deadline for filing a civil lawsuit, you can expect the court clerk processing your case to remove it from the judicial docket.

Alves Radcliffe, LLP — Construction Attorney

If you need assistance with an indemnity clause in your construction contract, call Alves Radcliffe, LLP at 916-333-3375 or send us an email. We have over 25 years of combined experience, and serve clients throughout Greater Sacramento, Northern California, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Before you meet with a construction attorney, you should spend time preparing for the meeting by organizing the evidence associated with your case, as well as any legal documents that you have filed to date. In addition, you also should come prepared to ask questions that help you decide whether the attorney you have scheduled a meeting with is the best one to represent you during a construction dispute.

In addition to discovering the experience a construction attorney has compiled, you also want to get answers to more technical questions.

Do You Know the Difference Between Construction Law and Construction Defect?

Does the construction attorney understand the difference between construction law and construction defect? Few attorneys that do not specialize in construction law know the answer to this question. Asking this question ensures you hire a construction attorney who specializes in handling cases involving construction disputes. 

What is a Mechanic’s Lien?

When you ask the more technical questions during a case evaluation, you are not looking to receive long, drawn-out answers that confuse you. For example, getting an answer to the question, “Can you describe for men what is a mechanic’s lien” should be short and simple.

A mechanic’s lien represents a legal maneuver that provides a general contractor overseeing a construction project with a financial security interest in the property under construction. If a general contractor and/or a supplier do not get paid during a construction project, they file a mechanic’s lien to secure payment. Suppliers and general contractors in California must serve a preliminary notice within 20 days of the first day of providing labor or materials.

What Are the Licensing Law Requirements for California Contractors?

California has established construction licensing laws to ensure contractors possess the required skills, as well as follow local building codes. Licensing laws in California also discourage unlicensed workers from participating in both commercial and residential construction projects. Unlicensed individuals that perform construction work can result in projects that produce significant property damage, as well as lead to workers getting involved in an onsite accident that causes serious injuries.

To qualify for a California construction license, contractors must prove a certain level of experience that includes passing the appropriate test for their specific trades. The construction attorney that you hire helps you determine whether a contractor under consideration to lead your project has earned the proper licenses.

What is a Scope of Work?

Also referred to as a statement of work, a scope of work represents a section in the construction contract that describes in detail the work to be completed by a contractor. A scope of work that is written correctly creates project expectations that include milestones, job duties, and technical specifications. The section in a construction contract that describes the scope of work should clearly define issues such as the process to handle payment disputes, as well as discuss how to address project delays and construction defects.

Alves Radcliffe, LLP — Construction Attorney

If you need assistance with an indemnity clause in your construction contract, call Alves Radcliffe, LLP at 916-333-3375 or send us an email. We have over 25 years of combined experience, and serve clients throughout Greater Sacramento, Northern California, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

You have created a game plan for a long-anticipated and labor-intensive home improvement project. Now, the time has come to hire a general contractor to manage the project, including establishing a timeline, producing a budget, and recruiting independent contractors to handle the specialized requirements of your project. Working with a construction attorney can answer the questions you have concerning your home improvement project. Although we answer a wide variety of questions for clients, one question is critically important to know the answer to because of the legal implications.

Is it illegal to hire an unlicensed contractor?

California real estate law for contractors contains many strict statutes that, if violated, can negatively impact the legal status of both a homeowner and the general contractor working on a home improvement project. In California, a homeowner is prohibited from hiring an unlicensed general contractor, or any type of contractor for the matter. An unlicensed contractor not only cannot complete a construction project, but the contractor is also forbidden from developing the blueprints for the project as well.

A homeowner can get into legal trouble by hiring an unlicensed contractor, and the contractor faces legal consequences as well.

California business and commercial law makes it illegal for an unlicensed contractor to work on any type of residential construction project that is valued at more than $500. This covers virtually every type of residential construction and home improvement project. The $500 threshold includes the labor costs and the expenses associated with purchasing materials. California has passed a strict law covering unlicensed general contractors and the state consistently enforces the statute. The only exception to the unlicensed contractor law is if a contractor acquires a properly issued contractor’s license during the time the contractor worked on a construction or home improvement project.

Serious Legal Consequences for a General Contractor

A general contractor takes a huge risk bidding on a project, without obtaining a license to work in California. If you are a general contractor that does not have a license and the state discovers your unlicensed credentials, you can face a misdemeanor charge for violating California law. The misdemeanor charge carries a jail sentence of up to six months and/or a fine of no more than $5,000. A general contractor might face additional fines, depending on the type of project and the nature of the work completed. Additional fines can range between $200 and $15,000.

If a contractor gets caught a second time, the legal consequences become much more serious. The contractor must spend at least a mandatory 90 days in jail and pay a fine of $5,000 or 20 percent of the value of the work completed to date. If a judge invokes the 20 percent penalty, a contractor can face a fine that runs into tens of thousands of dollars.

Unlicensed Contractors May Be Required to Return Any Monies Taken

Business and Professions Code Section 7031(b) provides:

Except as provided in subdivision (e), a person who utilizes the services of an unlicensed contractor may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction in this state to recover all compensation paid to the unlicensed contractor for performance of any act or contract.

B&P Code Section 7031 was enacted by the Legislature to “protect the public from incompetence and dishonest in those who providing building and construction services…the licensing requirements provide minimal assurance that all persons offering such services in California have the requisite skill and character, understand applicable local laws and codes, and know the rudiments of administering a contracting business.” (See Wright v. Issak (2007) 149 Cal.App.4^th 1116, 1123.) 

If you hired an unlicensed contractor or you believe the contractor may be unlicensed for any reason, you may be entitled to recover all monies paid to the contractor pursuant to Business and Professions Code Section 7031. There are many nuisances to when a contractor may or may not be licensed. If you believe you have hired an unlicensed contractor, contact the attorneys at Alves Radcliffe LLP. There is a one year statute of limitations on these claims and homeowners are advised to seek out legal advice as soon as possible. 

Alves Radcliffe, LLP — Construction Attorney

If you need assistance with an indemnity clause in your construction contract, call Alves Radcliffe, LLP at 916-333-3375 or send us an email. We have over 25 years of combined experience, and serve clients throughout Greater Sacramento, Northern California, and the San Francisco Bay Area.