Practice Contact

Roy Bash
Practice Area Chair
T. 816.395.0633
G. Edgar James
Practice Area Vice Chair
T. 816.395.0661

Related Practice Areas

Construction / Energy / Real Estate Litigation

Our team of professionals strives to deliver legal services with uncommon insight, efficiency and understanding. We believe we should deliver legal services in a manner similar to managing your most complex construction projects – with clearly defined goals, with strategic vision, with a coordinated team approach, and with a schedule and budget that are achievable.

We counsel clients from project inception to project completion and beyond. Perspective gained from working with the many different professionals involved in construction, real estate, and energy projects provides our team with a better opportunity to understand disputes that may arise, avoid such disputes altogether, or assist in the efficient resolution of disputes when circumstances require. On the projects in which we are engaged, we are advocates and offer sound practical judgment, but most of all, we seek to be partners with our clients so that their goals and visions can be met efficiently, and their needs satisfied.

Related areas include:

Bid protests and bid preparation
DBE/MBE/WBE compliance issues
Insurance procurement and coverage issues
Contract drafting / negotiation
Project management assistance
Change order evaluation and claims assistance
Claims for payment
Claims involving public owners and public/private partnerships
Delay and disruption claims
Prompt payment claims
Lien and bond claims
Construction defect claims
Claims involving design professionals
Warranty claims
Claims involving personal injuries
Real property disputes involving ownership rights
Property tax appeals

Industries we serve

Power
Industrial
Infrastructure
Water Infrastructure
Insurance coverage
Hospitality
High-end residential
Construction financing
Commercial
Sport Facilities
Transportation

Notable Experience

Notable experience in the Construction Litigation practice group includes

Power

Represented an international power generating company prosecuting construction deficiencies in the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Puerto Rico.
Enforced liquidated damages recovery and defended against multiple change order requests by international supplier to EPC contractor, in connection with fabrication and delivery of HRSG components to power generating facility.
Obtained favorable settlement, day before starting jury trial, for EPC contractor on claims of defective performance and delay to project by structural steel subcontractor/fabricator.

Industrial

Negotiated resolution of $100 million in claims in connection with design-build contract for industrial plant constructed for international owner-operator.
Represented an ENR Top 3 engineer in connection with a mine roof collapse; positioned the case such that despite being the target defendant, the case settled with a contribution from our client of less than 10 percent of the damages asserted in the lawsuit.
Represented the general contractor for design and retooling of automotive plant paint lines in a complex lawsuit by many liening subcontractors, following owner nonpayment; conducted early mediation and successfully resolved all claims.

Infrastructure

Successfully resolved by mediation claims against design engineer on sewer work treatment project. Municipal owner claimed design defects caused premature corrosion of sewer pipe resulting in damages exceeding $3 million.
Prosecuted claims against joint venture partner for accounting and extra work payment obtaining favorable jury verdicts in two trials.

Water Infrastructure

Defended design engineer against allegations of professional negligence and breach of contract by owner seeking $20 million in damages. Jury verdicts were obtained in favor of client on all counts.

Insurance Coverage

Power Sector – Jury verdict in excess of $23 million on builder’s risk policy claim for inefficiency and out of sequence work costs, after two heat recovery steam generators were damaged in ocean transit from Japan to a power plant in Missouri. In related action, also won summary judgment (affirmed on appeal) against the ocean cargo policy.
Commercial Sector – Litigated to successful resolution for building owner against builder’s risk insurer, following denial of coverage during construction for significant damage to metallic window frames and glass curtain wall after a heavy rainfall drenched building in cementitious roofing material installed earlier that day.

Hospitality

Successfully negotiated construction agreement related to a $1 billion “Sports City” project located in Basra, Iraq, involving multiple parties from the United States, Jordon and Iraq.
Obtained judgment (for total claim, penalty interest and attorneys fees) in favor of contractor in equitable mechanic’s lien action. Represented all mechanic’s lien holders in forcing trustee sale of the property after owner filed bankruptcy, which netted proceeds in excess of the mechanic’s lien claims.
Managed multi-state litigation involving 15 related construction projects resulting in favorable summary judgments or settlement in all matters.
Secured dismissal of all multi-million dollar claims against owner’s representative in large mechanic’s lien, design and construction defect litigation involving a Colorado ski resort.

