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Overview
Residential Construction Claims Every Litigator Should Know
The contractor who disappears halfway through the kitchen remodel. The bathroom renovation that results in hidden water intrusion and toxic mold. The “simple” project that spirals into change-order disputes, mechanic's liens, and allegations of defective workmanship. Residential construction disputes are messy, emotional, and expensive - and attorneys are increasingly being asked to step into the middle of them.
This program examines the residential construction cases that generate the most litigation between homeowners, contractors, subcontractors, and insurers. From vague contracts and handshake agreements to abandoned projects, botched renovations, payment disputes, water damage claims, and insurance battles, faculty will walk through the legal and practical issues that arise when home improvement projects go wrong. Register today!
- Identify the contract provisions that create - or prevent - expensive project disputes.
- Navigate disputes involving scope creep, verbal modifications, and undocumented change orders.
- Evaluate claims involving defective workmanship, abandonment, delays, and cost overruns.
- Recognize how water intrusion, mold, and code violations can dramatically increase damages exposure.
- Handle mechanic's lien disputes, payment withholding claims, and substantial completion fights.
- Understand the insurance and bond issues construction litigators must recognize early in a case.
This program was designed in conjunction with NBI's esteemed Content Advisory Committee Member Kimberly Jackson.
Abbreviated Agenda
- The Contract Problems That Start the Fight
- The Unfinished or Abandoned Project
- “Barely a Contract” Messes
- Payment Disputes and Mechanic's Liens
- Botched Renovations and Defective Workmanship
- Repair Failures and the Contractor's Right to Cure
- Water Intrusion and Mold Damage: With Case Studies
- Licensing, Permits, and Code Violations
- Insurance and Bond Issues: What Construction Litigators Must Know
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Credit Details
Credits Available
| Credit | Status | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Alabama CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Arkansas CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Arizona CLE |
|
6 Total |
| California CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Colorado CLE |
|
7 Total |
| Connecticut CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Delaware CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Florida CLE |
|
7 Total |
| Georgia CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Hawaii CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Iowa CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Idaho CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Illinois CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Indiana CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Kansas CLE |
|
7 Total |
| Kentucky CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Louisiana CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Maine CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Minnesota CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Missouri CLE |
|
7.2 Total |
| Northern Mariana Islands CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Montana CLE |
|
6 Total |
| North Carolina CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Nebraska CLE |
|
6 Total |
| New Hampshire CLE |
|
6 Total |
| New Jersey CLE |
|
7.2 Total |
| New Mexico CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Nevada CLE |
|
6 Total |
| New York CLE |
|
7 Total |
| Ohio CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Oklahoma CLE |
|
7 Total |
| Pennsylvania CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Rhode Island CLE |
|
7 Total |
| South Carolina CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Tennessee CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Texas CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Utah CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Virginia CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Vermont CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Washington CLE |
|
6 Total |
| Wisconsin CLE |
|
7 Total |
| West Virginia CLE |
|
7.2 Total |
| Wyoming CLE |
|
6 Total |
Select Jurisdiction
CLE
Agenda
-
The Contract Problems That Start the Fight
- Scope of Work
- Price, Payment Schedules, Timelines, and Milestones
- Cost Overruns and Unauthorized Change Orders
- Delay and Completion Clauses
- Materials Specifications, Product Substitutions, and Estimate Mistakes
- Permitting, Inspection Responsibilities, and Work Started Before Terms Are Finalized
- Warranties, Disclaimers, and Workmanship Guarantees
-
The Unfinished or Abandoned Project
- Abandonment vs. Owners-Caused Work Stoppage
- Owner's Duty to Mitigate Damages
- Recovery of Completion and Delay Costs
- Impact on Contractor's Claim for Unpaid Work
- Contractor Defenses to Abandonment Claims, Including Wrongful Termination
- Preserving Evidence Before Hiring a Replacement Contractor
- Case Study: The Abandoned Roof Replacement
-
“Barely a Contract” Messes
- Text Message Agreements
- Handshake Deal Arrangements and Homeowners Making Verbal Additions Throughout the Project
- Poor Documentation Habits
-
Payment Disputes and Mechanic's Liens
- “Can I Just Stop Paying?” Homeowner's Right to Withhold
- Punch-List and Substantial Completion Disputes
- Mechanic's Lien Essentials
- Lien Waivers and the Traps Inside Them
- Owner's Tools: Bonding Over, Demanding Releases, and Priority Disputes
-
Botched Renovations and Defective Workmanship
- Defining Defective Work, and What Kind of Evidence is Needed
- Cosmetic Complaints vs. Defects
- Functional Failures and Failed Installations
- Serious Structural or Safety Concerns
- Building Code Violations and Industry Standards
- Making, Defending, and Resolving Defective Work Claims
-
Repair Failures and the Contractor's Right to Cure
- When the Repair Makes the Problem Worse
- Repeated Failed Repair Attempts
- Contractor's Right to Cure Defective Work
- Homeowner Refusal to Allow Further Repairs
- Measuring Damages: Cost of Repair vs. Diminution in Value
- Loss of Use and Loss of Rental or Business Income: Evidentiary Standard and Calculations
- Temporary Housing and Relocation Expenses
-
Water Intrusion and Mold Damage: With Case Studies
- Water Damage Failures (Roofing, Windows, Siding, Plumbing, etc.)
