Construction Delay & Change Order AttorneyLos Angeles & Glendale
We prepare and defend delay, disruption, and change order claims for owners and contractors on Los Angeles and Glendale projects.
Can a contractor recover damages for delay in California?
It depends on the contract and the cause. Excusable and compensable delays caused by the owner or its agents generally support recovery of extended overhead, escalation, and disruption costs, provided contractual notice was given. Concurrent delay may limit recovery to time without money. Many private contracts contain no-damages-for-delay clauses, which California courts will enforce subject to recognized exceptions.
At a glance
- Liquidated damages
- Valid unless unreasonable when the contract was made (Civ. Code § 1671)
- Public works
- Delay damages must be liquidated in the contract (Pub. Contract Code § 7203)
- No-damages-for-delay
- Public owners cannot bar damages for unreasonable delay they cause (§ 7102)
- We represent
- Owners, developers, general contractors, and subcontractors
A construction delay claim seeks time, money, or both when work on the critical path is pushed back, and recovery generally depends on the contract's notice, change order, and no-damages-for-delay provisions. DiJulio Law Group prepares and defends delay and change order claims for owners and contractors on projects in Los Angeles and Glendale.
Construction delay claims, change orders, and schedule disputes
Delay claims turn on the critical path. A delay to work that had float generally causes no compensable harm; a delay to a critical activity pushes completion and generates real cost. Establishing that distinction requires the baseline schedule, the updates as the project progressed, and a defensible analysis of what actually drove the finish date, which is why projects with poor scheduling records rarely produce successful delay claims regardless of the underlying facts.
Notice is the second gate. Nearly every construction contract requires written notice of a delay or change within a short period after the triggering event, and requires cost and time impacts to be submitted in a defined form. Courts do enforce those provisions. A contractor who directs its crews to work through an impact and prices the claim at the end of the job is in a materially weaker position than one who papered it in real time.
Change orders raise the mirror-image problem: work directed in the field, performed, and disputed later. The analysis looks at whether the contract required written authorization, whether the owner's conduct waived that requirement, and whether the work was truly extra or already within the base scope. These issues run directly into payment disputes and are governed by the contract terms negotiated at the outset.
Delay and change order claims turn on the contract language negotiated at the start, which is why the firm reviews construction contracts before work begins. Unpaid change order work becomes a payment statute question and may support a mechanic's lien; defective or incomplete work raises construction defect issues. Owners should also consider how a delay affects financing and closing under the real estate transaction, and parties who want to keep the project moving often resolve these claims through mediation. Contact the firm with the contract and the change order log.
Excusable, compensable, and concurrent construction delay
Delay types
Delays are usually sorted into three groups. Excusable delay earns more time but usually no money, compensable delay earns time and money because the owner caused it, and concurrent delay, where both sides contributed, often limits recovery to time. The contract's delay, notice, and force majeure clauses decide which label applies.
These labels come from contract practice, so the contract language controls. On public works, a clause limiting a contractor to a time extension for unreasonable delay caused by the public agency, and not contemplated by the parties, does not bar damages, and the agency cannot require a waiver of that rule (Public Contract Code § 7102 (opens in a new tab)). The same section preserves notice requirements and liquidated damages clauses.
| Delay type | Typical cause | More time? | More money? | What decides it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excusable, non-compensable | Events neither party controls, such as unusual weather | Usually, if the contract allows it | Usually not | Force majeure clause and timely notice |
| Compensable | Owner-caused: late design, owner changes, site access, differing conditions | Yes | Often: extended overhead, escalation, idle equipment | Critical path impact, notice, and any no-damages-for-delay clause |
| Concurrent | Owner and contractor delays overlapping on the critical path | Often | Often limited or none | Contract allocation and schedule analysis |
| Non-excusable | Contractor-caused delay | No | No; the owner may assess liquidated damages | Liquidated damages clause (Civ. Code § 1671) |
Delay and change order notice requirements, in order
Notice requirements
Most delay claims are lost on notice, not merits. Construction contracts typically require written notice soon after the delaying event, a priced request for time and money within a set period, and a formal claim if the request is denied. The statutory lien and payment deadlines keep running throughout.
Directed work performed without a signed change order raises the mirror-image question: whether the contract required written authorization, whether the owner's conduct waived it, and whether the work was truly extra. Those issues turn on the construction contract terms and often end up as payment disputes.
- When the event occurs
Written notice
Identify the event, the date, and the affected work, and reserve rights. Use the recipient and method the contract names.
- As impacts become known
Time impact analysis
Show how the event moved the critical path against the current schedule update.
