Bruce A. Norris
Bruce Norris is an honor graduate of the University of Florida, School of Building Construction. Prior to attending law school, he gained experience with construction engineering firms and developed skills including project scheduling, claim evaluation, and cost control.
Since graduating law school, Mr. Norris has concentrated his entire legal career in the area of construction law with his primary goal to assist clients in the timely completion of financially successful construction projects. To that end, he routinely advises owners, design professionals, contractors, and sureties, in the areas of contract drafting and negotiation, bidding, project administration and on-site performance, lien and bond issues, labor disputes, insurance matters, and preparation / evaluation of claims.
Mr. Norris is committed to proactively avoiding construction disputes and to resolving them through alternative forms of dispute resolution in an effort to expedite resolution and minimize expenses. Where necessary, however, he has tried construction claims in both state and federal courts. Mr. Norris routinely handles claims such as: design and construction defects, changed conditions, extra work, and complex scheduling issues including: delays, disruptions, accelerations, inefficiency, and lost labor productivity. |
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PRACTICE AREAS:
- Construction Law and Litigation
- Complex Commerical Litigation
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REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS:
- Counsel for general contractor that negotiated construction contract of $500 million for new development project.
- Lead counsel for general contractor in prosecuting defective performance claim against subcontractor in federal court. Successful tried and won $2 million verdict against subcontractor.
- Lead counsel for public owner asserting water intrusion / building envelop claim arising out of defective design and construction which caused damages of $8.5 million. In addition to prosecuting multi-party litigation, also provided significant oversight of the remediation process. Successfully negotiated global settlement with all responsible parties.
- Lead counsel for general contractor that prosecuted payment claim in state court against private developer. Successfully won summary judgment against developer for $2.2 million.
- Counsel authoring general contractor’s REA of $7 million against public owner arising out of complex scheduling dispute. Utilized alternative dispute methods to successfully negotiate resolution prior to formal litigation.
- Counsel defending first-tier subcontractor terminated in complex scheduling dispute with general contractor in state court. Successfully tried and won verdict for all client damages including attorneys fees and costs.
- Lead counsel for first-tier contractor prosecuting novel payment claim against public owner. Successfully won summary judgment for client and defended victory in the district court of appeals.
- Lead counsel for co-generation power plant involving dispute arising out of thermal energy sales agreement. Successfully obtained and defend an injunction which preserved client’s status as a qualified facility.
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RECOGNITION:
- Board Certified in Construction Law by the Florida Supreme Court (Inaugural Certification Class) 2005 to present.
- Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Florida Construction Law - 2006 thru present.
- Super Lawyers for Florida Construction Law, 2007 thru present.
- Best Lawyers In America for Construction Law, 2009 thru present.
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ADMISSIONS:
- The Florida Bar
- All U.S. District Courts in Florida
- The Georgia Bar
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EDUCATION:
- University of Florida, BS 1990 (Building Construction)
- Samford University, Cumberland School of Law, JD 1994
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REPORTED CASES:
- Marseilles Condominium Owners Ass'n, Inc. v. Travelers Cas. and Sur. Co. of America, 2009 WL 3491016 (Fla. App. 1 Dist. 2009).
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| PUBLICATIONS / SPEECHES:
Mr. Norris is a frequent author and lecturer on construction law topics including OSHA compliance, issues specific to public construction projects, contract negotiations and risk sharing, effective documentation during construction, and project delivery methods. |
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