Construction Law & Construction Liens

BOCA RATON, DELRAY BEACH, CORAL SPRINGS, DEERFIELD BEACH, AND SOUTH FLORIDA

Construction Law

South Florida's skyline has been dotted with cranes and half-completed real estate projects - a reminder of both the good and bad times in the construction industry.

Construction projects, large and small, are made up of the complex relationship between contractors, subcontractors, developers, owners, suppliers, design professionals and financial backers. These relationships often create licensing, insurance, contract, performance and payment issues.

At Minerley Fein, P.A., we understand the relationship between all the players involved in a successful construction project. Over the years, we have represented developers, contractors, subcontractors, design professionals and suppliers in a wide variety of matters. We have drafted and reviewed contracts and litigated construction disputes, including defects and insurance claims. We have the experience in construction litigation to prosecute or defend your case before judges, juries or arbitrators.

Liens & Bonds

We recognize getting paid for the hard work and/or materials and services that you provide is your lifeblood. On the other hand, we also recognize that nobody wants to pay for goods or services they did not receive or that were defective or inferior. At Minerley Fein, P.A., a large part of our practice is representing our clients in payment disputes. We are experienced in prosecuting and defending construction liens and claims. We are also experienced in prosecution and defending construction bond claims for both private and public projects.

The Minerley Fein Difference

From our initial intake of your matter, we go through a checklist of items, to be sure that the requirements of the Florida construction lien law and the requirements to bring a claim have been met. This includes the deadlines for any required notices, filing of claims of liens, as well as the service of other required notices or affidavits. We review the work contracted for and help determine with you, that there is a valid claim for the monies owed. Together we try to anticipate issues and be proactive in pursing or defending claims. For some of the issues that you may encounter, please see our frequently asked questions.

Minerley Fein, P.A. is experienced in construction matters, representing South Florida real estate owners, developers, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, lenders and design professionals in all aspects of construction law. If you need assistance regarding a construction matter, please contact attorneys Ken Minerley, Caroline Johnson or Christen Ritchey at 561.362.6699 or via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can learn more about us, or about our other areas of practice on our website. 

Americans with Disabilities Act

As part of our construction practice we represent property owners and tenants in defense of Americans with Disabilities Accessibility cases.

Under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, no individual may be discriminated against on the basis of disability with regards to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation by any person who owns, leases or operates a place of public accommodation. Public accommodations include most places of lodging, recreation, transportation, education, and dining, along with stores, care providers, and places of public displays, among other things.

Under Title III of the ADA “new construction” must be fully compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines. Title III also has application to facilities that were constructed prior to its implementation. Generally, if removing barriers is readily achievable (i.e. easily accomplished without much difficulty or expense) they are expected to be in compliance with the ADA.

Unfortunately, one of the consequences of this law is that there is a cadre of professional plaintiff’s and their attorneys, who are file lawsuits against places of public accommodations. There are many issues involved in these lawsuits, including whether the plaintiff actually visited the property in question, whether there is likelihood that he or she will visit the facility in the future and whether the alleged architectural barriers relate to their particular disability.

Under the ADA, a successful plaintiff may be entitled to an award of their attorney’s fees in bringing such an action. A successful defendant may also be entitled to fees and costs. In South Florida some Plaintiffs have filed hundreds of law suits. These suits are often referred to as “drive by litigation”.

A property owner or lessee confronted with one of these suits has many options on how to defend the matter ranging from bringing the premises into compliances, to challenging the plaintiff’s standing to bring the action in the first place or showing that compliance is not readily achievable.

At Minerley Fein, we review your particular situation and make an evaluation as to the extent, if any, of the non-compliance of your particular property. Together we can then develop the best strategy to defend these matters. Unfortunately, in many of these situations it’s the Attorneys fees that are the driving force in these cases. One federal judge has described it as a “cottage industry”. Our goal is to minimize the expense to you in defending these cases and your exposure in costs for bringing the property into compliance and the plaintiff’s attorney’s fees. We will work with you and structure an appropriate fee arrangement for your particular situation.

Read more about ADA Claims