- Within the contract's request period
Priced change request
Submit the time and cost in the form the change order clause requires, with supporting records.
- Before signing a change order
Check the release language
Many change orders release all delay claims for the work covered. Reserve unresolved impacts in writing.
- After work ends
Protect payment remedies
Lien and stop payment notice deadlines run from completion regardless of open claims; a direct contractor has at most 90 days to record (Civ. Code § 8412 (opens in a new tab)).
Construction delay claim documentation checklist
Documentation
A delay claim is only as strong as the records made while the delay was happening. Keep the baseline schedule and every update, daily logs, and the written notices, and track the cost of each impact separately. Reconstructed records prepared at the end of the job carry far less weight with arbitrators and judges.
Construction delay documentation checklist
- Baseline CPM schedule and every monthly update, in native format
- Daily logs with weather, manpower, equipment, and work performed
- Dated notices of delay and change, with proof of delivery
- RFIs, submittals, and response dates from the design team
- Change order requests, pricing backup, and approval or rejection
- Separate cost codes for each delay or change event
- Photographs and video tied to dates and locations
- Meeting minutes recording schedule discussions
Liquidated damages in California construction contracts
Civil Code § 1671
A per-day liquidated damages clause in a California contract is valid unless the party challenging it shows it was unreasonable under the circumstances when the contract was made (Civil Code § 1671(b)). Public works follow separate rules in Government Code § 53069.85 and Public Contract Code § 7203.
Read the full text of § 1671 (opens in a new tab) alongside the contract. Disputed assessments are usually resolved in construction litigation or arbitration, and often through mediation when the project relationship is still active.
Private contracts
The burden is on the party seeking to invalidate the clause, judged at the time of contracting. Owner-caused delay and the actual completion date are common grounds for reducing an assessment.
Local public projects
A city, county, or district may set a per-day amount for late completion, deductible from payments, valid unless manifestly unreasonable when made. The provision must appear in the bid specifications, and the contract may also pay an early-completion bonus.
Public works delay clauses
For public works contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2016, a clause making the contractor responsible for delay damages is unenforceable unless the damages are liquidated to a set amount in the contract. Damages after a notice of completion or acceptance are excluded.
Managing PartnerR. David DiJulioRead profile- Office
- 330 North Brand Boulevard, Suite 1280, Glendale, California 91203
- Direct line
- (818) 502-1700 · rdd@dijuliolaw.com
- Courts
- Los Angeles County Superior Court, including the Glendale and Stanley Mosk courthouses.
- Focus
- Construction contracts, payment and lien claims, defects, delays, and project litigation for owners and contractors.
Construction delay and change order matters we handle
For owners, developers, general contractors, and subcontractors on Southern California projects.
Critical Path Delay Claims
Establishing or rebutting delay through baseline and as-built schedule analysis, float ownership, and concurrent delay allocation.
Extended Overhead & Escalation
Field and home office overhead during a compensable delay, material and labor escalation, and equipment standby costs.
Disruption & Loss of Productivity
Out-of-sequence work, trade stacking, and inefficiency claims, which require different proof than pure delay claims.
Acceleration Claims
Directed and constructive acceleration where a contractor is required to recover time it did not cause, including overtime and added crews.
Liquidated Damages
Enforcing and challenging liquidated damages provisions, including proportionality, apportionment for owner-caused delay, and substantial completion arguments.
Change Order Disputes
Directed and constructive changes, differing site conditions, cardinal change, and pricing of extra work performed without a signed change order.
Construction delay disputes that reach our office
Composite examples of the matters this practice handles. They illustrate common fact patterns and are not descriptions of specific client cases or predictions of any result.
The Late Design Package
An owner's design team issues revised structural drawings months into construction. The contractor absorbs the impact, finishes late, and is assessed liquidated damages. Recovery depends almost entirely on whether contemporaneous notice and schedule updates were maintained.
The Differing Site Condition
Excavation on a Los Angeles infill site encounters undocumented fill and buried structures. Whether the additional cost is recoverable turns on the contract's differing site conditions clause, the geotechnical report, and the timing of notice.
The Change Order Backlog
Forty change order requests remain unsigned at substantial completion while the work has all been performed. The claim is resolved on the written record: what was directed, by whom, and what the contract required.
First steps when a construction project starts slipping
Give written notice now
A short, dated letter identifying the event and reserving rights preserves a claim that silence can forfeit. Check the contract for the required recipient, form, and deadline.
Preserve the schedule record
Baseline schedule, updates, daily logs, and manpower reports are the evidence. Schedules rebuilt after the fact carry far less weight.
