How to Use Contract Clauses to Defend Against Material Price Swings

Are fluctuating lumber and other material prices putting strain on your business relationships and creating cash flow surprises? 

Join this upcoming webinar to hear how price volatility and escalation clauses can help you prepare for any price changes led by Benjamin Lowenthal, an Atlanta-based construction attorney at Hendrick Phillips Salzman & Siegel.

Register for the live discussion and Q&A to find out:

• How to set up a future-proof dynamic contract
• Options to salvage finances and relationships mid-project
• Legal ways to collect on disputed payments

Transcript

Justin Gitleman (00:05):
Alrighty, it looks like we’re started here for sharing. There we go. That’s better. Hey everybody. Uh, thanks for joining us here today. We’re going to get started in a minute. I was just going to wait for some people to pour in here and, uh, excited to have you here. Get started if you’re ready. Ben sounds good. All right. Well, good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to this Levelset webinar on contract clauses that are used to defend against material price swings. My name is Justin Gitelman. I’m a payment expert here at Levelset. Um, I filed over 5,000 liens myself, so I have all kinds of, um, knowledge on, on just how payment works for construction. So, um, I have this great speaker here today, Benjamin Lowenthal. Who’s an attorney in Atlanta, Georgia, um, who introduce here in a second. Um, but I’m really excited to have him present on this topic if you want to go to the next slide, Ben. And, uh, so for those who don’t know about Levelset, um, we help contractors with payments and lien rights and, uh, sending notices and electronic payment paperwork, finding accurate job site details and getting alerts and all that kind of stuff. Just making payment, just smooth and easy. Um, so without further ado, uh, I think Benjamin, if you want to introduce yourself, I think we can get started with the presentation.

Benjamin Lowenthal (01:53):
Yeah, thanks Justin. Glad to be here with Levelset and, um, I’m an associate at the construction law firm. Hendrick, Phillips, Salzman & Siegel. Um, we’re based out of Atlanta, Georgia, but we have a national practice national practice and we’re actually celebrating our 40th anniversary this year. And throughout those 40 years, we’ve been singularly focused on representing the construction industry and, uh, we’ve really developed some, uh, amazing, uh, strategies for contractors and subcontractors to address, um, price, material, material, price increases. Um, you know, I prepared this presentation so that everyone can walk away with, you know, real strategies and also contract language that I want everyone here to incorporate into all their bids, proposals and ultimately contracts for all projects. Um, we’ll talk a little bit today about what you can do in the pre-contractual phase and then what you can try to do after you have a contract in place, but it is vital to get these escalation clauses in, um, before you’re under contract because your, your options are drastically, uh, decreased when once you have a project in place, um, we want everyone to be able to, uh, recoup the costs of these materials that we’re seeing dramatically, um, increase in price.

Benjamin Lowenthal (03:28):
So I want to answer, uh, introduce with this, uh, meme that a contractor buddy of mine posted. I found it hilarious, you know, take me somewhere expensive. Yeah. Take your date to a lumberyard. Um, so that was, you know, pretty funny and, you know, it’s the me, it was funny, but it is true. Um, you know, construction material, material prices have skyrocketed, um, causing not only price escalation, but also significant delays for all projects. Um, and this goes to the real roll thumb here, you know, after the contract provision, um, two contrary, the general rule is that a contractor bears the risk of increases in price materials and fixed price contracts. So if you don’t have the contract language in place, you really are, uh, out of luck, your options are, you know, dramatically decrease in what you can do. Um, so we’ll go through what language you can incorporate in, and then also strategies for what you can do to mitigate the price increase, um, material price increases.

Justin Gitleman (04:38):
I can’t wait to hear about it and really dive in deep here. Um, just want to give everybody a reminder if you have any questions throughout this webinar, um, go ahead and throw them in the chat or the Q and a buttons that should be at the bottom of your screen. Um, I’ll try to bring them up to, to Benjamin and, uh, see if we can get them incorporate to discussion. Yeah.

