Florida Construction Legal Updates

Florida Construction Legal Updates David Adelstein is a Florida board certified construction attorney focusing on innovative business a

David Adelstein is a Florida Board Certified Construction Attorney focusing on innovative business relationships that provide value-added services to your business. He handles complex construction disputes and caters to innovative fee arrangements where the focus is performance, results, and budgetary concerns. For more information, check out my LinkedIn page at www.linkedin.com/pub/david-adelstein/27/832/874/.

Recent trend against continues where unlicensed contractors have no recourse -
06/21/2026

Recent trend against continues where unlicensed contractors have no recourse -

There’s been a recent trend in Florida case law that has figuratively “killed” unlicensed contractors. Here’s another one. The moral to this trend and case is simple: make sure you have the proper licenses prior to serving as a contractor under Florida law. Trying to be cute, as seemed to be...

Consider the from your residential homebuilder
06/14/2026

Consider the from your residential homebuilder

When purchasing a home from a homebuilder, there is an important consideration when it comes to the limited warranty you receive around the time you close on the home. That limited warranty likely includes an arbitration provision requiring you to arbitrate your disputes, such as construction defect...

The presumption of applies to all affirmative defenses re: an insured's failure to comply with policy conditions-
05/23/2026

The presumption of applies to all affirmative defenses re: an insured's failure to comply with policy conditions-

In a recent property insurance coverage dispute, an issue on appeal pertained to the “prejudice” jury instruction associated with the insured’s failure to comply with post-loss policy conditions. The trial court found that the prejudice only pertained to prompt notice and not other post-loss p...

Are damages recoverable?
05/16/2026

Are damages recoverable?

In a case out of the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, F.O.G., LLC v. Department of the Interior, CBCA 8203, 2026 WL 1191881 (DBCA 2026) a contractor claimed damages that included “financial hardship” damages due to slow payments. The financial hardship damages included personal damages to the...

Inaccurate representations can lead to claim
04/26/2026

Inaccurate representations can lead to claim

In the prior posting, I discussed a case dealing with a differing site condition. In that case, the owner did not have an affirmative duty to make a representation and there was no inaccurate representation made by the owner that misled the contractor. Well, what about when there is an inaccurate mi...

claim requires a misrepresentation -
04/18/2026

claim requires a misrepresentation -

If you are entertaining a differing site conditions claim, consider this Third District Court of Appeals case from the mid-90s. In Hendry Corp. v. Metropolitan Dade County, 648 So.2d 140 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995), a contractor was hired by Dade County to demolish the old Rickenbacker Causeway in Miami. The...

Prefatory cannot be used to create an ambiguity with operative contract provisions-
04/11/2026

Prefatory cannot be used to create an ambiguity with operative contract provisions-

Contract drafting and interpretation matters. A case dealt with the potential conflict with prefatory language in an agreement compared with operative provisions in the agreement. The trial court held that the operative provisions control. I discussed this case here where the appellate court reverse...

Fraudulent applies as a defense to payment bond claims
04/03/2026

Fraudulent applies as a defense to payment bond claims

Under Florida’s Lien Law, there’s an affirmative defense or affirmative claim known as a “fraudulent lien.” The fraudulent lien defense or claim is set out in Florida Statute s. 713.31. This defense also extends to payment bond claims, whether under a private statutory payment bond (Florida ...

Only a contractor can appeal a from a
03/28/2026

Only a contractor can appeal a from a

A recent decision from the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals confirms that “only a ‘contractor’ may file an appeal of a contracting officer’s final decision.” Wattiker v. General Services Administration, 2026 WL 846001 (CBCA 2026) (citation omitted). The term “contractor is not an ambig...

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