High-End Residential

After a three-week jury trial, secured a judgment in excess of $2 million for general contractor against the owner of a condominium project and two subcontractors. Held the verdicts on appeal.

Construction Financing

Successfully managed litigation for an international lender on four south Florida projects and related lawsuits where the general contractor sought to supplant the priority of the lender’s security interests and sued the lender for in excess of $10 million under theory lender was acting as a joint venture partner with defunct developer.

News

January 19, 2012	Polsinelli Shughart Received "National" and "Metropolitan" Rankings From U.S. News Media Group and Best Lawyers®
November 1, 2011	Polsinelli Shughart Welcomes Prominent Denver Group - "Meet the Attorney" Video Included
May 16, 2011	Former National Construction Company Corporate Counsel Joins Polsinelli Shughart
May 3, 2011	The KC Star Interviews Polsinelli Shughart Attorney Kevin Breer on Collections
March 10, 2011	Polsinelli Shughart Attorneys Selected for Inclusion in Colorado Super Lawyers 2011
March 2, 2011	Eugene R. Commander Named Managing Partner of Denver Office of Polsinelli Shughart
June 3, 2010	American Bar Association’s Forum on the Construction Industry Elects Polsinelli Shughart Attorney G. Edgar James to Governing Committee

Newsletters & E-Alerts

January 6, 2012	Residential Home Builders Beware A new decision by the Kansas Supreme Court drastically alters the legal landscape for claims against residential home builders. David v. Hett, No. 98,416, Kan., (Kan. Dec. 30, 2011).
December 14, 2011	There's an App for That! The US Green Building Council (USGBC) has jumped into the application world with the goals of saving time and effort in task management, data exchange, and the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) certification process, while expanding green building across the county. With numerous LEED projects completed, under construction, and in the planning stages, USGBC has created an application lab to help users navigate their way through the LEED process.
June 2010	Whether Defect Claims Are Covered by a Contractor's Commercial General Liability Contractors maintain several types of insurance to protect their businesses and to account for the risks of working on a construction project. One type of policy is a Commercial General Liability Policy (“CGL Policy”). CGL Policies generally protect the contractor where their work has caused damage to something or someone. The typical CGL Policy states that the insurance applies only to “bodily injury” and “property damage,” but only if the bodily injury or property damage are caused by an “occurrence” that takes place within the coverage territory.
February 2010	Whether an Unpaid Subcontractor Can Recover from an Owner Where the Subcontractor Has No Contractual Relationship with the Owner Historically, courts would not allow an unpaid subcontractor (or supplier) to assert a claim against an owner with whom they did not deal directly. However, in the last several years, cases in numerous states have created exceptions to the general rule and have held that, under certain limited circumstances, a subcontractor can recover from an owner on an implied contract theory (sometimes referred to as an unjust enrichment or quantum meruit theory).
September 2009	The U.S. Green Building Council Introduces Changes to its Green Building Rating System Since its inception in 1998, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) has become an internationally recognized green building certification system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The USGBC recently announced an overhaul of the LEED rating system in the form of “LEED 2009,” which incorporates several changes to the LEED process. The 2009 revamp initiative, which the USGBC calls LEED version 3, or LEED v3, has several new and/or revised components.
July 14, 2009	Kansas Court of Appeals Emphasizes Strict Adherence to Mechanic's Lien Laws in Requiring Subcontractor/Lien Claimant to Correctly Identify the Name of the General Contractor This Client Advisory details the Kansas Court of Appeals emphasis on strict adherence to mechanic's lien laws. These laws require subcontractors/lien claimants to correctly identify the name of the general contractor.
July 2009	Claims Against Design Professionals: Does the Economic Loss Rule Bar Claims for Negligent Design Services? A significant number of the courts have held that when a contractor or owner/developer suffers damages as a result of errors by a design professional, the economic loss doctrine bars negligence claims, unless such negligence causes either personal injury or damage to “other property.” What constitutes “other property” is often the central issue analyzed by the courts in these types of cases. “Economic loss” is the result of the failure of the product to perform to the level expected by the buyer, which is the core concern of traditional contract law.
May 2009	Update: Employee Free Choice Act ("EFCA") The current version of EFCA may be in trouble. However, passage of a different version, which would still favor unions, may well happen.

Awards & Recognition

March 10, 2011

Polsinelli Shughart Attorneys Selected for Inclusion in Colorado Super Lawyers 2011