This is the last part of our current series of articles on construction management agreements (CMAs). In this article, we discuss the liability of construction managers (CMs) under provisions of CMAs as they pertain to the construction phase of the project. For the purposes of this article, we use the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) form of CMA.

Liability of the Manager

Fundamentally, the construction manager is responsible for the performance of the work in accordance with the contract documents, consisting of: the CMA; the plans and specifications prepared by the owner’s design team; and the scopes of work of the subcontractors. The CM is also responsible to deliver a complete and integrated project; coordinate and cause the work to be complete and corrected by its subcontractors; maintain job site safety; and ensure compliance with applicable codes, rules and regulations. (While the CM is primarily responsible to cause the work to be performed by the subcontractors, the CMA should provide that the owner is a third-party beneficiary of the subcontracts.)