Benjamin Lowenthal (04:59):
Thanks. Thanks Justin. And I want this to be valuable to everyone here today, ask your questions. There’s going to be a, a Q and a, a time block at the end. We have 30 minutes and a lot of material to go through. Um, but like I said, there’s gonna be a lot of material and contract language presented here. Um, I want this to be used as a reference guide for everyone to go back to this language and utilize it, um, in all their contracts and negotiation strategies for all your projects,

Justin Gitleman (05:30):
We’ll get a recording as well as a copy of the slides after this, um, that you can reference anytime. So don’t worry about memorizing it all right now. Yeah. Yes.

Benjamin Lowenthal (05:39):
There’s going to be too much to memorize. Um, thanks Justin. So, you know, I like to look at, look at the different phases of a project. You know, you had your pre-contractual and pre performance phase, and that’s what we need to focus on. Um, for all projects going forward, this is where you can negotiate and be able to incorporate the key clauses that you’ll need to be able to recoup, uh, these price increases. Um, so this is the contract negotiation phase. After you have a contract in place, this is the performance stage. Um, and so your options are limited, but you know, we’ll go over some strategies such as communicate with material suppliers. Um, materials library is getting really tricky these days. Uh, we need to hold their feet to the fire with their delivery dates and also the prices. Um, you know, just today we have a client of ours, um, receive word from the supplier that they don’t know the delivery day.

Benjamin Lowenthal (06:36):
They don’t know the price they can offer at this point. Um, and a client calls us and said, what can they do? Um, and so we’re working with them and, uh, really holding the suppliers to what they have guaranteed. And, uh, it’s tricky because they are getting tricky now, um, with all these material delays in material costs increase also, um, we want to be able to open the communication channel to both the owner or the general contractor, let them know what is going on, let them know what you’ve been. What’s been communicated to you by the material suppliers, keep that open, the more, uh, dialogue and communication. Um, the better chances you’ll have to be able to negotiate a resolution to these price increases. Um, also you might have certain, uh, contract language and clauses in place, um, that you might be able to utilize to address these price increases such as, you know, a change order or delay provisions that you’ll be able to use.

Benjamin Lowenthal (07:38):
That’s not specifically focused on a price increase, but something that we can utilize, um, getting, uh, we can utilize to be able to address these issues. So, you know, bids and proposals, this is what I want everyone to be able to incorporate in a proposal AB terms and conditions. This is your opportunity to allow you to play by your contractual terms. So if you’re just submitting a bid without certain terms and conditions stop doing that, you want to be able to have, uh, you know, terms that you can work by, that will increase your chances to payment and allow you to address material costs, escalation. So this is, uh, the language that we, uh, we ask that all of our clients incorporate into their bids and proposals. Um, and this allows for, um, you know, uh, contract price to reflect additional costs that our client or contractor will incur, uh, falling, uh, you know, the middle of written documentation, um, and written notice, um, this is what you want.

Benjamin Lowenthal (08:45):
This is the golden standard that you want to have. Um, you know, a lot of the times during contract negotiations, owners and general contractors will push back and we’ll be able to talk about how we can negotiate when that happens. Also, when you have a bit of proposal in there, you want to limit the days that, uh, the bid will be active. Um, you know, you don’t want it just sitting there. Um, and then, you know, a month or two after, uh, you submitted the proposal, the owner general contract comes back, accepts the bid. And in, in between that time period, there’s going to drag increasing in costs. And so you don’t want to have that, uh, happen. So limit the number of days that the proposal, um, is open.

