Florida Construction Legal Updates

Florida Construction Legal Updates David Adelstein is a Florida board certified construction attorney focusing on innovative business a

David Adelstein is a Florida Board Certified Construction Attorney focusing on innovative business relationships that provide value-added services to your business. He handles complex construction disputes and caters to innovative fee arrangements where the focus is performance, results, and budgetary concerns. For more information, check out my LinkedIn page at www.linkedin.com/pub/david-adelstein/27/832/874/.

The presumption of applies to all affirmative defenses re: an insured's failure to comply with policy conditions-
05/23/2026

The presumption of applies to all affirmative defenses re: an insured's failure to comply with policy conditions-

In a recent property insurance coverage dispute, an issue on appeal pertained to the “prejudice” jury instruction associated with the insured’s failure to comply with post-loss policy conditions. The trial court found that the prejudice only pertained to prompt notice and not other post-loss p...

Are damages recoverable?
05/16/2026

Are damages recoverable?

In a case out of the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, F.O.G., LLC v. Department of the Interior, CBCA 8203, 2026 WL 1191881 (DBCA 2026) a contractor claimed damages that included “financial hardship” damages due to slow payments. The financial hardship damages included personal damages to the...

Inaccurate representations can lead to claim
04/26/2026

Inaccurate representations can lead to claim

In the prior posting, I discussed a case dealing with a differing site condition. In that case, the owner did not have an affirmative duty to make a representation and there was no inaccurate representation made by the owner that misled the contractor. Well, what about when there is an inaccurate mi...

claim requires a misrepresentation -
04/18/2026

claim requires a misrepresentation -

If you are entertaining a differing site conditions claim, consider this Third District Court of Appeals case from the mid-90s. In Hendry Corp. v. Metropolitan Dade County, 648 So.2d 140 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995), a contractor was hired by Dade County to demolish the old Rickenbacker Causeway in Miami. The...

Prefatory cannot be used to create an ambiguity with operative contract provisions-
04/11/2026

Prefatory cannot be used to create an ambiguity with operative contract provisions-

Contract drafting and interpretation matters. A case dealt with the potential conflict with prefatory language in an agreement compared with operative provisions in the agreement. The trial court held that the operative provisions control. I discussed this case here where the appellate court reverse...

Fraudulent applies as a defense to payment bond claims
04/03/2026

Fraudulent applies as a defense to payment bond claims

Under Florida’s Lien Law, there’s an affirmative defense or affirmative claim known as a “fraudulent lien.” The fraudulent lien defense or claim is set out in Florida Statute s. 713.31. This defense also extends to payment bond claims, whether under a private statutory payment bond (Florida ...

Only a contractor can appeal a from a
03/28/2026

Only a contractor can appeal a from a

A recent decision from the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals confirms that “only a ‘contractor’ may file an appeal of a contracting officer’s final decision.” Wattiker v. General Services Administration, 2026 WL 846001 (CBCA 2026) (citation omitted). The term “contractor is not an ambig...

Liability Extensive with Its
03/22/2026

Liability Extensive with Its

A recent Miller act payment bond case, U.S. f/u/b/o Whitetail General Constructors v. Northcon, Inc., 2026 WL 46671 (D.Mont. 2026), contains a short noteworthy discussion as to a surety’s liability being coextensive with that of its bond principal. If you are bonded, or you are pursuing a bond, yo...

and the doctrine -
03/14/2026

and the doctrine -

In a recent case dealing with a construction lien, the driving issue was whether the air conditioning contractor “substantially performed” before recording its construction lien against residential property. The importance here pertains to the substantial performance doctrine with respect to con...

Depriving a surety of its completion obligations in the bond ca result in a. breach of the bond-
03/08/2026

Depriving a surety of its completion obligations in the bond ca result in a. breach of the bond-

“The purpose of a performance bond is to guarantee the completion of the contract upon default by the contract.” Arch Insurance Co. v. A3 Development, LLC, 2026 WL 632330 (S.D. Fla. 2026) (internal citations and quotations omitted). If you are an obligee (beneficiary of a performance bond) looki...

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