- Mold, Remediation, and Indoor Air Quality Claims
- Emergency Mitigation Obligations
- Insurance Coverage Disputes Arising from Water Losses
-
Licensing, Permits, and Code Violations
- Legal Consequences of Unlicensed Work
- Permit and Inspection Problems
- Stop-Work Orders and Failed Inspections
- Code Violations as Litigation Leverage
- Municipal Enforcement and Tear-Out Requirements
-
Insurance and Bond Issues: What Construction Litigators Must Know
- CGL Policies and Faulty Workmanship Exclusions
- Resulting Damage vs. Defective Work
- Additional Insured Status
- Builder's Risk Policies
- Homeowner Property Insurance and Coordination of Coverage
- Contractor License Bonds and Performance Bonds
Who Should Attend
This program is designed for attorneys. Construction professionals, insurance professionals, and paralegals may also benefit.
Speakers
Speaker bio
Michael R. Hogue
maintains a multi-disciplinary construction practice providing representation to owners, developers, and major corporations in all aspects and phases of construction and project development in the real estate industry. His practice provides an integrated "one-stop-shop" for a broad cross-section of public and private sector clients in due diligence, transactions, tenant buildouts, project oversight and management, regulatory compliance, disputes, litigation, and restructuring/bankruptcy matters.
Speaker bio
Loretta Thompson
is a partner at Withers LLP. Her practice includes both commercial and residential real estate matters, including those involving financing and acquiring real estate with digital assets and cryptoassets, and the use of metaverse and NFTs in real estate. Ms. Thompson regularly negotiates and facilitates real estate acquisitions and dispositions and handles tax exchanges for REIT's, public and private corporations, family offices and high net worth individuals. She also has extensive experience negotiating and administrating finance transactions, commercial leasing, property management contracts, construction and design contracts, and development agreements and easements. Ms. Thompson also advises clients on sustainable investing and resilience management for commercial and residential real estate. Her leasing practice focuses on the negotiation and documentation of commercial industrial and office project leases, as well as rental agreements and leases of high-end residential properties. She also has extensive experience working on all aspects of lender-side commercial real estate and construction loans (for private equity, portfolio, institutional, secondary market), including due diligence, drafting loan agreements, and facilitating the pre- and post-closing processes. Ms. Thompson earned her J.D. degree from Southwestern University School of Law.
Speaker bio
Amanda Szmuc
is an attorney at Offit Kurman, Attorneys At Law. She represents individuals and businesses in a wide range of litigation matters, with experience spanning commercial claims, general civil disputes, business torts, construction-related litigation, and intellectual property matters. Her clients include corporations of all sizes, entrepreneurs, contractors and subcontractors, and creative professionals. Her experiences include drafting the winning brief that successfully opposed a petition for writ of certiorari before the United States Supreme Court; leading a bid protest where she obtained emergency restraints and ultimately secured both preliminary and permanent injunctions; and serving as first chair in trial court matters, where she prevailed on evidentiary motions excluding thousands of documents from the opposing party's case. She has also represented corporations in mechanics' lien hearings, protecting their rights and defeating counterclaims in full. She earned her B.S degree, magna cum laude, from Seton Hall University and J.D degree from The George Washington University School of Law.
