Construction Contracts and Law in the US
The law construction managers use every day in the US: legal systems and sources of law, contract formation and the UCC, sealed bidding, protests and subcontractor bids, AIA, ConsensusDocs and EJCDC forms, payment and retainage, federal and state prompt payment and pay-if-paid clauses, mechanics' liens, lien waivers and Miller Act bonds, changes, delay and liquidated damages, termination and frustration, negligence, Spearin and statutes of repose, and dispute resolution, ending with a subcontract payment dispute.
CON-220 Year 2 3 credits 12 lessons · 5 h 45 min
Offered by HSM University · Construction Management
This is the American version of this course. See the Canadian version.
What you'll learn
- Explain the sources of American construction law, the division between federal and state law, and the bodies of law that overlap on a construction project
- Identify when a binding contract has been formed, distinguish express and implied terms, interpret contract documents, and calculate damages for breach
- Apply the rules on sealed bidding, responsiveness and responsibility, bid mistakes, protests and subcontractor bids under promissory estoppel
- Describe the AIA, ConsensusDocs, EJCDC and DBIA standard forms, navigate A201-2017, and review amendments and subcontract flow-down for shifted risk
- Prepare and review payment applications, calculate retainage and its reduction and release, and apply the rules on substantial completion and final payment
- Build prompt payment calendars under federal and state statutes, calculate late payment interest, and assess pay-when-paid and pay-if-paid clauses state by state
- Serve preliminary notices, record and foreclose mechanics' liens, manage conditional and unconditional lien waivers, and claim on Miller Act and Little Miller Act payment bonds
- Recognize changes, constructive changes and cardinal changes, document field directions, price change orders with markup and time-related costs, and give notice of differing site conditions
- Classify delays, write effective delay notices, calculate liquidated damages, and apply the rules on concurrent delay, acceleration, disruption and head office overhead
- Choose and follow the correct route to end or pause a contract, including default with notice and cure, repudiation, convenience, suspension, frustration and force majeure
- Apply the law of negligence and the economic loss rule, the Spearin doctrine, warranties and indemnities, and calculate limitation and repose deadlines
- Compare dispute resolution methods, estimate the expected value of a claim, and analyze and act on a subcontract payment dispute from contract terms, statutes and records
Course content
12 lessons · 5 h 45 min total · final exam
- 1 Law for construction managers: legal systems and sources of law 27 min · quiz
- 2 Contract law basics: formation, terms and interpretation 27 min · quiz
- 3 Tendering, bidding and procurement law 27 min · quiz
- 4 AIA, ConsensusDocs and EJCDC standard form contracts 28 min · quiz
- 5 Payment applications and retainage 28 min · quiz
- 6 Prompt payment laws and pay-when-paid clauses 30 min · quiz
- 7 Mechanics' liens, lien waivers and payment bonds 29 min · quiz
- 8 Changes, extras and pricing 29 min · quiz
- 9 Delay, disruption and time extensions 32 min · quiz
- 10 Termination, suspension and frustration 27 min · quiz
- 11 Negligence, professional liability, warranties and limitation periods 26 min · quiz
- 12 Dispute resolution and capstone: a subcontract and payment dispute 35 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Requirements
Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.
Description
The law construction managers use every day in the US: legal systems and sources of law, contract formation and the UCC, sealed bidding, protests and subcontractor bids, AIA, ConsensusDocs and EJCDC forms, payment and retainage, federal and state prompt payment and pay-if-paid clauses, mechanics' liens, lien waivers and Miller Act bonds, changes, delay and liquidated damages, termination and frustration, negligence, Spearin and statutes of repose, and dispute resolution, ending with a subcontract payment dispute.
Part of the Construction Management stream, typically taken in year 2.