Author Archives: Jay Butchko
How Arbitration Clauses Work in Florida Construction Contracts
Buried in the back pages of many construction contracts sits a short paragraph that can decide where, how, and in front of whom your next dispute is heard. Arbitration clauses rarely get much attention when the project is new and everyone is getting along. They get a great deal of attention once a payment… Read More »
Differing Site Conditions Claims: What Contractors Need to Prove
Every contractor has a story about the ground that did not match the plans. You price a job from the soil report and site drawings, break ground, and hit buried debris, groundwater, or solid rock that nobody mentioned. Suddenly the schedule slips and the budget bleeds. A differing site conditions claim is how a… Read More »
Using and Drafting Non-Disparagement Agreements
We live in an age where someone with a bad opinion about you, legitimate or not, or based in fact or not, can bring down your business. A simple opinion can be heard on social media and multiple online platforms. While you can sue for absolute falsities, you really cannot sue just because someone… Read More »
Avoid These Questions in Job Interviews
When you sit down for a job interview to screen out possible employees, you likely don’t think about discriminating. Your questions are likely probing and relevant and your conversation is friendly–or so you thought. Until you don’t hire a particular candidate and there is a discrimination lawsuit filed against you. How did that happen?… Read More »
Problems Entrepreneurs Run Into When Starting Businesses
It is, they say, the American dream to be an entrepreneur. But with that freedom and potential for earnings, comes legal responsibility, and the requirement of knowing the ins and outs of the laws that often get entrepreneurs in legal trouble. Workers’ Compensation Requirements Your business must provide workers’ compensation for your employees. Do… Read More »
Will You Get Paid If You Win Your Case?
In the real world, it’s not a good thing to get ahead of yourself. What must be done at the beginning should be considered first, before worrying about the obstacles or challenges at the end of the task. But in law, there is a big exception to that: getting paid on a judgment. Even… Read More »
What Subcontractors Should Know Before Signing a Master Services Agreement
Master services agreements have become common in the construction industry, especially when a general contractor works with the same subcontractor on multiple projects. Instead of negotiating a full contract for every job, the parties sign one overarching agreement that governs the relationship, and individual work orders or task orders cover the specifics of each… Read More »
Protecting What Makes Your Business Different: Trade Secret Misappropriation Under Florida Law
Every business has something that gives it an edge. A pricing formula, a client list built over years, a manufacturing process, or a piece of software that nobody else has quite figured out. When a former employee, business partner, or competitor takes that information and uses it without permission, Florida law gives you a… Read More »
Retainage Rules Every South Florida Subcontractor Should Know
If you’re a subcontractor working on a project in Broward, Palm Beach, or Miami-Dade County, you’ve probably run into retainage. It’s the portion of your payment that gets held back until the job, or a phase of it, is finished. It’s meant to give owners and general contractors some leverage to make sure work… Read More »
What Do You Have to Do to Mitigate Your Damages?
When someone breaches a contract with you, the general assumption is that you can sit back, do nothing, sue, and recover your damages. But that’s not always how it works. Often, even though you are the “victim” of a breach of contract–you still may have some obligations to fulfill if you want to be… Read More »