Speaker bio
Mason D. Fletcher
is an attorney at Clyde & Co LLP. He is an experienced litigation attorney whose practice focuses on construction, commercial disputes, general liability, and insurance defense. He represents clients through all stages of litigation, from case inception through resolution, with an emphasis on practical strategy, clear communication, and favorable outcomes in high-stakes matters. His experience includes defending claims involving premises liability, wrongful death, automotive collisions/failures, construction delays, and construction defect matters, lien and bond disputes, and general commercial litigation. He has worked closely with general contractors, subcontractors, owners, developers, design professionals, and sureties, and has developed client-specific solutions tailored to the needs of sophisticated businesses and professionals. His background includes drafting and arguing motions, conducting discovery, representing clients in mediations, arbitrations, and depositions, and preparing contracts and internal tools to support compliance with Washington lien requirements. Prior to Clyde & Co, Mr. Fletcher externed at the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division II, for the Honorable Justice Rebecca Glasgow where he gained additional experience in appellate and administrative matters, including legal research, drafting preliminary judicial opinions, prehearing memoranda, and assisting all justices on panel decisions. He earned his B.A degree from University of Washington and his J.D degree from University of Washington School of Law.
Speaker bio
Casey Frew
is an attorney at Clark Hill PLC. Her practice centers on complex construction disputes, commercial litigation, and real estate matters. She has represented owners, developers, contractors, and other stakeholders in high-stakes commercial construction disputes with aggregated values exceeding one billion dollars, including claims involving delay, defective work, scope disputes, and contract interpretation. Her construction practice also includes representing parties in luxury residential construction disputes, where she regularly handles matters involving sophisticated owners, architects, and high-end contractors. In addition to her construction focus, she has substantial experience in zoning and land use litigation. She regularly serves as lead associate on zoning matters, including rezonings, variances, and annexations, and has appeared before local governments throughout Georgia. Her zoning practice includes drafting petitions appealing zoning decisions, preparing findings of fact and conclusions of law, and advocating clients' positions during administrative and quasi-judicial hearings. Her broader litigation background spans real estate and commercial contract disputes, professional licensing matters, defamation and First Amendment issues, and ERISA litigation. She has worked on multi-billion-dollar, nationwide ERISA disputes involving coordinated litigation across multiple jurisdictions, including matters spanning from the Midwest to Texas. She earned her J.D degree from Georgia State University, College of Law.
Speaker bio
Jeffrey Nix
is a member at Clark Hill PLC. With more than 32 years of experience, his practice focuses entirely on construction law, representing stakeholders involved in every facet of the industry. Having grown up in a construction family and worked as a field engineer/superintendent, Jeffrey provides common sense advice and cost-effective solutions to clients. He representations extend from the earliest stages of project planning through project close-out. During the planning stage, he frequently advises clients regarding the selection of project delivery methods, the drafting and negotiation of design and construction contracts, and the creation of ancillary documents required to kick start construction. Once construction begins, he often counsels clients upon ongoing issues, including contract administration, health and safety, environmental issues, claims management, and dispute avoidance. As construction nears completion, Jeffrey guides clients through warranty issues, design and construction defects, payment problems, and all forms of dispute resolution. His clients span across all sectors of the construction industry, ranging from small closely held businesses who construct high-end residential housing to Fortune 100 companies constructing power plants or manufacturing facilities. Years of experience provide him with the versatility to efficiently and economically represent stakeholders in the construction industry: whether serving solo upon a smaller matter or leading a team of attorneys and experts in battling a large dispute. He teaches classes upon construction law, including classes at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and frequently lectures and writes upon topics of current interest to the construction industry. He earned his A.S degree magna cum laude from Wentworth Institute of Technology, his B.S degree magna cum laude from Wentworth Institute of Technology and his J.D degree from Boston University.
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