Peter W. Thomas, Jr

Real Estate and Construction: A Volatile Legal Environment

TLF maintains a busy construction law practice. By its very nature, the construction industry is susceptible to lawsuits and legal challenges. There are contract problems and projects are often fraught with delays and change orders. When construction projects go wrong, the parties involved want answers and recourse.

Generally, it's the owners who have assumed the risk and have the most to lose. When a construction project is running late and over budget, the owner is often left holding the bag and losing a great deal of money. Someone is at fault and should be held accountable. It might be the general contractor, a materialman, the architect, the engineers or any combination thereof. It's TLF's job to find the truth and protect our clients' financial interests. It's not an easy task. Everyone is pointing fingers and has a different story to tell.

TLF has represented owners, engineers, architects, contractors, subcontractors, materialmen, developers, tenants, sureties, and construction lenders in the pursuit or defense of claims on a variety of residential and commercial construction projects. This work has involved mediation and arbitration proceedings before a variety of private and public boards, as well as litigation in various state and federal courts. Thomas Law Firm has substantial experience handling sophisticated construction claims and disputes, including:

� Delay and Acceleration claims

� Total Cost and Modified Total Cost Claims

� Design Liability

� Project Finance

� Government Project Disputes

� Surety and Insurance

� Mechanic's Liens and Foreclosures

� Payment and Performance Bond Claims

� Contract Termination

� Bid Protests and Mistakes

� Changed Conditions

� Defective or Ambiguous Specification Claims

A Proactive Approach to Risk Management

TLF's extensive experience in construction litigation translates to a solid awareness of how construction projects can break down and create potential risks for each of the parties to the process. This experience represents a source of invaluable advice to clients on methods of reducing risks before a project even begins.

TLF believes that a skilled attorney's role is defined, foremost, by taking a proactive approach to keep clients out of trouble in the first place. It's about careful planning on the front end to ensure that all contract documents are carefully written to protect their interests.

Much of TLF's construction law practice therefore involves advice, negotiations, and drafting during the planning, transaction, and building of various construction projects. For instance, our attorneys have substantial experience in construction financing, performance bonds, payment bonds, stipulated sum and guaranteed maximum contracts, costs-plus contracts, fast-track arrangements, construction management, and design-build arrangements.

Thomas Law Firm has developed a range of contacts in both private and public project development throughout the Roaring Fork Valley. Those contacts include planning and zoning departments at various levels of city and county government.