{"id":898312,"date":"2020-12-10T11:43:12","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T18:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=898312"},"modified":"2020-12-10T11:43:16","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T18:43:16","slug":"change-order-requirements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/change-order-requirements\/","title":{"rendered":"Written Change Order Requirements In Construction Contracts May Be Waived"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Bradley Pollina | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.csrealconblog.com\/2020\/12\/articles\/construction\/construction-contracts\/written-change-order-requirements-in-construction-contracts-may-be-waived\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Cole Schotz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A frequent topic of dispute in litigation involving construction projects is whether a subcontractor is entitled to payment for work it performs outside its contractual scope of work\u2014often referred to as \u201cextra work\u201d or \u201cchange order work\u201d\u2014without obtaining a signed written <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/unapproved-change-orders-lawful-mechanics-lien\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">change order<\/a> to perform the work.\u00a0 The same issue often arises in the context of change orders and directives issued from the owner to the general contractor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a typical scenario, the general contractor orally directs a subcontractor to perform work outside of the subcontractor\u2019s scope and promises that a written change order will shortly follow.&nbsp; The subcontractor, conscientious to keep the project moving, complies with the oral directive and completes the extra work without obtaining a signed written change order.&nbsp; Its subsequent payment requisition is then denied for failure to obtain the signed change order.&nbsp; Is the subcontractor legally entitled to be paid for the work that the general contractor directed it to perform, even without a signed change order?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In&nbsp;<em>DeGraw Construction Group, Inc. v. HPDC2 Housing Development Fund Company, Inc.<\/em>, 2020 NY Slip Op 07131 (Dec. 1, 2020), the Appellate Division, First Department, reaffirmed that \u201coral directions to perform extra work, or the general course of conduct between the parties\u201d may \u201cmodify or eliminate contract provisions that require written authorization.\u201d&nbsp; In that case, the subcontract itself required signed written change orders, but none were issued to the subcontractor in connection with work performed outside the subcontractor\u2019s scope.&nbsp; Nevertheless, the court held that the subcontractor was still entitled to payment for the extra work because the change orders were \u201cdirected, authorized, and performed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The decision in&nbsp;<em>DeGraw<\/em>&nbsp;will come as a welcome reminder to subcontractors that technical contract requirements for written change orders will not always be enforced, if the subcontractors are directed to perform the work and do perform the work without objection from the general contractor.&nbsp; That said, every effort should still be made to secure signed written change orders where they are required by the contract, in order to avoid unnecessary, disruptive and costly disputes.&nbsp; By the same token, general contractors and owners who do not consent to change order work should clearly object in writing to performance of the extra work.&nbsp; If they do not do so, and the subcontractor proceeds with the extra work, the general contractor or owner may be found to have \u201cauthorized\u201d the work by their silence and therefore be responsible for paying the subcontractor for such work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bradley Pollina | Cole Schotz A frequent topic of dispute in litigation involving construction projects is whether a subcontractor is entitled to payment for work it performs outside its contractual scope of work\u2014often referred to as \u201cextra work\u201d or \u201cchange order work\u201d\u2014without obtaining a signed written change order to perform the work.\u00a0 The same issue&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/change-order-requirements\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Written Change Order Requirements In Construction Contracts May Be Waived<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[9895,358,224],"class_list":["post-898312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-contracts","tag-advise-consult","tag-change-order","tag-construction-contract","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Written Change Order Requirements In Construction Contracts May Be Waived - Advise &amp; 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