Special Offers/Discounts          In-House Training          Contact Us          Home
California Construction Law
Now Available
In-House

The Law makes its way into nearly every aspect of construction. It is pervasive and necessary—as a basic framework, a foundation, of fairness with which all of the diverse elements of a construction project can be accommodated with a minimum of conflict.

Consequently, those involved in construction—prime contractors, subcontractors, owners, A-E’s, construction managers, sureties, and others—must learn to live with the applicable laws. But construction laws need not disrupt operations. If properly understood, recognized and applied, construction laws can be an ally—not an enemy. And that is what this specially developed program—CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION LAW—is all about.

Developed by Federal Publications, this custom tailored program’s purpose is to instruct you in the law’s realistic application to your construction operations, for both public and private projects, in California. It endeavors to show you, in practical, on-the-jobsite terms, the factors which must be considered at every stage of the construction process—factors which can help you further your objectives...factors which could harm you...and how the law can shield you from such harm.

The course coverage—and the benefits you will receive—include:
The California Lien Law—how it affects your activities, rights and obligations.
The key ingredients for successful bidding.
Understanding, forming and effectively using solid contracts —what type to use; the applicable clauses; remedies for problems.
Effectively defending against or pressing your own claims.
The differing rules for public vs. private construction projects in California . . . and more.

We offer this program in concentrated form—two days of hard work. And we offer it in the belief that it will make you better able to use the law as a partner in your construction activities. We offer it—in short—to help you build upon the law.

