Sureties play an important role in modern construction projects by providing performance bonds to protect the owner of the project against defaults by contractors and subcontractors, and payment bonds to protect subcontractors and suppliers in the event that the owner or contractor is unable to pay for the work performed.
Given the prominent role that sureties play in the construction process, intimate knowledge and experience with the intricacies of surety law is a necessity for construction lawyers. The attorneys at Harrison Law Group are very familiar with the requirements for filing bond claims on both public and private projects and for litigating bond claims to verdict. Our attorneys have faced and successfully overcome the wide array of defenses, tactics, legal strategies, and road-blocks that are often raised during the assertion and defense of bond claims, and we have been involved in litigation and appeals which drastically changed the legal landscape for sureties operating in the State of Maryland and nationwide. In the early 2000’s, Harrison Law Group attorneys were part of an appellate team that fought for and obtained a favorable decision on behalf of a subcontractor in the Maryland Court of Appels, the result of which forced a change to the most widely utilized payment bond form in the United States. Harrison Law Group attorneys regularly partner with national subcontractor advocacy groups to fight against contractors and sureties who seek to limit or eliminate the relief afforded to subcontractors under federal, state, and private surety bonds. Because of the complexities of surety law, and the various, sometimes competing, interests held by the different parties to a bond claim, prompt, aggressive and knowledgeable legal action is a must, and the attorneys at Harrison Law Group are ready to put their extensive and battle tested experience to work for you.