{"id":900103,"date":"2022-06-30T09:18:03","date_gmt":"2022-06-30T15:18:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=900103"},"modified":"2025-12-17T11:37:57","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T18:37:57","slug":"no-damages-for-delay-clause-limits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/no-damages-for-delay-clause-limits\/","title":{"rendered":"Slow As A Turtle? Florida Court Finds \u201cNo Damages for Delay\u201d Clause Has Limits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Matthew DeVries | Best Practices Construction Law<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My commute home last night took longer than usual. It was not excessive traffic, an accident, or a stalled car.  Rather, the cause of my delayed commute was a turtle: one single turtle crossing the road, holding up about 30 cars for what seemed like an eternity. (Never mind the fact that no one got out of their car to help the little guy!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we think of delays on a construction project, the first inquiry is to identify the turtle\u2014the one party holding up progress or causing the delay. Many times, the parties\u2019 contract will dictate whether the contractor can recover delay damages or will be limited to a time extension for delays beyond the contractor\u2019s reasonable control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Sarasota County, Fla. v. Southern Underground Industries, Inc.<\/em>, 333 So. 3d 285 (Fla. 2d DCA 2022), the court recently held that a \u201cno damages for delay\u201d clause<\/a> did not preclude an award of damages to the contractor following the County\u2019s suspension of work.  In that case, the County issued a stop work order to the contractor installing a sanitary pipe and water line when an adjacent homeowner complained that vibration from the drilling caused damage to his home. The contractor secured an engineer\u2019s report that concluded the damage was cosmetic only and that the vibration did not exceed the acceptable threshhold.  The adjacent homeowner rejected the contractor\u2019s offer to fix the damages. Ultimately, the County continued the suspension of work for an additional two months while attempting to address the adjacent homeowner\u2019s concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The contractor sought additional compensation for the two extra months of suspension. The County rejected the claim, arguing that the \u201cno damages for delay\u201d clause in the parties\u2019 contract precluded the award of delay damages. The court found in favor of the contractor, relying on an exception to the general rule:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Although \u201cno damages for delay\u201d clauses are recognized in the law, they will not be enforced in the face of governmental \u201cfraud, bad faith, or\u00a0active interference<\/em>\u201d with performance under the contract. The record supports the trial court\u2019s finding that the County impeded work on the project, at [the contractor\u2019s] expense, long after it was determined that it was safe to proceed with minimal damage to the adjacent homes.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What is \u201cactive interference\u201d?<\/strong> While not explicitly defined in the Sarasota County<\/em> case, it requires the showing of an affirmative willful act of the owner that unreasonably interferes with the contractor\u2019s work.  Here are a few more lessons when dealing with a delay on a project:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. As a contractor, you need to first review your contracts for a \u201cno damages for delay\u201d clause. If one is present, then you will want to negotiate an \u201cactive interference\u201d clause that defines what constitutes an active interference.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. An \u201cactive interference\u201d could mean that the owner\u00a0knows<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>about the delay and still proceeds; or it could mean that the owner\u00a0conceals<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0or actively interferes by affirmative conduct.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. During performance, you should document the impact of the owner\u2019s actions, including whether the owner failed in coordinating other trade contractors for which it alone is responsible.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Even if your contract does not have an \u201cactive interference\u201d exception, there may be a common law remedy of bad faith or negligence on the owner\u2019s part, which causes the delays. \u00a0That would depend on your particular state.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    In the end, active interference to overcome a \u201cno damages for delay\u201d clause involves more than a turtle crossing the road. The dispute will be decided on the express contract language and the offending conduct giving rise to the additional damages and delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When one of your cases is in need of a construction expert, estimates, insurance appraisal or umpire services in defect or insurance disputes – please call Advise & Consult, Inc. at 888.684.8305, or email experts@adviseandconsult.net<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Matthew DeVries | Best Practices Construction Law My commute home last night took longer than usual. It was not excessive traffic, an accident, or a stalled car.  Rather, the cause of my delayed commute was a turtle: one single turtle crossing the road, holding up about 30 cars for what seemed like an eternity. (Never… Continue reading Slow As A Turtle? Florida Court Finds \u201cNo Damages for Delay\u201d Clause Has Limits<\/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":[9895,94,8998],"class_list":["post-900103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-contracts","tag-advise-consult","tag-florida","tag-no-damages-for-delays","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nSlow As A Turtle? 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