Good News: NYC Recognizes Delay Claims

Many contractors on New York City construction projects have mistakenly come to believe that the "no-damage-for-delay" clause in their contract creates an absolute bar to recovery of delay damages. Unfortunately, some judges believe that too.

This may change. The efforts of the General Contractors Association have produced a potentially excellent result for contractors. The City has agreed to amend its standard contract language on a pilot basis, on select projects, to include language recognizing a contractor's right to recover delay damages. The language will allow contractors to negotiate change orders for delay costs during the course of a project while preserving, if negotiation is unsuccessful, the right to seek redress in court.