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What constitutes project abandonment by a construction contractor under NY law?

New YorkConstruction Contract Payment Disputes

I have a client that began to remove work from the scope of the project as it progressed. He indicated that he wanted to do it on his own as he didn't want to pay overhead and profit. This shortened the amount of work for us but also the time on the project. I kept tabs on the progress through the architect so that I could coordinate when inspections should be done. Subsequent to a CO being issued, the homeowner made a legal demand for a very large sum of money citing project abandonment. We did not agrees as he owed us the final payment and we felt there was no ground. We are now headed to arbitration. For my own knowledge, I would like to know the legal definition of project abandonment under NY law. I am having a hard time finding it on the internet. Thank you!

1 reply

Apr 14, 2020

There's a level of intent that's required when trying to prove that someone's abandoned a project. So, if a contractor has every intention of returning to the work and if they've been keeping in contact with other project members on-site to monitor progress and determine when they can return - I'd hardly consider that abandoning the project. This would seem especially true when the contractor has been given deductive change orders or had their contract partially terminated and that's the reason they haven't been present. Still, keeping tabs of all documentation and other communications that will help prove you didn't abandon the project would be crucial. With that being said, if there are serious delays with the work, or if there are lengthy, unfounded gaps in the work - it's possible that a claim of abandonment might hold some water. The same is true if your customer requested that you return to the job site and you declined. But again, if leaving the site was the expected behavior, if an owner requested the contractor not perform the given work, and if the contractor has remained in contact with project participants for help eyeing when they should return to finish their work - then that doesn't seem like abandonment. Ultimately, though, I'm not a New York construction attorney and I'm not intimately familiar with what's considered project abandonment there. So, I'm afraid I can't provide insight into how a New York arbitrator might calculate project abandonment. But, you can always reach out to one of these New York construction attorneys to see if they might have some specific guidance. Additionally, while this article isn't specific to New York, it's still useful for generally determining how abandonment is determined: When Does a Contractor Legally Abandon a Construction Project?

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