Benjamin Lowenthal (09:31):
So contracts, this is, uh, what we want to negotiate and incorporate into your actual contract. Let’s say they didn’t accept the terms and conditions in the bid. Um, we want to have the language in the contract as well. So this right here will allow this clause to activate when there’s a, been a certain percentage increase in the price of material. Um, I want to make sure that everyone here, Justin, are you still with us? Sorry. Oh, no problem. Um, Justin is want to make sure you can still see me, right? Yep, definitely. Alright, good. Good. So, you know, this clause right here allows us to set a certain percentage, be it price increase by 10% or more. Um, and that point you would be able to incur with a equitable adjustment to the contract price here. Um, this allows for negotiation, um, let’s say the owner or general contractor doesn’t want to accept a 10% threshold, but you can come back and say, look, we’ll put in a 25% wrestled, meaning that the applause will be activated.

Benjamin Lowenthal (10:46):
If the price of material goes up by 25% or more. So that allows us to get some negotiations in play. Um, and you can play with the numbers. Um, obviously for our purposes, a lower percentage is always better because you don’t want anything below that percentage that you set the, uh, you will have to eat those increased costs of material. Um, so it’s gives you a way to really negotiate, um, with percentages to be able to incorporate the clause in there. Also there’s a standard form, uh, price escalation clause. This is a consensus doc, uh, two, 200.1 amendment number one. Um, so if they don’t like the language that you’re, uh, you’re offering, you can always go back to some standard form agreement, agreements, and AIA standard general conditions are another form that you can work with. Um, but there’s also, but this is just an example of a standard form that you can use if they are not liking your language.

Benjamin Lowenthal (11:48):
And, you know, Justin, I discussed a little about this, you know, there’s some strategy for incorporating and price escalation clauses in here. Um, and Justin and I were talking about before, you know, we want to make it, you know, we want it to be able to get the contract language in there one way is to say, look, we’re also going to include a, we’re also include terms that allows for price decrease to allow credits to the owner of GC for, um, the decrease in prices of material. Um, and so you can play with this and, um, allow the owner or general contractor to say, look, all right, this is we’re going to allow for a cost increase. We’re also going to be able to recoup any decrease in prices of material. Um, so yeah,

Justin Gitleman (12:43):
You’re basically saying we’re just going to make sure that this all costs the amount that it costs and that it’s going to be fair for everyone. And you’re not just saying like, I hope you can get ready for this price to increase inevitably.

Benjamin Lowenthal (12:54):
Yeah, it’s an equitable term here. And so that’s what we are always fighting for on behalf of our clients. We’re trying to have a level playing field. That’s what we’re all about in these contract negotiations. Um, you don’t want to have a one-sided contract. Uh, you want to have it equitable for all parties. And, you know, that’s a way for us to really, um, address this in our negotiations.

Justin Gitleman (13:22):
There’s a question that came through here, Benjamin. Um, so I’m not sure if this is something that maybe will be answered later or that we could kind of discuss another time, but, um, Dennis asks, can I project increases on lumber based on the first six months of this year? So it sounds like that’s saying like, should, should contracts be based on the prices that they’ve been in the past six months?

Benjamin Lowenthal (13:42):
Yeah. I mean, you can always try to, um, but definitely leave it open to if there is going to be a dramatic increase, allow for you to be able to recoup those increased costs of material. So, you know, it’s going up and down, but these terms will allow you to, uh, address the situation, you know, in the future when the price of lumber or any other construction material goes up. So, you know, you can try to predict, but you never know. And so that’s what these clauses are aimed for to be able to protect us, um, in the event of a dramatic increase, um, and, uh, really protect your bottom line.

Justin Gitleman (14:22):
That makes sense. And I see John has raised a hand, if you have a question, uh, just throw it in the chat, just type it in or the Q and a, and we’ll see if we can get an answer.

Benjamin Lowenthal (14:30):
Yeah, thanks, Justin. Also, you know, another strategy, um, if the owner or general contractor is not going to agree to a price escalation about, you know, storage material, that’s one thing that we are telling our clients day in, day out, try to order materials as soon as you can and negotiate and try to, you know, discuss the matter with the owner of GC saying, look, we want to lock in these prices, get the material now to be able to do so, we’re going to need to store it obviously. So that’s going to be some, uh, there’s going to be the price of storage and the cost of storage associated with that. So, you know, get locked in the prices, get the material. And this clause right here allows for, um, the material to be stored and, uh, allows everything to be in place. So you don’t have to wait down the line and be subject to dramatic increases price COVID um, I mean, you know, everyone’s, I’m sure everyone here is sick and tired of talking about COVID, but we need to bring it up now because it really gives us an opportunity to address price escalation.

