Are you a contractor or subcontractor who has taken on a job, agreed to have it completed by a certain date, and failed to meet that deadline due to an unforeseeable delay? How about an owner that has been promised completion of a project by a specific date that was not met? If they have done much business, everyone involved in the construction industry that fits within these categories should have answered in the affirmative. Today, virtually every project has a tight budget and an aggressive schedule, and delays seem inevitable. Under Florida law, when unexpected events occur that delay a project, damages are often awarded to compensate for the impact of the delay. Damages are not recoverable, however, if the agreement indicates only an estimated time of completion or provides no liability for delays.[1] These damages include, but are not limited to, compensating for: increased material costs, increased labor costs due to increases in pay rates, increased labor costs due to loss of productivity, increased overhead, interest on unpaid funds, loss of bonding capacity, loss of profit on other work that could been undertaken but for the delayed job and costs of preparing the delay claim. Delay claims have proliferated in recent years, and are currently one of the largest categories of claims participants in the construction process routinely make. This Blog post will provide a general overview of establishing that a delay occurred, and is the first in a multi-part series explaining delay damages and their potential recovery.
