Professional summary

Mr. Bennett's practice focuses on construction litigation, claim development and transactional matters, assisting clients in the resolution of complex legal issues relating to construction projects often exceeding $100 million. He represents general contractors, joint ventures, owners and other construction parties in the public and private construction process, including contract preparation and negotiation, risk management, contemporaneous counseling during design and construction operations, and resolution of disputes after construction via mediation, arbitration and litigation. He also frequently drafts and negotiates industry contracts as well as highly specialized construction contracts and other transactional instruments in both the public and private construction arenas.

Mr. Bennett has substantial experience developing and litigating construction claims involving project delays, disruption, lost efficiency and productivity, design errors and omissions, differing site conditions, breaches of standard of care and defective workmanship. His prior experience includes assisting general contractors on large-scale public infrastructure and design-build projects ranging in value from $450 million to over $2 billion. He provided significant assistance in the development of complex construction claims on massive public construction projects including highways, railroads, bridges, light rail systems, airports and a variety of EPC projects such as industrial power facilities and solar projects. In the private sector, he has counseled owners, developers, general contractors and subcontractors in the resolution of disputes relating to hotels, retail centers, mixed-use projects and a performing arts center.

Mr. Bennett has assisted clients throughout the United States, including projects in Florida, Texas, Nevada, California, Colorado, Maryland and the Carolinas.

Admitted

Florida, 2013; Texas, 2020; U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, 2016; U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, 2021.

Education

J.D., Florida State University College of Law, 2013. B.S., Florida State University, 2010.

Professional associations

The Florida Bar; American Bar Association; Design-Build Institute of America; Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc.

Recognition

• Best Lawyers® — Commercial Litigation

Publications and presentations

• Panelist and presenter, Modern Cost Plus Contracting, 2024 Construction Super Conference
• Best Practices in Navigating Construction Escalation Costs — NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association, March 2023
• Certificates of Merit: Practical Guidance to Avoid Procedural Pitfalls, Under Construction, vol. 22, no. 2 (Winter 2020)
• Courtroom Contracting — Proving Reasonableness in Government Contract Disputes, The Construction Lawyer, vol. 36, no. 2 (Spring 2016)

Representative matters

• Represented an EPC solar contractor in the successful resolution of claims for lost productivity, delays and extra work against the project owner and developer, relating to a $300 million solar photovoltaic plant near Austin, Texas
• Represented a contractor in the successful pre-suit resolution of delay and disruption claims relating to a Blue Origin rocket launch site facility in Merritt Island, Florida
• Assisted a top 15 ENR design-build contractor and joint venture in the development of delay and disruption claims relating to a light rail project of over $2 billion in Los Angeles, California
• Assisted a top 15 ENR contractor in the preparation of technical claims relating to a 1,000-megawatt natural gas-fired combined cycle power plant of over $750 million in Maryland
• Assisted a top 5 ENR design-build general contractor and joint venture constructing the Loop 375 Border Highway Project in El Paso, Texas, of over $450 million, and in the development of a delay and disruption claim of over $50 million against the project designer
• Assisted a top 10 ENR design-build contractor and joint venture on the $1 billion I-405 project in Los Angeles, California
• Assisted a top 10 ENR contractor in the preliminary analysis of claims relating to a $1.3 billion highway project in Denver, Colorado
• Represented a project owner in disputes relating to the construction and rehabilitation of a $600 million petrochemical and polypropylene plant in La Porte, Texas