Civil Defense Litigators, Melissa Brumback and Sandy Schilder, presented the CLE topic “Leather and Lace:  How Design Professionals Fit in a Termination” at the North Carolina Bar Association’s Winter Construction Law CLE program on February 16, 2023.   Melissa and Sandy discussed the importance of understanding and including relevant provisions in construction contracts, as well as issues architects and engineers face in acting as neutral decision makers when owners want to terminate contractors from projects and the importance of documenting active construction when contractors walk off projects.  They also discussed how to handle designer termination issues—whether making their own decision to leave a project before completion or reacting to the owner’s decision to terminate.

For more than 25 years, both Sandy and Melissa have defended architects and engineers in hundreds of construction and professional liability cases of all sizes. Sandy is Vice Chair of the NCBA’s Construction Law Section Council.  Melissa serves as the liaison for the Council’s AIA/Design Professionals Committee and is a panel member of the American Arbitration Association in Construction Law.