Significant Representations

Laurie & Brennan attorneys regularly handle all legal aspects of construction projects including contract negotiation, dispute avoidance, claims prosecution and defense, and all aspects of dispute resolution, including mediation, arbitration, litigation, and appeals.

Our list of projects and achievements is second to none. We have helped to facilitate several major construction projects and have achieved successful outcomes in disputes pertaining to sports stadiums, hospitals and medical centers, hotels, pharmaceutical, oil, and gas institutions as well as industrial facilities.

A sampling of our significant and high-profile representations includes:

DOE Research Facilities (Illinois and South Dakota)

Laurie & Brennan represents the operator of a Department of Energy facility on a major international scientific research project. Our representation included drafting the major construction management agreement as well as a major modification to that agreement. The project is known as the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (“LBNF”). The LBNF project consists of construction of an underground device outside of Chicago that will generate a high-intensity neutrino beam to emit neutrinos (sub-atomic articles) that will pass through the Earth to a series of subterranean cryogenic devices installed in a former gold mine in South Dakota.

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago (Chicago, IL)

Laurie & Brennan represented the hospital in connection with the design and construction of the new Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. This hospital replacement project involved more than $600 million in construction costs. During the course of construction and through project close-out, we provided ongoing legal services for the project in connection with various issues that arose during construction.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Ashburn, VA)

Laurie & Brennan represented Howard Hughes Medical Institute (“HHMI”) in a lawsuit against a general contractor for construction defects in a state-of-the-art biomedical laboratory and research facility in Virginia. The lawsuit was filed in state court in Virginia. The principal claim in the lawsuit related to water infiltration through a green roof system of approximately 170,000 SF that covered both laboratory space and an indoor parking garage. Widespread leakage and consequential damage to other property forced HHMI to remove and replace the entire green roof system and related components. During the course of the representation, our attorneys worked closely with experts on the remediation project to document the conditions and substantiate the claims. The claims were ultimately resolved in mediation resulting in a favorable settlement for HHMI.

Rush University Medical Center (Chicago, IL)

Laurie & Brennan represented Rush University Medical Center (“RUMC”) in a complex lawsuit and arbitration involving design and construction errors and omissions relating to RUMC’s new, state-of-the art, sustainable, 14-story East Tower Hospital Building in Chicago. L&B investigated and litigated claims against RUMC’s design professionals and a contractor for design and construction defects relating to late design changes to the HVAC system and deficiencies with certain parapet walls. Other issues included window mullion water infiltration and condensation, window sealant failures, and roof membrane delamination. These matters were resolved through two separate mediations resulting in a substantial payment to our client.

Hard Rock Stadium (Miami, FL)

Laurie & Brennan served as co-counsel for the owner of the Hard Rock Stadium, home field for both the Miami Dolphins and the Miami Hurricanes football teams. The firm represented the owner in a complex multi-party litigation pending in the Dade County State Court in a case where the structural steel fabricator/erector asserted a $109 million claim against the owner, its construction manager and structural engineer in connection with the new roof canopy erected over the existing football stadium. Our representation included working in concert with counsel for the construction manager and structural engineer to defend against the subcontractor’s claims for additional costs and also assert affirmative claims for defective work and other breaches of the subcontract. We worked closely with scheduling and steel erection experts to defend the claims.

Power Conversion Project (Moline, IL)

Laurie & Brennan represented one of the largest manufacturers of farm and construction equipment in a dispute arising from a multi-million-dollar project for the conversion of an existing coal/gas steam boiler system at its factory to a new heating system fired entirely by natural gas. We pursued claims against the design-builder for errors and omissions in the design and incomplete and defective work on the project and defended the design-builder’s claims for an increase to the guaranteed maximum price contract for claimed extras.

Marriott Hotel and Wintrust Arena (Chicago, IL)

Laurie & Brennan represented a concrete subcontractor in significant disputes involving the design and construction of the 41-story Marriott Marquis Hotel in Chicago and the neighboring Wintrust Arena. The Wintrust Arena dispute was amicably resolved before hearing. The dispute on the Hotel portion of the project proceeded to a three-week arbitration, which resulted in L&B’s client being awarded $10M in its loss of productivity and other damages resulting from changed conditions.