Benjamin Lowenthal (15:38):
And so this is a COVID specific price escalation clause in here that will allow us to operate the same way, but is sort of COVID leaning. And so we always tell all of our clients to incorporate these, these, uh, flaws of these COVID closets into their contracts, excuse me. Um, it will reinforce if you already have a price escalation clause, it would only reinforce it if you don’t. This allows you to have a price escalation clause in here. Um, also related to COVID a force majeure, um, you know, this will allow us to have, uh, to address, you know, these, uh, any delays or, you know, uh, price increases as well. Um, so these are COVID specific clauses that I would say everyone here incorporate into your contract, um, and utilize them, um, they’re for your benefit. And if we can get them in with, uh, you know, with COVID, um, and we’re happy. Um, so utilize these also for federal government projects, there is a, uh, far regulation that allows you to have a price increase, um, when it goes [inaudible] and bidding on federal projects, make sure to work with the contracting officer to allow this price escalation clause into your ultimate ultimate project. Um, so this is obviously for federal projects to be able to use,

Justin Gitleman (17:09):
I guess that’s kind of a question that Sherry asked here, what, what can be done if you don’t get to use your own contract?

Benjamin Lowenthal (17:16):
Yeah. So, you know, that’s, you know, with the bid and proposal with your terms and conditions that allows you to have your own contract in place, um, it’s not accepted, then you’re looking to put your work students, I’ll go back to slide. You’re really looking to incorporate this into whatever contract the owner or general contractor is asking you to sign. Um, so that’s when this comes into play, um, incorporating this in, uh, via an addendum or a revision, um, and negotiate with them. So you can always, you don’t have to sign, you always have the option to, you know, cross out language, revise language and negotiate contracts. And please, please, please, don’t just go ahead and sign a contract without reading through it and incorporating favorable terms that you’ll need to protect you specifically here for dramatic price increases.

Benjamin Lowenthal (18:13):
Okay. Um, liquidated damages, you know, we’re dealing with, uh, delay project delays associated with the, you know, bottlenecking of materials, breaking issue that we’re seeing right now. So, you know, you don’t want to be liable for liquidated damages, um, or circumstances beyond your control. Um, this is what we have all our clients put into their contracts. When there, when there are liquidated damages in play, this allows you to only be assessed liquidated damages when there’s something that doesn’t allows you not to incur liquidated damages, if there’s delays that are beyond your control. Um, you know, this is what I was talking a little bit about before at the beginning, you know, you want to keep, uh, channels communication, open more information the better. So reach out to them, go cereal suppliers, hold their feet to the fire, to any delivery, dates and prices. Um, you know, the more, uh, in the more communication, the more demands that you make, uh, the more requests for assurances, the better, you know, you really need to keep it out, you know, to keep all the communication going. And at the same token, relay all the information back to the owner and PC. Um, you know, like I said before, you know, there’s alternatives. If they’re not, if you don’t have a price escalation ask, if you’re going to, uh, order the prices, order the materials, now get store them on site. Um, and try to see if there’s anything that the NRGC will be able to, um, you know, if you don’t request relief, you won’t receive it. Um, so that’s the big thing. Be vocal, keep the communication going.

Justin Gitleman (19:58):
I have a question about that. Is there, are there any legal requirements for giving notice and communicating all of that? Like, are there state specific ones even, or anything just have to be written verbal email, like in any of that kind of stuff?