The Course Curriculum

  1. California License Law
    1. Who must obtain a license
    2. Exceptions to licensing requirements
    3. Which license is appropriate
    4. Contractor qualifications
  2. Bid Solicitation and Bidding
    1. Private vs. public projects
    2. Closed vs. open bidding
    3. Competitive bidding
    4. State agencies
    5. Counties & cities
    6. Qualification & responsiveness
    7. Responsible bidders
    8. Subcontractor bids
  3. Bid Bonds
    1. Bond types & terms
    2. Public work
    3. Private work
    4. Amount of bond liability
    5. Liability & defenses
  4. Withdrawal of Mistaken Contractor Bids
    1. Before bid closing
    2. After bid closing
    3. Contractor’s unilateral mistakes
    4. Mutual owner-contractor mistakes
    5. Public bidding procedures
    6. Consequences of withdrawal
    7. Contractor’s remedies
  5. Payment & Performance Bonds
    1. When bonds are required
    2. Bond types and terms
    3. Who can recover
    4. Amount of liability
    5. Contractor & surety defenses to liability
    6. Indemnity obligations
  6. Contract Forms
    1. Fixed-price competitively bid
    2. Unit-price competitively bid
    3. Cost-plus negotiated
    4. Design & build
    5. Turnkey
    6. Construction management
  7. Parties To The Construction Process & Appropriate Contract Forms
    1. Owner-Contractor: AIA, EJCDC & AGC
    2. Owner-Architect: AIA
    3. Owner-Engineer: NSPE
    4. Architect-Engineer: AIA & NSPE
    5. Architect-Contractor: ACG
    6. Contractor-Subcontractor: AIA
    7. Construction management: AIA & AGC
    8. Special California provisions
    9. Using abbreviated forms
    10. What to modify/what to avoid
  8. Architects & Engineers
    1. Authority & responsibility
    2. Interpretation of specifications
    3. Ordering performance and changes
    4. Cooperation
    5. Architect/Engineer negligence
    6. Warranties
    7. Claims by owners, contractors, subcontractors & others
  9. Interpreting Contract Documents
    1. Rules of interpretation
    2. All words given meaning
    3. What the parties intended
    4. Concurrent interpretation
    5. Custom & usage
    6. Technical terms
    7. Grammatical errors
    8. Specific vs. general
    9. Inconsistent terms
    10. Reasonable analysis
    11. Viewing the contract as a whole
    12. Interpretation against drafter
    13. Information from outside the contract documents
    14. Implied terms
  10. Scope Of Required Performance
    1. Strict compliance with specifications
    2. Substantial completion
    3. Performance requirements
    4. The specification tree
    5. Inspection & testing
  11. Defective Specifications Impossibility
    1. Actual impossibility
    2. Practical impossibility
    3. Warranty of specifications suitable
    4. Allocating the risk of impossibility
    5. Contractors Options
  12. Uniform Commercial Code
    1. What it is
    2. Application to construction work
    3. Application to leases
    4. Application to equipment
    5. Application to subcontracts
    6. Special express and implied warranties
    7. Duty of good faith
    8. Commercial impracticability
    9. Disclaimers
  13. Warranties
    1. How they apply to the construction process
    2. Express representations
    3. Fitness
    4. Workmanship performance
    5. Habitability
    6. Disclaimers
    7. Consequences of breach
  14. Differing Site Conditions
    1. Pre-bid & post-bid conditions
    2. Physical vs. non-physical conditions
    3. Artificially-created conditions
    4. Below vs. above ground
    5. Owner's representations
    6. Contractor’s duty to investigate
    7. Notification by contractor
    8. Relation to contract documents
    9. Contractor’s remedies
  15. Delay, Disruption & Acceleration
    1. Scheduling work
    2. Excusable delays
    3. Effects of delays
    4. Suspension of work
    5. Time extensions
    6. Ordered acceleration
    7. Constructive acceleration
    8. Contractor’s remedies
  16. Changes in the Work
    1. Ordered changes
    2. Constructive changes
    3. Required procedures
    4. Owner's right to change work
    5. Contractor's duty to perform
    6. Unilateral vs. mutually agreed changes
    7. Remedies
  17. Damage Calculation
    1. Basic principles of recovery
    2. Damages aspects of changes, changed conditions, clays acceleration
    3. “No damages for delay” clauses
    4. Labor costs
    5. Material costs
    6. Equipment costs
    7. Other direct costs
    8. Inefficiency factors
    9. Disruption costs
    10. Costs of unchanged work
    11. Field overhead
    12. Extended home office overhead
    13. Loss of business
    14. Loss of bonding capacity
    15. Profit
  18. Mechanic's Liens and Stop Notices
    1. Mechanic’s liens
    2. Private vs. public work
    3. Required procedures
    4. Foreclosure actions
    5. Stop notices
    6. Stop notice bonds
  19. Negotiation and Settlement
    1. Advantages & disadvantages
    2. When to negotiate
    3. How to prepare
    4. Selecting the team
    5. Assessing opponents’ strengths
    6. Final positions
    7. The memorandum of agreement
  20. Arbitration of Disputes
    1. California Arbitration Act
    2. Federal Arbitration Act
    3. Prevalence of binding arbitration
    4. Contract arbitration clauses
    5. Construction Arbitration Rules
    6. Arbitration procedures
    7. Enforcement of arbitration awards
    8. Challenging arbitration awards
    9. Advantages & disadvantages
  21. Judicial Relief
    1. Where to go
    2. Jury vs. nonjury trials
    3. Discovery devices
    4. Presentation of evidence
    5. Time & cost considerations
  22. Alternative Dispute Resolution
    1. Mediation
    2. Mini-trials
    3. Private Judges
    4. Referees
    5. Advisory arbitration
  23. Sanctions for False Construction Claims in California
The Course Faculty

Robert B. Thum Partner in the San Francisco law offices of Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP, specializing in the litigation and arbitration of construction disputes, drafting construction documents and construction dispute avoidance counseling • Member of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Sections of Public Contract Law and Litigation; the ABA’s Forum Committee on the Construction Industry; the American Arbitration Association’s Panel of Construction Arbitrators; the State of California’s Construction Arbitration Panel; and the Legal Advisory Committee of the Associated General Contractors of California • Honors graduate of Princeton University, and honors graduate of Cornell Law School, where he served as an Editor of the Law Review.

Stephen J. Fowler Partner in the San Francisco law offices of Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP, where he focuses on the representation of construction industry clients in disputes relating to a variety of projects, including rapid transit, airports, hospitals, nuclear power plants, manufacturing plants and oil refinery projects • Has written and lectured extensively on California construction law • Member of the American Bar Association’s Section of Public Contract Law and Litigation Section; serves on the Legal Advisory Committee of the Associated General Contractors of California • Graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and of the Hastings College of Law.