Underground Utility Distribution System (San Francisco, CA)

Laurie & Brennan defended a pipe manufacturer against a $40+ million claim where a university’s underground utility distribution system servicing numerous campus buildings malfunctioned, requiring replacement after less than one year of operation. L&B helped its client secure a favorable settlement shortly before trial.

353 North Clark Street (Chicago, IL)

Laurie & Brennan represented the developer of this 45-story downtown office building to assert claims against the architect/structural engineer for defects relating to floor levelness. The defects deviated from tenant specifications and required extensive and costly remediation. Working with a renowned structural engineering firm, we discovered the error that related to creep, shrinkage and shortening of the composite structure. We successfully mediated the case resulting in a substantial recovery for the client.

Waldorf Astoria Hotel (Chicago, IL)

Laurie & Brennan prepared the construction contracts and represented the owner/developer in arbitration on several cost overrun and delay issues regarding the construction of one of the only 5-star hotels and private residences in Chicago. This 59-story structure in the heart of the Gold Coast of Chicago is a one-of-a-kind high rise with a first-class spa, grand staircase, high-end finishes, and other unique characteristics. After the contract was signed, we continued to advise the owner regarding various potential and actual claims arising out of the project.

Prudential Center (Newark, NJ)

Laurie & Brennan represented the New Jersey Devils in a complicated design error claim involving the Devils’ new arena in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils claimed almost $20 million in damages due to design errors and omissions alleged against the design professional team who designed the new arena. The dispute was mediated to a very successful resolution for the client.

Congress Parkway Bridge (Chicago, IL)

Laurie & Brennan represented a specialty steel manufacturer in a lawsuit involving the design and construction of the Congress Parkway Bridge in downtown Chicago which was successfully resolved.

7-Story Multi-Family/Mixed-Use Project (Chicago, IL)

Laurie & Brennan represented a general contractor of a mixed-use project in Chicago in negotiating change orders and claims with the owner as part of the final close-out of the project. L&B also devised and carried out a strategy to recover for delays and certain cost overruns from a subcontractor whose work impacted the critical path of construction. L&B presented the general contractor’s case to an arbitrator over the course of a two-week hearing and achieved a highly favorable result, defeating the subcontractor’s counterclaims and securing a monetary award for additional construction costs against the subcontractor.

theWit Hotel (Chicago, IL)

Laurie & Brennan supervised the negotiations of the design and construction agreements for a high-end downtown hotel with several unique design features. We advised the owner during the course of construction and negotiated the contract for a unique movable glass roof over the rooftop bar. When various defects were discovered in the glass roof, we later represented the owner in its lawsuit to recover against the manufacturer.

General Counsel & Litigation Services for National Design-Builder

Laurie & Brennan serves as outside general counsel for a national general contractor and design-builder primarily focused on the construction of e-commerce, warehousing, cold storage, food production, and manufacturing facilities. L&B negotiates multi-million-dollar contracts with owners, prepares region-specific subcontract documents and negotiates terms with subcontractors, advises and resolves change orders and other disputes, and advises on day-to-day legal questions for each of the general contractor’s regional operations. L&B also represents the general contractor in disputes concerning change orders, alleged defective construction, alleged defective design, defective workmanship of subcontractors, delays, and other project close-out issues throughout the United States.

Mixed-Used and Residential Developers

We represent a number of major developers negotiating design and construction contracts for mixed-use and residential projects in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, and other states.  We often continue to provide legal support on these projects to address issues that arise such as change order disputes and schedule impacts to support the efforts and achieve a successful project outcome.

General Contractors and Subcontractors

We represent a number of multi-state general contractors and subcontractors negotiating their construction contracts on a wide range of projects including manufacturing plants, distribution centers, mixed-use and residential projects, tenant office build-outs, life sciences, and other facilities.  After negotiating the contracts, we frequently assist our contractor clients in navigating any challenges they face with change orders, lost productivity issues, delays, and cost overruns to timely resolve these issues, successfully complete construction and avoid protracted litigation.