Benjamin Lowenthal (20:10):
Yeah. Justin, thanks for, you know, asking the question. Um, there are informal notices, the communications, um, you know, status of, you know, the delivery, uh, you know, the prices and then also there’s contractual notice requirements, um, dealing with either, you know, delay clauses or change order, uh, clauses. You know, you really want to make sure that, you know, you know, what your notice requirements are, the time that you must make note, make the notice how it needs to be made, uh, written, uh, it, can it be made, be email, you know, this is all going to be in the contract. Really know what your notice requirements are. You don’t want to waive your right to, and what price escalation clause, if you didn’t make the necessary notice. Um, either, you know, uh, within the time that’s in the contract and the form is in the contract.

Benjamin Lowenthal (21:03):
Um, so make sure to note all those, highlight them, circle, circle them, make sure all your guys on the project know about those, uh, in, you know, if you don’t have a price escalation clause in play, you know, are there any changes in the work that could provide recovery? Um, you know, if there is any delay due to another contractor, um, that might be able to allow you some relief. Um, so really look around at the circumstances of the project. Um, are there any things that might, you know, impact or, uh, might bring into play other provisions that allow you to relief, uh, change or delay provisions in the first one to look, look at force majeure provisions. Um, if your contract has any of those also record keeping is vital. Um, you need to have invoices communications with your suppliers. Um, all of these things are need to be kept and be able to support any claim, uh, that you’ll eventually make for these price increase price increases. You want to have more information, the more information that you have more documents able to provide the owner GC, the more likely you’ll be able to get the, you know, the relief. Um, so really keep up with the record keeping. Um, also, like I just said, you know, comply with the contractual notice required, um, be able to back your right here.

Justin Gitleman (22:26):
So that means like if you have a contract, um, but you’re still not getting paid for the increase that you kind of agreed to. You’ve just protected your right to make a claim like a lien claim or, or some kind of payment claim.

Benjamin Lowenthal (22:38):
Yeah. You’re going to need to look into the contract and, you know, be able to protect those rights, um, and see, uh, what you need to do and get it done. Um, and know these come into play change or delay provisions. Uh, you have a price escalation clause, you know, there’s usually a written component to it. Um, and so it makes sure you note those and, you know, also for, you know, when you have, when you don’t, when you’re not contracting directly with the owner, um, you’re a sub contract with a general contractor. Um, if there is a prime contract that is incorporated by reference, make sure you have it, make sure you should have it very beginning. And if you don’t have it demand it, um, because your contract rights are going to be dependent on what’s in that, that language here. Um, you know, sometimes there is a AIA document in play here.

Benjamin Lowenthal (23:39):
Um, you know, there’s Accenture of times, uh, there’s extension of time provision and eight two Oh one dental conditions form. Um, if the contract is laid at anytime the commencement or progress of the work, uh, unusual delay in deliveries or other causes beyond contractuals control, then the contract time shift will be extended for such a beautiful time, perfect eight permit. So, you know, this is really looking at all of contract revisions that you have and utilizing, um, you know, being creative, uh, looking at different provisions that you can use to really recoup, um, the, uh, dramatic price increases or, you know, not be liable for any delay or be granted delay if the granted, you know, reasonable time, uh, to be able to, uh, address the delays caused by the material prices. And this is all, you know, obviously for causes beyond your control, that’s your key language, you know, this delay is beyond your control. Um, that’s what you need to say, and that’s what you need to be able to communicate with, uh, the owner of GC. Yeah.

Benjamin Lowenthal (24:54):
So we are actually dealing with this today. You know, our client came to us, they got a notice of default and, you know, how do you respond to that? Um, this is just some, uh, standard language that we might, uh, had by the client to respond to, you know, obviously signed into the contract. Um, you know, specifically saying that, you know, the delay of, uh, lays and delivery materials are beyond your control. Um, they’re requesting a, you know, like sensitive time for a certain number of days, um, to be able to address these delays due to a delivery of materials. Um, and in any response that you have to put together include as much information as you possibly can, the communications that you received, uh, that you demanded and received directly from the supplier, um, original invoices that you might have, uh, put it all in there.

