Construction and Surety

Litigation

• Prosecuted and recovered on behalf of the owner of a hotel/casino in Atlantic City its delay and loss of business claims against the contractor following a major expansion project
• Defended the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDot) regarding delay, disruption, extra work and liquidated damages claims by and against the contractor for the renovation of the I-76 Schuylkill Expressway
• Defended the developer and general contractor in litigation in Baldwin County, Alabama involving multiple construction defect claims in five high-rise condominium buildings in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama, successfully resolved a middle eight-figure case for a fraction of claimed damages, and secured substantial contributions from subcontractors, design professionals and manufacturers
• Successfully represented the contractor before the District Court and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in the leading case applying Pennsylvania law on indemnity and an additional insured's rights, in which the court ruled that a construction company, initially denied coverage by a subcontractor's insurance company, was entitled to coverage and counsel fees before the underlying case was resolved;
• Served as the litigation consultant to our insurance company client's local counsel in Austin, Texas for two years in defending a first-tier subcontractor in a multiple construction defect claim involving an entire townhouse condominium neighborhood;
• Successfully handled a nine-figure claim for alleged construction and window defects after the plaintiff had already prevailed in a claim handled by another firm 
• Successfully negotiated the dismissal of a general contractor in a complex claim for construction defects, soil engineering claims and related coverage issues involving construction of a medical supplies warehouse and pharmacy facility for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
• Served as our insurance company client's oversight counsel and negotiator in a 12 neighborhood, multi-defect construction defect lawsuit in Winter Park, Florida, resolving middle eight-figure claims against the insurer of the developer and general contractor;
• Represented a general contractor and an owner in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in claims for contract and negligence damages brought by neighboring property owners who suffered cracking and collapse of portions of their foundations during site excavation and construction of a 170-unit mixed-use development in the Old City section of Philadelphia.

Surety and Fidelity

• Defended the surety on bond and fraud claims and prosecution of an electrical subcontractor's affirmative delay and disruption claims regarding the construction of a major hotel project in Times Square, New York City
• Represented a Philadelphia-based surety company on performance bond claims and related indemnity claims involving the multi-million dollar expansion of a retirement community in Philadelphia's suburbs
• Prosecuted on behalf of the surety a large indemnity claim following the resolution of multiple claims arising out of the construction of two luxury condominium projects in Philadelphia
• Prevailed on summary judgment in an action against an indemnitor’s secured lender as to the surety’s equitable subrogation rights to contract funds after paying a payment bond claim
• Represented a European surety, in regard to bonds written in Germany, on indemnity claims against a bankrupt American corporation and an insolvent American insurer. After litigation in Texas and New York, we obtained over $13 million for our client, after the client had previously decided that the prospects for recovery were hopeless
• Represented a surety in an action on an agreement of indemnity to recover the amounts paid by the surety in settling a performance bond claim. By a motion for summary judgment, we overcame the indemnitors' arguments that the surety was not entitled to any recovery because its settlement of the performance bond claim was not made in good faith
• Successfully represented a surety in an action against an owner who released contract funds without the surety's consent. This release of funds deprived the surety of its interest in the contract funds, which would have reimbursed the surety for claims that it had to pay against its payment bond. The owner was required to pay to the surety that amount that it had released to the surety's principal without the surety's consent

Transactional

• Drafted, on behalf of an owner/developer in Bryan, Texas, all necessary construction agreements with the replacement contractor following the default/termination of the original contractor
• Drafted all construction contracts, on a nationwide basis, for the largest distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases and related equipment in the United States
• Represented an American engineering and specialty construction firm in contract drafting and negotiations with the government of the Ukraine for the multi-million dollar, high profile permanent remediation of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site
• Represented an engineering and construction firm in contract negotiation and disputes with subcontractors and with public utility owners for multi-million dollar installation and refurbishment of hydro-electric power plants around the country and abroad