“A contract is like a will — no one wants to look at it until it’s too late,” said Trent Cotney. He should know. A shareholder attorney at Glenn Rasmussen Fogarty & Hooker, P.A., in Tampa, Fla., Cotney focuses his practice on all aspects of construction litigation and arbitration, including construction document review and drafting, and he’s seen contract disputes from every angle. He shared some tips with Best of Success attendees about what to look for when it comes to construction contracts.
First he spelled out what you need to have a valid contract: an offer, acceptance and consideration (payment). And they have to mirror each other. “If you have a contract that’s been marked up and sent back, is that an acceptance? No, it’s a counter offer,” he said. “In a lot of cases you might think you have a contract, but you don’t have one.”