Benjamin Lowenthal (25:50):
Um, and so this is just language that you could use when we’re speaking, then it gets you to your last line of defense here. Um, you know, you have potential legal arguments. Um, unfortunately when you don’t have the price escalation clause in play, um, these legal arguments, uh, can be made, but they’re very limited. Uh, the success is very limited. Um, you have the doctrines of commercial, intractability frustration of purpose, of frustration, of purpose. And, you know, these are really is our contract principles, um, for unseen events that make contractual performance, especially burdensome or extremely expensive, you might say, look, that sounds like, uh, that sounds like, you know, the situation that we would have here with the dramatic increase in the price of the material. Um, but however it must be foreseeable. Um, and you know, courts have held that, uh, price increases of construction materials are foreseeable.

Benjamin Lowenthal (26:53):
Um, and so the, usually, uh, in the event that there isn’t any dramatic, let’s say natural disaster, or, you know, uh, some other huge event that would make the performance of the contract, uh, burdensome, then it’s not really going to be able to come into play. Um, and I know Justin and I were talking a little bit before, uh, about, you know, when would you bring, bring these types of claims? You know, when would you, at what point do you file a lien on the project? Well, it really is project in fact specific. Um, and you’re needing, you’ll need to talk to your attorney about what options that you have, um, and whether these types of legal arguments and claims might be able to be brought. Um, like I said, it’s not very limited, uh, assuming the access is very limited. Um, so you really want to address these duress address, price, escalation issues when you’re negotiating, um, make sure you have language in there, um, that will allow you to get relief, um, because this is a, you know, the current status of these, you know, material issues are, are, are to the point to really, haven’t seen it before.

Benjamin Lowenthal (28:08):
Um, you know, there’s a whole host of reasons, um, at play here, but you know, this is happening now and for the foreseeable future, um, and it’s going to impact every single project out there. Um, so make sure that, you know, when you’re negotiating or submitting a bid, we have a checklist and put the price escalation clause, or the strategies that, you know, uh, I have discussed in this presentation on that checklist to make sure that you protect yourself. And, you know, I wanted to be able to give, um, everyone here a useful contract language that they can incorporate. This is a guy that I want everyone to go back to, um, and utilize, um, when they’re negotiating contracts and, you know, summing up right now, like I just said, Aston a contract revision and contractor bears, risk of material price increase, and should not expect relief.

Benjamin Lowenthal (29:03):
So you don’t have it in there. You know, you are, uh, there are things that you can do, but, you know, you’re, you’re not acting like you would be right. The escalation clause, um, push for an incorporation as plays and closets into all on track. I can’t emphasize that enough. And then, you know, for jobs already under contract where you might not have a price, escalation clause be proactive, you know, how the communication, um, ongoing demand delivery, uh, and price information from material suppliers and, you know, work with the owner and general contractor, um, you know, they might be sympathetic, uh, you know, sympathetic own her paternal Kendra that, you know, that might be, uh, me dreaming here, but, um, you know, you never know, and you won’t get the relief unless you request it. So be able to have that communication going. Um, you know, the more information out there, uh, the better, um, and also make sure you comply with all contractual nos requirements, um, to make sure you don’t waive any contractual rights that you might have, um, change, work order, uh, clauses, uh, delay, clauses, all those, um, you’re going to want to make sure, you know, the notice, the notice requirements and adhere to those.

