Contratos y Suspensiones En Ingles

Understanding Contractual Suspension Terms: A Risk Management Tool for Owners and Contractors
Richard J. Wittbrodt Lynsey M. Eaton

Introduction

Once the owner of a construction project chooses to suspend work, contractors on the project are left with many questions, among them: • • • Who is responsible for the extra costs associated with the suspension? Is the contractor obligated tocontinue performing under the contract once the suspension is lifted? Can the contractor terminate the contract if the suspension lasts for an unreasonable period of time?

The answers to these questions are not clear. Contractors who do not fully understand their contractual and legal obligations in the face of suspension could subject themselves to further liability. The first place a contractorshould look to understand its legal obligation is the construction contract. Most modern construction contracts give the owner the right to “suspend” all or part of the work on the project for the owner’s convenience. However, the implications of the suspension, how long the suspension may last, and which party bears the responsibility for costs of the delay depend on the language of each specificcontract suspension provision. This language may vary from contract to contract and should be addressed in pre-contract negotiations between the parties. Note that many construction contracts are based on form contracts created by construction associations or the federal government. The Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) (http://cmaanet.org), the Design-Build Institute of America(DBIA) (http://www.dbia.org), the Construction Owners Association of America (COAA) (http://www.coaa.org), and the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) (http://www.naag.org) are just a few of the organizations that have developed standard form contracts to be used on construction projects. See Bruner & O’Connor on Construction Law §5:1 (2002). To evaluate each party’s legal rights andobligations in the event of a suspension, this article will address four of the most common form contracts and their suspension provisions in the realm of both public and private construction projects.
Standard Contract Provisions on Private Projects

Every provision of the construction contract can have a serious impact on the duties and obligations of all of the parties on the project.However, in the world of private construction projects, the construction contract is rarely uniform. Compounding this lack of uniformity, unfortunately, most contractors do not take the time to read every provision of the contract to determine how certain provisions might affect them and their performance. Even if they did, an attempt to negotiate those provisions, depending on the circumstances, maylose that contractor the job. In the hopes of addressing—and perhaps doing away with—this issue, certain construction industry organizations have drafted and published standard contract forms to be used in the construction industry. While there are several organizations with a specialized focus that have drafted documents for their particular fragment of the industry, the two most common generalstandard contracts are products of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) (http://www.aia.org) and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) (http://www.agc.org).

This material is reproduced from the Real Property Law Reporter (v.33:5(September 2010)), Copyright 2010 by the Regents of the University of California. Reproduced with permission of Continuing Education of theBar-California. For more information about CEB publications, telephone toll free 1-800-CEB-3444 or visit the website, CEB.com).

The AIA Contract

The AIA was founded in New York City in 1857. AIA, History of the American Institute of Architects, available at http://www.aia.org/about/history/index.htm. The purpose of the AIA was to “promote the scientific and practical perfection of its members” and...