Price impacts as they happen
Track the cost of each impact separately as it occurs, rather than assembling a single total-cost claim at the end of the job.
When a construction delay needs a lawyer
- The project has slipped and no one has issued written notice of the cause.
- Liquidated damages are being assessed or threatened.
- You have been directed to accelerate to recover time you did not cause.
- Change order requests are being performed but not approved.
- A differing site condition has been encountered and priced.
- The contract contains a no-damages-for-delay clause and you are being delayed.
California delay, liquidated damages, and public works statutes
- California Civil Code § 1671: Liquidated Damages (opens in a new tab)The standard for enforcing contract provisions that liquidate damages for breach, such as per-day delay damages.
- California Public Contract Code § 7203: Public Works Delay Damages (opens in a new tab)Delay damage clauses in public works contracts must be liquidated to a set amount.
- California Government Code § 53069.85: Local Agency Liquidated Damages (opens in a new tab)Per-day damages and early-completion bonuses in city, county, and district public projects.
- California Public Contract Code § 7102: Delay Damages on Public Works (opens in a new tab)Limits no-damages-for-delay clauses for unreasonable delay caused by a public agency.
Construction delay and change order questions contractors and owners ask
What contractors and owners ask about delay damages, acceleration, and disputed change orders.
Can a contractor recover delay damages in California?
A California contractor can often recover delay damages such as extended field and home office overhead, escalation, and idle equipment when the owner or its agents caused a delay to the critical path, but recovery usually depends on giving the written notice the contract requires and on whether the contract contains an enforceable no-damages-for-delay clause. On public works, Public Contract Code section 7102 limits those clauses for unreasonable delay caused by the agency.
What is the difference between excusable and compensable delay?
Excusable delay is caused by events neither party controls, such as unusual weather, and usually earns the contractor more time but not more money, while compensable delay is caused by the owner or those it is responsible for, such as late design or owner changes, and usually earns both time and money if the contract's notice requirements were met. The contract's force majeure and delay clauses decide how a particular event is treated.
What is concurrent delay in construction?
Concurrent delay occurs when owner-caused and contractor-caused delays overlap on the project's critical path during the same period, so that either one alone would have pushed the completion date, and in that situation contracts and tribunals often give the contractor a time extension but limit or deny delay damages and limit the owner's liquidated damages. Proving it requires a credible schedule analysis built from the baseline and the updates.
Are liquidated damages enforceable in California construction contracts?
Generally yes, because under Civil Code section 1671(b) a provision in a California construction contract liquidating the damages for late completion is valid unless the party seeking to invalidate it establishes that the provision was unreasonable under the circumstances that existed when the contract was made, which places the burden on the contractor challenging the clause. Owner-caused delay and disputes over the actual completion date are the usual grounds for reducing an assessment.
Can a public agency charge liquidated damages for late completion?
Yes, Government Code section 53069.85 allows a California city, county, or district to include a per-day amount the contractor forfeits for late completion, deductible from payments, which is valid as liquidated damages unless manifestly unreasonable when the contract was made, and the provision must appear in the bid specifications. For public works contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2016, Public Contract Code section 7203 makes unliquidated delay damage clauses unenforceable.
Are no-damages-for-delay clauses enforceable on public works?
Not for unreasonable delay the public agency caused, because Public Contract Code section 7102 provides that a public contract clause limiting the contractor to a time extension for delay that the agency is responsible for, that is unreasonable, and that was not within the parties' contemplation does not preclude recovery of damages. The agency cannot require a waiver of that rule. The same section still allows notice requirements and liquidated damages clauses.
What notice should I give when a construction project is delayed?
Give the written notice your construction contract requires as soon as the delaying event occurs, identifying the event, the date, and the affected work, sending it to the person and by the method the contract names, and reserving the right to claim time and money, because most contracts set short notice windows and tribunals regularly enforce them. Follow it with a time impact analysis and a priced request within the period the change clause allows.
Should I perform extra work before the change order is signed?
Performing directed extra work before a change order is signed is common on Los Angeles projects but risky, because whether you are paid may turn on whether the contract required written authorization, whether the owner's conduct waived that requirement, and whether the work was truly outside the base scope, so get the direction in writing and reserve pricing before starting. Lien and stop payment notice deadlines still run from completion while the change order is negotiated.
Construction delay help in Los Angeles and Glendale
Delay and change order claims on Los Angeles County projects are tried in the county courts or in contractual arbitration.
Talk to a Construction Attorney
The strength of a delay claim is largely fixed by what was documented while the delay was happening. If a project is slipping now, get the notice right today.