Clauses that shift risk
Construction contracts often begin from industry forms such as AIA or ConsensusDocs, then get heavily modified, and the modifications are where the risk usually moves. Look first at the scope of work and the drawings it incorporates, the pricing method, and how change orders are requested and approved. Payment terms deserve close reading: New York courts have generally refused to enforce clauses that make a subcontractor's payment depend entirely on whether the owner pays, but clauses that only affect timing are treated differently. Delay terms, including no-damages-for-delay clauses, and the allocation of site-condition risk also matter. Insurance and additional insured requirements should be matched against what your policies actually provide.
Notice provisions and indemnity
Many claims are lost not on the merits but because notice of a change, delay, or claim was not given in the form and time the contract requires. Because courts in New York generally hold parties to those notice provisions as written, they should be flagged before signing and tracked throughout the project. Indemnity clauses are another focus; New York law limits how far one party can be required to indemnify another for that party's own negligence in construction work, but carefully drafted clauses can still shift a great deal of risk. Mechanic's lien rights are also protected, and an advance waiver of the right to file a lien is generally unenforceable in New York. Dispute resolution terms decide whether disagreements go to court or arbitration.
What to send for review
Send the full contract package, including general and supplementary conditions, the scope documents, schedules, and any prime contract that the agreement incorporates by reference. Tell us your role on the project, your margin, and which risks concern you most, such as schedule, design responsibility, or payment from a thinly capitalized owner. We review the terms, mark the ones worth negotiating, and suggest practical alternatives the other side may accept. Where the form is non-negotiable, we explain the notice deadlines and procedures your project team needs to follow.
