Construction Law Overview
Creating new buildings and infrastructure is a massive undertaking. The construction process can create useful buildings, homes, and building projects. However, construction work can also result in conflicts and legal disputes.
Construction is a complicated process. A lot can go wrong between getting an architect to design a building and completing the final project. There are many potential legal conflicts in construction site work, including issues of contract law, real estate, employment law, and other property law. Here is an overview of construction legal issues.
Construction and personal injury laws are different in every state. For information about construction laws where you live, talk to a local construction industry lawyer for legal advice.
What Are the Different Types of Construction Disputes?
Construction jobs involve complex contracts and many key players. Some disagreements concern permitting, zoning, or other construction law basics. Other disputes arise out of rules and statutes on topics like property usage, building material selection, consumer rights, and failure to make a final payment.
Additionally, construction disputes become more expensive the longer they are drawn out. Those who face legal action or want to initiate it will benefit from understanding what kind of argument they’re dealing with.
Building Dispute Laws
Residential and non-residential buildings are subject to specific building codes that help ensure that they are:
- Safe to occupy and use
- Not going to harm the local environment
- Approved for the kinds of activities that occur on the premises
If you hire a construction professional to build a new home or office and it falls short of these legal ordinances, you may be held liable for repairs if you decide to sell. To avoid being held responsible for what isn’t your fault, you can raise formal building disputes in your local civil courts to seek monetary damages or force builders to follow local real estate laws.
Building Defect Claims
Other lawsuits involve problems like construction defects. Workmanship defects are deficiencies directly related to construction, remodeling, or the supervision of construction work. Defects might consist of:
- Using improper building materials, fixtures, parts, or products
- Inadequate construction that violates relevant plumbing, building, electrical, or other codes
- Using building materials that fail before they should, like paint that starts peeling or siding that warps in the heat
Disputes could also involve home warranty agreements or fulfillment. For instance, you might discover a problem after living in a home for a while and decide that the construction company’s offer to repair it doesn’t meet the standards outlined in your warranty. In some states, these disagreements must follow specific state-required resolution processes before they can go to court.
What Are My Legal Options After a Construction Defect Case?
Construction lawsuits based on defects must include a “legal cause of action.” Each cause of action relates to a different kind of dispute about the building contract and the nature of the defect. Some common causes of action in building defect cases include:
- Negligence, like the builder failing to remedy an unsafe condition or use the right building materials for the local environment.
- Strict liability, holding a builder liable regardless of whether their negligence led to the defect.
- Breaches of warranty, like if you or whoever you sell your property to discover a fault during the warranty period.
Infrastructure Disputes in Construction Projects
Large build projects involving roadways, bridges, highways, and transit systems can be more complicated. For instance, municipalities may disagree with government contractors about the completion of the work or how well it performs. Companies that want to bid on projects may feel that the government procurement process is unfairly rigged in favor of their competitors.
Before filing a construction lawsuit, it’s important that these parties understand how the local laws operate. For instance, you should know which agency oversees contracting and whether you have to use alternative dispute resolution methods like arbitration or mediation before filing a lawsuit.
Industrial Disputes
Industrial disputes revolve around disagreements between business leaders and their workers. For instance, some of the most noteworthy historical examples involved union matters like labor or compensation settlements.
Things get tricky when these disputes concern construction. Imagine that an office worker is exposed to harmful construction dust produced by their office’s renovation. Filing a construction lawsuit against the builder in addition to suing the employer may be a smart idea, especially if the employer can claim that it received assurances that it would be safe to operate the workplace.
Other industrial disputes have the potential to halt building projects, such as when construction employees strike. In these cases, builders may still need to pay wages during the stoppage, and clients may, in some instances, seek damages for delays due to a strike.
Construction site accident claims are another area of construction law disputes. Construction is one of the most dangerous industries in the United States. Workers on construction projects can suffer fall injuries, electrocution, crushing accidents, or other industrial injuries. Injured workers may be able to file workers’ compensation claims to cover medical damages and lost wages. Other parties injured on a construction site may have a personal injury claim against the at-fault party.
Scope-of-Work, Plan, and Specification Disputes
Construction contracts specify the scope of work, or what builders, general contractors, and subcontractors must do in exchange for payment. Unfortunately, architects, contractors, and other construction professionals may not interpret building plans the same way.
Property owners have an implied responsibility to provide builders with correct and buildable plans. However, disputes may shift the burden and claim to the contractors who fall short of the specifications rather than the blueprints being at fault.
Contractors commonly ask subcontractors to provide bids for specific or specialized parts of projects, such as wiring or plumbing. In many of these situations, it’s up to the subcontractor to determine what the scope of the work means. Disputes can occur when contractors expect their subcontractors to do more than they did.
What Is a Mechanic’s Lien?
For a variety of reasons, people don’t always want to pay for the work that contractors complete. Builders can use mechanic’s liens to recover their losses on private properties by:
- Foreclosing on properties
- Seeking court-ordered payments
- Recovering the surety bond, or money that the contractor put up as a guarantee that they would do their job
Each construction case is different, thanks to the situational nature of the construction, contract structures, local jurisdictional rules, and whether defects were discovered. Construction lawyers can help builders, property buyers, and municipalities hash out disputes by preparing accurate lawsuits or guiding them through the arbitration process.
Speak to an Experienced Construction Law Attorney Today
This article is intended to be helpful and informative. But even common legal matters can become complex and stressful. A qualified construction lawyer can address your particular legal needs, explain the law, and represent you in court. Contact a local construction attorney to discuss your specific legal situation.