Justin Gitleman (30:23):
Awesome. And it’s, it sounds to me like to also sum all that up, having a, an attorney review, your contract can always be really helpful too, to make sure that, um, especially if there’s any local provisions, uh, that you can look at, um,

Benjamin Lowenthal (30:38):
Yeah, it’s a very good point, Justin, you know, this is you’re going to have to look at not only your contracts, but know the law and the state that your project is in. Um, you know, the, these are very general recommendations because everything it’s very project and contract specific, you know, you need to look at what your contract, what contract you have in terms of the contract, um, and the back specific nature of the project and situation that you’re in. Um, you know, there’s options here, you know, we’re always available, um, you know, help out for questions, Justin, a Levelset have, you know, incredible resources available, um, to utilize in making sure everyone gets paid. You’re not left holding the bag with, uh, you know, material, price increases, um, and make sure that your book, you know, you protect your bottom line. Um, it’s in the situations when you don’t have the escalation clause that you’re, you know, looking at your options and sometimes you don’t have good options.

Benjamin Lowenthal (31:36):
Um, do you use this, you know, terminate the product, go off the project, do you breach the contract and try to live with the consequences? There’s, these are all options that you need to look at. And, uh, you know, you need to think about when you’re dealing with, uh, you know, these types of situations. Um, so very project and contract specific, but, um, we’re always here to help if you have any questions and if anyone else has any questions, please ask now, but also feel free to reach out to me or Justin at any time. Um, if you have any project specific questions that you’d like to talk about.

Justin Gitleman (32:14):
Yeah. Thanks Ben. And clearly if you’re based in Atlanta, you’re in good hands here. Um, definitely reach out to Benjamin. Um, if you’re not based in Atlanta, you’re around the other 49 States, um, go, go ahead and visit Levelset dot com slash legal guard. Uh, cause we have a network of over a thousand attorneys around the country. Um, I can definitely answer your more local specific questions or you couldn’t even connect with them for contract review. Um, so yeah, if you have any questions, go ahead and throw them in the chat or the Q and a here. Um, and we can, we have a few minutes here to just kind of have some freeform Q and a and otherwise thanks everyone for joining. And I hope you found this really, really helpful. Justin.

Benjamin Lowenthal (32:54):
I got to say something I have to admit, um, for some state specific lean questions I’ve come across. Levelset a couple of times and it is great. So even the attorneys are looking to Levelset at times.

Justin Gitleman (33:07):
There it is.

Benjamin Lowenthal (33:09):
It’s good. You know, especially with your lien rights, varied know creature statute, very state specific. So, you know, you need to be able to in levels that has been, uh, uh, as an incredible job of putting that state specific information together in a easy to read format. So, uh, Justin, you guys did a great job with, with all

Justin Gitleman (33:30):
That. Thank you. Glad I didn’t find it helpful. Um, looks like we do have a question here from John saying, if there’s passed through language to an owner contract and the GC or owner doesn’t allow the increases, um, how, how are the clauses affected?

Benjamin Lowenthal (33:49):
Yeah, yo you need to look at the, you know, I would need to see the actual contract language that you’re dealing with the pass through language that, uh, you know, you’re dealing with on that one, but you know, we’ll keep up B, you know, keep up the demands, keep the dialogue, going, look to see if there’s any options, you know, uh, are you able to go ahead and, you know, purchase the materials immediately have storage available, um, you know, discuss with the owner and GC about what’s happening here, that this is going to impact the entire project. Um, it’s not just, you know, a cost issue. It’s a project, you know, delay issue, uh, potentially. Um, and everyone wants to be able to get the project in on time, but you know, if there’s nothing that, you know, a contractor can do on it or a subcontractor, then it’s going to impact the project and everyone needs to work together to find a resolution, all the alternative material options available. Um, so the, this is the dialogue that, you know, we’ve been, I’ve been talking about to work with all the parties to find a resolution. It’s not just a subcontractor issue, it’s a project issue. Um, and so keep on, uh, making the demands, keep on giving notices, keep on communicating, uh, you know, that’s what I would recommend.

Benjamin Lowenthal (35:23):
Justin. You still there. All right. I’m going to see well that does it, Justin. I think Justin’s back.

Justin Gitleman (35:53):
Yep. I think where we’re closing in here just had some, a little bit of a technical glitch there, but, uh, have a great day. Thanks Stacy. Thanks for joining us Benjamin. No. Okay.