Coconut Creek Construction Dispute Lawyers

Find the right Construction Dispute attorney in Coconut Creek, FL

Construction Dispute Law in Florida

When a property owner and a general contractor contract for a construction project to take place on some property in Coconut Creek, Florida, whether it's a house, some landscaping, or a remodeling project, there is always a gamble that something can go wrong. In fact, at least a very minor setback may be more likely than not.

Most often, the owners of land and contractors can end disagreements before they get too serious, thus eliminating the need for litigation. Most contracts governing construction projects have built-in remedies for the most common problems, typically requiring the party that causes a delay or other problem to pay the other party a set fee.

Even if disagreements can't be resolved amongst the parties to the contract, they don't need to take their dispute into the court system. For instance, construction contracts typically call for mediation or arbitration before any disputes are resolved by the courts. Mediation is a process by which a third party serves as a sort of intermediary in settlement negotiations between the parties to the contract. The mediator can help keep negotiations on track, and suggest possible solutions the parties might not have thought of. The mediator can't issue a binding decision, however. Arbitration is a procedure through which the parties agree to have their dispute resolved by a third party, which can render a binding decision. Arbitration can be quicker and cheaper than litigation, and it has some other advantages, as well.

Litigating a construction dispute in Coconut Creek, Florida is definitely not something that anybody likes doing. Nonetheless, it is sometimes necessary, as a last resort.

Examples of Construction Disputes That Might Lead to Litigation in Coconut Creek, Florida

Major Delays: If the contractor or a subcontractor is at fault in causing a considerable delay to a project (several months, for example), this may lead to a lawsuit. If the contract stated that time was of the essence for some reason (maybe the project was a new store that the owner hoped to open before the holiday shopping season, for example), a court can typically award the owner any damages that were caused by the delay.

Owner's refusal to pay: Contractors can also be the victims in construction disagreements. Sometimes, the person who hired them will refuse to pay the agreed-upon fee, or withhold a portion of it. This, without more, certainly constitutes breach of contract. However, in such cases, the owner will rarely go to court and say "I just didn't feel like paying, so I didn't." Alternatively, they will claim that they had a very good reason to withhold all or part of the payment, such as unsatisfactory work by the contractor. In these situations, the court has to determine if the owner has a valid reason for not paying. If it concludes that he or she does not, it will order the owner to pay the agreed-upon price.

Subcontractor Disputes: In large projects, contractors often can't handle every aspect of the construction, so they hire other (typically smaller) contractors to do some specialized work for them, such as plumbing, electrical installations, and the like. The general contractor, nonetheless, is responsible to the owner for anything that goes wrong. If a subcontractor messes up, and the owner sues the contractor, the contractor will have to pay. Nonetheless, the contractor can then go after the subcontractor to recover whatever he had to pay.

Mechanic's Lien: When a contractor wins a case against a client for nonpayment of the contract price, and the client still declines to pay, there is a problem: a monetary judgment means next to nothing if it can't be enforced. To solve this problem, the mechanic's lien has been developed. Typically, if a landowner refuses to pay a contractor, even in the face of a court order, the court can force a sale of the property that the contractor worked on, along with all the improvements on it, and then give the funds to the contractor, to secure payment.

Can a Coconut Creek, Florida Attorney Help?

Construction disputes can be time-consuming and costly. Hiring a reliable Coconut Creek, Florida real estate attorney can make it much easier to deal with such disputes, and help you avoid litigation, or prevail if litigation becomes necessary.

Talk to a Real Estate Law Attorney now!

Life in Coconut Creek

Coconut Creek is a city with an interesting name, located in Broward County, Florida. What is interesting is that eventhough its name has the word "coconut" in it, Coconut Creek is home to the world's largest butterfly population. Over 80 species and 5,000 individual butterflies call Coconut Creek home.

Coconut Creek is a small community filled with many small businesses, single-family homes, condos, town homes, and small gated communities. Some popular employers include the school district, Seminole Coconut Creek Casino, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and Wal-Mart.

Coconut Creek is also filled with many small law offices that are founded by excellent attorneys focusing on creating a legal practice dedicated to excellence and service to the community.

Some popular attractions include Sabal Pines Park, Tradewinds Park, Butterfly World, and Seminole Casino Coconut Creek.

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