As co-chairs of the New Jersey State Bar Association Construction Law Section, Danielle E. Cohen and Steven Nudelman help provide a forum where practitioners can discuss and learn about the latest issues confronting this area of law. The pair have years of experience in all areas of the practice. Cohen, an associate at Tesser & Cohen in Hackensack, concentrates her practice on construction litigation and has represented a diverse range of construction clients, including owners, general contractors, subcontractors and material suppliers. She has been involved in both prosecuting and defending claims on private and public projects in New Jersey and New York, including delay claims, construction lien and mechanics lien foreclosure actions, defective work claims, bond claims, Prompt Payment Act claims and trust fund issues.
Nudelman is a partner in the litigation and real estate departments at Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis in Red Bank. He is chair of the Construction Contracting and Risk Management Practice Group. For over 25 years, Nudelman has represented members of the construction industry across a broad spectrum of matters. On the transactional side, he works with owners and developers, construction managers, general contractors, subcontractors and design professionals to prepare and negotiate contract documents for construction in the New Jersey and New York metropolitan area.
It is often said time is money in construction. With delays being caused by the pandemic and disruption in the global supply chain, are construction law practitioners handling a surge in contract renegotiations, lawsuits or other issues as a result?
For the most part, New Jersey contractors were able to power through and continue working while COVID continued to spread. Their effort was helped when they were able to avoid governmental shutdowns since many contractors were considered essential workers. Most issues that have arisen on projects that were ongoing during COVID were resolved with or without attorney intervention. Luckily our clients have not experienced an influx of lawsuits or attempts to renegotiate current contracts due to COVID-related issues.
We are seeing an increase in contract negotiations on new projects which factor in COVID-related issues such as material escalation and force majeure clauses. More attention is also being paid to reviewing or incorporating COVID riders into contracts for future work. From a project owner’s perspective, the concerns relate to ensuring the contractor is responsible for site safety including mask enforcement, vaccination requirements, if applicable, and other safety issues, as well as having the contractor follow the state and CDC guidelines and that any additional costs related to COVID safety enforcement are borne by the contractor.
From a subcontractor or material supplier perspective, if there are any additional costs related to unforeseen material price escalation, delays or additional COVID requirements, those costs should be the responsibility of the owner and the subcontractor should also be entitled to an extension of time and/or additional money, if necessary.
After the collapse of the 12-story beachfront condo in Surfside, Fla., that killed 98 people last year and was one of the worst construction failures in U.S. history, what have the legal ramifications been in New Jersey construction, particularly in Shore towns?
We have not seen any major ramifications from the tragedy in Surfside, Fla.; however certain municipal construction officials may be scrutinizing plans and submissions more carefully on new construction projects. Hurricane Sandy had much more of an impact on construction of residential properties in New Jersey. As a result of Sandy, certain construction regulations, including but not limited to those affecting house lifting or raising, were promulgated and they continue to have a direct impact on New Jersey residents.