Take it to the Limit: The Limits of Limitation of Liability Provisions

Many construction-related contracts, ranging from negotiated EPC contracts to routine purchase orders, include clauses related to limitation of liability (LOL), damage limitation, indemnity, and exculpatory provisions. On this NASBP Virtual Seminar, Jonathan Dunn of SMTD Law LLP, brings his more than 30 years of construction law experience to the table as he discusses commonly used limitation of liability provisions in construction contracting, the legal rules of when they will be enforced, and circumstances and situations where even if typically enforceable, the law will not allow LOL provisions as a means to escape responsibility.

Jonathan J. Dunn

Construction Lawyer

Salamirad, Morrow, Timpane & Dunn LLP

Mr. Dunn is a Chambers ranked construction lawyer, a Fellow in the Construction Lawyers Society of America, and has been recognized as an accomplished trial lawyer, including a 2019 top jury verdict. Mr. Dunn concentrates his practice in construction law (including transactions, project support, and litigation), government and public contracts, creditor’s rights and complex commercial law matters, including real estate, collections and bankruptcy. Mr. Dunn has thirty years’ experience in addressing complex legal and factual matters, especially those that arise out of construction disputes and defaults on federal, state (public works) and private construction projects in the United States. In particular, Mr. Dunn has significant experience in complex construction disputes, including performance, changes, administration, delay, impact, disruption, inefficiency, extra-work, design scope, errors and omissions, differing site conditions, design-build, false claims, bid-protests, subcontractor substitutions, suretyship, guarantees, letters of credit and other construction matters. Mr. Dunn has been qualified and testified in court matters as an expert witness in construction and surety law.

Mr. Dunn also has numerous successes in complex commercial and bankruptcy / creditor cases, including collections involving fraud, trusts, family limited partnership and other asset-shielding devices, workouts – pre-bankruptcy and post-petition, fraudulent transfers and preferences, indemnity, pre-judgment remedies (writs of attachment, restraining orders, preliminary injunctions) and other collection issues.

Mr. Dunn has successfully represented clients in trial, litigation, arbitration, and mediations, and handles a multitude of complex commercial transactions, project support and litigation in construction and bankruptcy matters at any given time. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Dunn was a senior partner at Sedgwick LLP, and prior to that in-house counsel for two national bonding companies, where he had management responsibilities for various construction and commercial default matters in the Western United States. Prior to practicing law, Mr. Dunn was an active participant in his family’s construction business.

EDUCATION

Seattle University School of Law, J.D., 1992
University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), B.A. Economics, 1989

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