Purchase orders and supply contracts are often the last contracts signed, and material suppliers are usually the last parties to be contacted on a construction project. However, suppliers are a very important aspect of any construction operation, as they provide the materials needed to complete the desired work. Even if the contractor is top-rated in its specific field and subcontracts with other top professionals, a construction project can be impaired by materials that are inferior or that do...

Construction contracts under New York law are usually distinguishable by the methods of determining the final contract price. To encourage parties to meet the goal of quality construction at the lowest possible price in order to make a fair profit, several different types of contracts have evolved.

One form of fixed priced contract is a lump sum contract, a contract in which the contractor agrees to do specified construction for a price set forth in the contract. The only...

In 1969, New York joined a majority of other jurisdictions which hold that one who engages in blasting work will be responsible for any injury to neighboring properties caused by the blasting, regardless of fault. In Spano v. Perini Corp. (1969), an action was brought to recover for damages that allegedly resulted from blasting operations. It was upheld that one who engages in blasting must assume responsibility, and be liable without fault, for any injury he causes to...

In New York, even assuming that an indemnity provision of a construction contract was broad enough to require a contractor to indemnify a utility company from damages associated to the utility company’s own negligence, the indemnity provision will not apply unless there was an act or omission by the contractor resulting in the injury to persons or property. Furthermore, evidence that custom and practice was for the utility company to do all of the work in an excavation project which...

Achieving the “best value” is the overall goal of negotiations, and is a phrase used to describe the desire to achieve the greatest overall benefit in negotiating a contract while taking into consideration inherent tradeoffs between cost, price, performance and the schedule of construction. Under 48 C.F.R. § 15.302, the objective of source selection is to select the proposal from a contractor that represents the best value for the work required. The best value also indicates that...