David Adelstein is a Florida Bar board certified construction lawyer that represents contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and sureties in payment bond claims and disputes on private projects, Florida public projects, and federal projects. These involve claims when an entity asserts a claim for non-payment, whether it is non-payment for contract work, change order work, or for time-impact costs. The requirements to preserve payment bond claims for private, Florida public, and federal projects are different and it is absolutely important for entities involved in these projects to understand what they need to do to preserve bond rights.
On private projects, a general contractor’s unconditional payment bond should be issued under Florida Statute s. 713.23. If the payment bond is a conditional payment bond (which is less frequent), the bond should be issued under Florida Statute s. 713.245. Conditional payment bonds are not issued on public / federal projects.
On Florida public projects, a general contractor’s payment bond should be issued under Florida Statute s. 255.05. This is otherwise known as the “Little Miller Act.” However, on Florida FDOT projects, the payment bond should be issued under Florida Statute s. 337.18.
On federal projects, a general contractor’s payment bond is issued under 40 U.S.C. s. 3131 – 3134. This is known as the “Miller Act.”
Check out this chart that summarizes payment bond rights and this graph that depicts Miller Act payment bond claimants.
David Adelstein has experience prosecuting and defending claims under all of these payment bond statutes. He also lectures and blogs about various legal issues pertaining to payment bonds at www.floridaconstructionlegalupdates.com.
Check out David Adelstein’s e-book on Miller Act payment bonds:
Please contact David Adelstein at dadelstein@gmail.com or (954) 361-4720 if you have questions or would like more information regarding payment bonds. You can follow David Adelstein on Twitter @DavidAdelstein1.