Dan Fierstein of Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman. Courtesy photo
It is no secret that the prices of construction materials and equipment have been skyrocketing. The costs of lumber, steel, copper, glass and PVC, for example, have increased dramatically since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and through the reopening of the global economy. According to some indices, the prices of select commodities have increased by more than 100%. Fear and uncertainty abound. Vendors are unwilling or unable to sell their materials at lower prices. Owners have no desire (and perhaps no funding) to exceed their project budgets. And contractors and their subcontractors are wedged in the middle of the resulting vortex.
Throughout the crisis, our firm’s construction lawyers have fielded different iterations of these two key questions: how can I minimize my company’s risk exposure to price increases on projects already underway; and how can I protect my company on projects that are not yet awarded?
