Construction Lawyer - Summer 2013 - "Deal...or No Deal" Identifying and Addressing Gray Areas in Construction Contracting

Sep 16, 2026

The issue of the ABA Forum on the Construction Industry’s Construction Lawyer examines how to determine whether a binding agreement exists in construction contracting when parties exchange quotes, begin work without signed contracts, or proceed with extra work based on oral directions without executed change orders. It analyzes legal risks in those common scenarios so attorneys can better advise clients and prepare strategies to address gray areas in deal formation and contractual terms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Deducing Contract Terms

"Deal...or No Deal": Identifying and Addressing Gray Areas in Construction Contracting

"Let's Make a Deal...to Make a Deal"

L 业Construction Lawyer Journal of the ABA Forum on the Construction Industry Volume 33,Number 3,Summer 2013 # Deducing Contract Terms Volume 33,Number3,Summer 2013 # 远Construction Lawyer The Construction Lawyer is published by ABA Publishing for theAmerican Bar Association's Forum on the Construction Industry.Annual dues for the Forum are $50 or $25 for lawyers with fewer thanthree years of practice or fulltime government lawyers.Membershipin the ABA and a Section thereof are prerequisites for membership inthe Forum.The views expressed herein are not necessarily those ofthe ABA or its Forum on the Construction Industry.Requests forpermission to reprint articles should be sent to the Manager ofCopyrights and Licensing at the ABA,copyright@americanbar.org.Copyright ◎2013,American Bar Association. Jones Day Washington,D.C. 202-879-7675 adness@jonesday.com Frost Brown Todd LLC Tampa,Florida Indianapolis,Indiana 813-229-4236 317-237-8351 lcatoe@carltonfields.com tbrookie@fbtlaw.com Indianapolis,Indiana 317-237-3957 dking@fbtlaw.com Denver,Colorado 720-939-0924 matthewninneman@ godinbaity.com Bethesda,Maryland 301-652-9700 wkw@wkwilburn.com MICHAELA.BRANCA Pecker &Abramson Washington,D.C. 202-293-8815 mbranca@pecklaw.com Citnalta Construction Corp.Bohemia,New York631-563-1110 Serving the Construction Industry Through Education,Leadership,and Fellowship of Construction Lawyers Publications Chair Chair R.HARPER HECKMANNexsen Pruet,LLCGreensboro,North Carolina336-373-1600hheckman@nexsenpruet.com ANDREW D.NESS TERRENCE L.BROOKIE LAUREN E.CATOE DANIEL P.KING Immediate Past ChairJAMES S.SCHENCK IVConner Gwyn Schenck PLLCRaleigh,North Carolina919-789-9242jschenck@cgsplic.com MATTHEW J.NINNEMAN EditorSTEPHEN A.HESSSherman&Howard L.L.C.Colorado Springs,Colorado719-448-4042shess@shermanhoward.com WILLIAM KARL WILBURN Associate Editor MICHAEL S.ZICHERMANRiver Edge,New Jersey201-343-3434mzicherman@pecklaw.com Staff ManagerBRIDGET MILLER312-988-5579Bridget.Miller@americanbar.org Under Construction EditorJAYNE CZIK ABA PublishingThomas J.CampbellManaging Editorthomas.campbell@americanbar.org Under Construction Associate Editor RIDGELY JACKSON Tamara KowalskiSenior Designertamara.kowalski@americanbar.org DLA Piper Chicago,Illinois 312-368-2198 Cover Illustration Forum Online Garrett Kallenbach MATTHEW DEVRIES Stites &Harbison PLLC Nashville,Tennessee 615-782-2200 www.americanbar.org/groups/construction_industry.html Summer 2013 Notes from the Editor Stephen A.Hess Comments from the ChairAndrew D.Ness 5 Report of the Diversity CommitteeCarol J.Patterson 6 Navigating the Labyrinth of ConsequentialDamages in the Construction Industry:AHistoryof and Legal Approaches to Living With ThemBenton T.Wheatley and Randy A.Canché 18 "Deal.…or No Deal":Identifying and AddressingGray Areas in Construction Contracting K.Brett Marston,Spencer M.Wiegard,Joshua C.Johnson,and Abigail E.Murchison 27 Forum-Selection Clauses in Construction Agreements:Strategic Considerations in Light of the SupremeCourt's Pending Review of Atlantic MarineJason A.Lien 36 Bad Faith Claims and Performance BondsMarc A.Sanchez and Brad D.Reed 44 Hard Hat Case NotesMichael S.Zicherman and Matthew J.Ninneman 46 Construction Bills:Recent Changes to Construction Laws Asha A.Echeverria and Brian R.Zimmerman An index to past issues of this journal appears in theForum's website(under Publications).Copies of pastarticles may be obtained through Westlaw and Lexis/Nexis.Westlaw contains selected articles from 1987,and its search-able database identifier is CONSLAW.The tollfree helpline for Westlaw is 1-800-ref-atty.The Lexis database goesback to 2001;its library is ABA and the file is CONSTL.The toll-free help line for Lexis is 1-800-543-6862. Please send change of address information to the ABA ServiceCenter,321 North Cla

FAQs

How do construction contracting quote exchanges affect whether there is a deal?

When a subcontractor submits price quotes that the general contractor relies on to prepare a bid, the publication frames this as a key context for assessing whether contractual obligations arise.

What if work begins but the proposed contract is not signed?

The document highlights that even if work has started, the lack of signature raises the question of whether a deal exists and what its terms are.

What happens when extra work is directed orally but a written change order is not signed?

The publication addresses this as another situation for determining whether a deal exists and clarifying the associated legal terms and risks.

Sep 16, 2026

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