At Townes B. Johnson III, LLC, we’re focused on finding creative, efficient and effective resolutions to your problems so projects can delivered on budget and on time.

 

Townes B. Johnson III, LLC represents contractors, subs, suppliers, materialmen, owners, lenders, and design professionals in all aspects of construction law and construction litigation, including:

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• Commercial and Residential Projects

• Contract Negotiation and Formation

• Mechanics' Lien Claims

• Bond Claims

• Construction Defect and Design Claims  

• Delay Claims

• Change Order Disputes

• Punch List Disputes

• Warranty Issues

• Bid and Procurement Disputes

• Licensing

• LLR Complaints

• Bankruptcy Claims

 

Construction law is a technical area  and if it’s not your lawyer’s primary practice, you may not be receiving the most effective representation.  At Townes B. Johnson III, LLC, we understand construction - let us help you today. 

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Contract Negotiation and Formation

As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and that is without question the case in regard to construction contracts as negotiating on the front end and understanding your contract is the easiest way to avoid disputes.  For that reason, having an experienced construction attorney review a contract before it is executed in order to explain its terms and suggest modifications that are more favorable to you can be invaluable in both time and cost.  Furthermore, if you routinely provide the contract, having an experienced construction attorney create form contracts for your company's specific needs can ensure its interests are protected.  At Townes B. Johnson III, LLC, we've negotiated, drafted, and litigated all types of commercial and residential construction contracts and are here to help your project get started on the right foot.

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Mechanics' Lien Claims

The mechanics' lien process can be one of the most effective legal  tools a company has to enforce payment on its unpaid invoices and one of the biggest headaches for the project owner. A mechanics' lien puts an encumbrance on the project's title and puts lenders and potential purchasers on notice that the claimant has an interest in the real property for unpaid labor, materials, and/or equipment the claimant supplied to the project.  While a mechanics' lien is clouding the title, lenders will usually not provide further financing or refinance out of a construction loan. As a result, the property owner will need to resolve the lien prior to completion of the project or before the property is refinanced or sold.

 

Are your account receivables getting old?  Are you a project owner needing to bond a lien off in order to clear your property's title?  Townes B. Johnson III, LLC understands both sides of the mechanics' lien process and is here to help.  

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Bond Claims

Are you working on a public project and have been told you cannot file a mechanics' lien?  No sweat.  There is an equally powerful tool that you can use to protect your overdue invoices; filing a claim against the project's payment bond.  All public projects and some private projects have payment bonds which stand in place of the real property as collateral for payment.  Like mechanics' lien claims, bond claims have strict deadlines which must be followed or, otherwise, the rights are waived.  Let Townes B. Johnson III, LLC help you properly enforce your bond claims rights before it is too late.     

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Construction Defect and Design Claims

Mistakes inevitably happen and when they happen on a construction project, you need a law firm that understands construction.  Townes B. Johnson III, LLC routinely works with top forensic construction experts to investigate complex construction defect and design claims in order to effectively defend or prosecute your case.  Townes B. Johnson III, LLC has handled numerous types of construction defect and design claims; including: defective plans and specifications, defective waterproofing, improper roof installations, improper soil compaction, structural failure, defective truss design, and improper means and methods.  Let us help you properly investigate your case today.

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Delay Claims

Unfortunately, construction and delays often go hand in hand; sometimes for reasons within a contractor's control and sometimes not.  A liquidated damage provision on a project that has not met its substantial or final completion deadline can either be quite daunting or a saving grace, depending on which side of the fence you are on.  At Townes B. Johnson III, LLC we've been on both sides of the fence and are ready to help defend or prosecute your delay claim.  

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Change Order Disputes

The owner completely changes the scope of the project the contractor didn't get the change order executed in accordance with the contract?  Been there, litigated that; and depending on the parties course of dealing throughout the project, the contractor may have solid ground to stand on.  Let Townes B. Johnson III, LLC advise you today.  

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Punch List Disputes and Warranty Issues

Waiting on final payment, but it is being held up because the owner is defining a warranty item as a punch list item?  Your on your third punch list with no end in sight?  Now that the contractor has received final payment, he will not show up to remedy warranty issues?  The owner is contacting you two years after substantial completion to look at scratches?  You had 24 hours to put together your punch list and did not notice some deficiencies until you moved in, but the contractor is unwilling to help?  There is a myriad of possible end of project issues; let Townes B. Johnson III, LLC help you navigate them all.

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Bid and Procurement Disputes

We understand the complicated system of bidding and procurement and can assist you in any stage of this critical process. Are you the low bidder, but you’re being challenged? Are you the second (or third) lowest bidder, but you’d like to protest the bid?   Let Townes B. Johnson III, LLC help you devise a stratgey that will help you win the bids and help your company thrive.

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Licensing

In South Carolina, having the proper licensing through the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation can be essential to being able to enforce your legal and equitable rights should the need arise.  Let Townes B. Johnson III, LLC ensure your company is positioned so that it does not you do not lose rights. 

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LLR Complaints

In addition to any legal and/or equitable remedies you may have, the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (the LLR) allows owners to file complaints against contractor's licenses.  After successfully filing a complaint against a contractor's license, the LLR will investigate your claims and then issue its a report with its findings of any code  violations and its recommendations.  Since a contractor's ability to work is often tied to the contractor having a license, the LLR's administrative power to revoke a contractor's license sometimes provides the contractor a greater incentive to remedy the reported code violations as compared to civil litigation.  Let Townes B. Johnson III, LLC prepare a strategy for you today.  

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Bankruptcy Claims

If an upstream contractor files for bankruptcy protection, your company may need to take action to protect and collect any unpaid contract balances or to guard against potential future liability. At Townes B. Johnson III, LLC, we protect creditor's rights in a wide variety of bankruptcy matters; including, enforcing lien rights after the bankruptcy is filed, filing Proof of Claims, advising whether the are grounds to make the debt non-dischargeable and pursuing same, and defending preferenced actions.