Does a No-Damage-for-Delay Clause Also Preclude Acceleration Damages?
A post by Pepper Hamilton explores whether an enforceable no-damage-for-delay clause in a construction contract is also a bar to recovery of “acceleration” damages, i.e., the costs incurred by the contractor in its attempt to overcome delays to the project’s completion date.
Authors Ted R. Gropman and Christine Z. Fan point out that courts are split as to whether damages for a contractor’s “acceleration” efforts are distinguishable from “delay” damages such that they may be recovered under an enforceable no-damage-for-delay clause.
They discuss a few ways for a contractor to circumvent an enforceable no-damage-for-delay clause to recover acceleration damages.
