Sureties & Insurers

Shields Law Partners represents and defends sureties and insurers ranging from simple to complex in Construction Law and Surety Law, including performance bond claims, payment bond claims, project defaults, project takeovers and indemnity actions as well as Miller Act Claims, contract drafting, contract disputes, bid protests, lien law, terminations, delay and acceleration claims and force majeure claims, work defects, terminations, negotiated completion agreements and financial workouts.

• Represented surety following United States Army Corps of Engineers termination for default of surety’s principal on a drainage project located in New Orleans.
• Negotiated completion agreement between USACE, surety, and completion contractor in which Corps waived the statutory prohibition against claims assignments, allowing surety to assume prosecution of its principal’s claims of wrongful default before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeal. Proper positioning of the surety ultimately allowed it to settle the claims with the USACE.
• Represented surety of defaulted contractor of large public housing project.
• Represented surety of defaulted carpentry and drywall subcontractor for armed services barracks facility.
• Represented surety in action against its agents which improperly issued certain Customs anti-dumping bonds beyond the authority granted to the agent and failed to report all of the issued Customs bonds to the surety. Also assisted in defending the surety against Customs’s claims against the bonds.
• Represented insurer against university claiming water intrusion issues on mid-rise dormitory.
• Represented surety in claim of defective and incomplete work on Veterans Administration hospital.
• Represented surety in nickel sulfide inclusion (defective curtain wall glass panel in high rise building) cases.
• Represented insurance brokerage in large claim regarding allegedly fraudulent remedial work on apartment complexes related to Hurricane Andrew.
• Represented surety to arrange for the completion of several bonded municipal projects in Alabama following performance bond claims, handled associated payment bond claims, asserted indemnity action against principal and indemnitors, and defended surety against principal’s and indemnitors’ unsupported counterclaims concerning breach of contract, bad faith, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
• Represented surety to obtain an order to restrain principal and indemnitors from transferring assets to third parties outside of the ordinary course of business.
• Represented surety in indemnity action against principal and indemnitors (including indemnitor’s estate) to recover certain liabilities incurred to resolve various payment bond claims seeking.
• Represented surety to defeat a claim made against motor vehicle dealer bond.
• Represented surety to draft and enter into completion agreements and defend surety against multiple payment and performance bond claims following principal’s default on public works projects located throughout Louisiana.
• Represented surety to investigate and settle payment and performance bond claims following principal’s default on a County service complex renovation project.
• Represented surety following the default of its principal on a maritime dredging contract. Drafted and negotiated tender agreement with the governmental owner and asserted an indemnity action against its defaulted principal and other indemnitors.
• Represented surety in arbitration and lawsuit to extricate determination of surety’s personal defenses from the primary arbitration.
• Defended surety of defaulted contractor on 24-screen multi-plex theater project and represented surety in indemnity action to collect losses and expenses incurred to complete bonded projects following principal’s default on 24-plex multi-screen theatre.
• Defended surety in structural deficiency claim in high-rise building.
• Defended surety against a performance bond claim following principal’s default on a government garage complex remediation and waterproofing project. The owner issued the default after substantial completion and without timely notice of default to surety as required in the bond.
• Defended surety against performance bond claim after principal was defaulted on a university medical facility renovation project.
• Defended surety against separate Miller Act claims asserted by its principal’s suppliers on a USACE stone dike construction project in Memphis, Tennesse. In separate, but related lawsuits, investigated and defended surety against performance bond claim asserted by the USACE, and filed indemnity action to recover losses from principal and indemnitors.
• Defended surety against subcontractor inefficiency and delay claims on a new public school construction.
• Defended surety against multi-million dollar non-payment claim on a federal project.
• Defended surety against more than dozen non-payment claims in a concursus proceeding for a new public school.
• Assisted surety with investigation and defense of performance bond claim by working with surety’s principal and experts to support design defects and differing conditions claims on a USACE project to construct a marina, concession building, parking lot, and certain related mechanical and electrical appurtenances in South Dakota.
• Assisted surety to complete audit of principal’s books and records following principal’s default on multiple bonded projects.
• Entered into a program with surety to file UCC-1 Financing Statements in various jurisdictions following notice of principals’ defaults on projects.