Part I
The Construction Industry and the legal issues involved
Laws, rules, and regulations; these are terms that we in society may take for granted. Just
as the Construction field receives a rather vague perspective from the general public.
Before delving into the research I knew very little about the legal aspects involved in the
construction industry. I would like to take this opportunity and share a few things I have
learned about General Practice and more specifically Construction Law and procedures in
the industry.
I am a student at Columbus State Community College and Ohio State University. My
major is in Construction Management. I have many friends and family members currently
involved or previously involved in the industry. Despite this I admit my knowledge of the
industry was very little prior to me actually working and academically learning its
components. Construction utilizes the skill set and mindset of many other fields such as
management, ethics, law etc. Similarly general practice lawyers experience many fields of
law.
In construction there are general rules of thumb. The construction process follows the
Master Format and contracts adopted are generally AIA (American Institute of Architects)
contracts.
“The documents produced by The American Institute of Architects (AIA) are the most
widely used standard form contracts in the construction industry. They facilitate
communication among all the parties involved in construction, which makes it easier to
produce a high quality project in a timely and economical fashion.” (AIA Louisiana)
In following the process of construction outlined and specified in the Master Format,
which has revisions every 10 years or so and using general industry accepted AIA contract
documents, it makes it easier and simpler to have full compliance.
As stated in by the Louisiana American Institute of Architects, “AIA documents reflect the
law. AIA documents are revised and updated to incorporate changes resulting from court
interpretations and rulings, legal precedent, and nuances.” In turn making these documents
up to date and reliable. They are also fair and regulated and since they are widely used,
they’re easy to interpret.
There are two main methods of constructing and awarding a project, Design-bid-build and
Design-build. The parties involved in Design-bid-build are the owner, the design firm
(Architect or Engineer), and the Contractor with their sub-contractors. In Design-build
however there is the owner and the Contractor with a design party in house. Over the years
the traditional Design-bid-build method has been pushed aside due to the industry
becoming more litigious. Owners would now much rather hire a Construction Contractor
