Peoria Construction Dispute Lawyers

Construction Dispute Law in Illinois

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

In the overwhelming majority of cases, however, these problems are resolvable, and do not lead to major disputes. Being rational, business-minded adults, landowners and construction contractors are normally able to resolve disputes amongst themselves. After all, both stand to gain if the project is completed, and the contractor is paid.

And even if disputes can't be resolved so easily, the courts still don't necessarily have to get immersed. For example, a construction contract may require mediation before any further action is taken. Mediation is a process by which a third party tries to guide the parties to the dispute to a settlement. The mediator cannot, however, render any binding decision. Another avenue is arbitration. This is where the parties go to a private arbitration service, which can render a binding judgment (typically enforceable through contract law, as the parties agree in advance to abide by the arbitrator's decision). Arbitration has benefits over litigation, as the parties can have a say in choosing the arbitrator (allowing them to have their case arbitrated by an expert on construction disputes, for example).

Litigation of construction disputes in Peoria, Illinois can be extremely time-consuming, stressful, and costly. Nevertheless, there are (relatively rare) times where it is the only option.

Examples of Construction Disputes That Might Lead to Litigation in Peoria, Illinois

Delays: Some minor delays in a construction project are all but guaranteed to occur. Normally, if contracts require a specific completion date, the contractor will give itself longer than the project would take under ideal circumstances, to account for possible delays. Additionally, construction contracts usually attempt to insure against delays, such as imposing fees on contractors if the project is delayed beyond a certain point. If no such clause is included in a contract, a court will usually award the client damages that could have been reasonably anticipated at the time the contract was entered into.

Refusal to Pay: Contractors can be on the other side of legal disagreements, as well. Sometimes, the landowners who hired them refuse to pay. This is normally because the landowner believes that the contractor didn't perform under the terms of the contract, or that the work was unsatisfactory. If this is the case, it may ultimately be up to a court to decide who is right. If the contractor did, in fact, do poor work, the landowner will be excused, at least in part, from his duty to pay. If, on the other hand, the work was satisfactory, the court will order the landowner to pay the contract price immediately, and may award further damages if the refusal to pay was done in bad faith, or if it caused foreseeable economic harm to the contractor.

Subcontractor Disputes: In large projects, contractors often can't handle every aspect of the construction, so they hire other (normally 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 Liens: A mechanic's lien is a way for a contractor to secure payment if a landowner declines to pay. In such cases, if the contractor sues and wins, he or she can sometimes impose a mechanic's lien on the property he or she just worked on. This authorizes the contractor to force a sale of the property to cover the judgment. It is usually used when other attempts to secure payment fail.

Can a Peoria, Illinois Attorney Help?

Construction disputes and disagreements can be very hard to deal with alone. The assistance of a Peoria, Illinois real estate attorney can make the process of dealing with these disputes much quicker and easier.

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Life in Peoria

Peoria, Illinois is a city in Peoria County, of which it serves as the county seat. It has a population of about 115,000, making it the seventh-largest city in Illinois.

Peoria is named after the Peoria tribe of Native Americans. Peoria, Illinois is considered by many people, because of its demographics and mainstream values, to be the quintessential representation of the average American city, to the point that many marketers use the phrase "Will it play in Peoria?" as a shorthand for evaluating whether or not a product, service, piece of entertainment, etc. will appeal to a wide swath of the mainstream American public. Also, Peoria, Illinois is frequently used as a test market for new products, largely for the reasons just discussed.

Because Peoria, Illinois is such an accurate cross section of the United States, the lawyers of Peoria, Illinois are highly skilled in practicing the areas of law that average people are likely to face, like family law, personal injury, bankruptcy, etc.

So, the chances are very good that if you are in or around Peoria, Illinois, and need legal advice, there's a good chance that a Peoria, Illinois attorney will be able to help you with your issue.

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Construction Dispute Law in Illinois

Examples of Construction Disputes That Might Lead to Litigation in Peoria, Illinois