Paul O. Mulroney | Attorney

Paul Mulroney concentrates his practice in the areas of construction law, including both litigation and transactional matters.  Mr. Mulroney provides general representation of sureties, general contractors, subcontractors, owners, architects and engineers in a variety of construction related matters including forensic claims analysis, bond claims, contract drafting and negotiations, contract risk assessment, bid preparation, contract claims, insurance claims, liens, direct pay actions, bid protests, and professional malpractice disputes.  His practice focuses on forensic claim analysis, claim avoidance, and best use contract administration practices.

Mr. Mulroney represents a range of construction industry clients within the building, heavy/highway and power sectors of the industry, including, contractors, construction managers, owners, developers, sureties and subcontractors.  His experience includes mediation, arbitration, litigation, contract negotiations, risk management analysis, and claims development and review.  Mr. Mulroney is experienced with government contracting and the Federal Acquisition Regulations.  He has represented clients in matters administrated by the United States Postal Service and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Prior to joining Cetrulo & Capone LLP, Mr. Mulroney was an attorney with Holland & Knight LLP.  Mr. Mulroney was also an employee of Bechtel Corporation where he acted as owner's representative for a $100 million cable stay bridge project, and as claims analyst responsible for analyzing and negotiating complex delay and disruption claims.

Mr. Mulroney is a professional civil engineer licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  He is adjunct faculty to the Wentworth Institute of Technology where he teaches a course in construction law and government regulation.

Experience

• Contracts and Legal Manager for a national energy conservation contractor headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts. Responsible for negotiating and administrating subcontracts, negotiating procurement contracts for critical lead items (e.g. turbines), negotiating and drafting lease agreements, and in-house management of litigation.
• Lead counsel for public school district in $14 million errors and omissions and delay claim asserted by large public general contractor. Functioned as project team leader in preparing and asserting common defenses for school district, architect and owner's project manager. Managed experts engaged to opine on project schedule delay, erosion control requirements and alleged cost of extra work. Negotiated favorable settlement after claimant contractor requested suspension of arbitration hearings.
• Lead counsel for a regional private building contractor regarding several development projects including a $9.5 million delay and extra work claim against a condominium developer. Effort involved both affirmative claims against the owner, defense of counterclaims asserted by the owner and consolidation and defense of civil actions initiated by several subcontractors.
• Owner's representative for analyzing and negotiating a $20 million delay and lost productivity claim involving cast-in-place highways and arising from differing site conditions, defective design, and site access limitations; and a $15 million delay and re-sequencing claim involving a tunnel ventilation building and resulting from unforeseen groundwater conditions.
• Owner's representative for a public entity constructing a complex $100 million ten lane asymmetrical cable stay bridge over the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts. Two massive foundations were constructed in cofferdams adjacent to and directly over an operational subway tunnel. Each foundation was approximately 30 feet thick and was supported by approximately 16 eight foot diameter drilled shafts set into bedrock. The bridge superstructure is a composite steel/concrete structure, consisting of a steel box girder and pre-cast panel center-span, and two cast-in-place post tensioned concrete back-spans. Two lanes of the bridge were cantilevered of the east side of the structure adding additional complexity to the project.
• Owner's representative for a public entity constructing a $25 million four lane single box girder steel bridge over the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts. Four pier foundations were constructed to support the bridge, each supported by 6 foot diameter drilled shafts. Two piers were constructed in cofferdams within the river itself. The steel erection was unusual as the single box girders were too heavy for traditional crane erection due to the confines of the site, and the 100 foot center-span of the bridge had to be jacked into location.
• Owner's representative for a public utility located in eastern Massachusetts constructing a mixed use commercial facility located in Waltham, Massachusetts. Facility is an operations center and consists of a warehouse, maintenance garage, and office space. The facility has a slab foundation and a steel frame.
• Counsel for a regional public building contractor regarding several Massachusetts school construction projects on which the contractor has defaulted, and which the surety has assumed the contractor's project obligations pursuant to the performance bond. Entailed both affirmative claims against the owners, including delay and disruption claims, and work-out negotiations with subcontractors and suppliers who have made payment bond claims and statutory direct pay demands to the owner(s). Exposure of general contractor and the surety was successfully minimized by engaging in timely merit based settlement discussions to achieve settlements, and employing mediation in those instances where the parties required the input of an impartial third party to promote a mutually beneficial settlement.
• Counsel for large international contractor in a $100 million dispute relating to an EPC contract for an off shore tanker station and petroleum facility in Lithuania, and a $600 million dispute involving an oil refinery facility in Venezuela.
• Counsel for a large international contractor in a $450 million dispute relating to an EPC contract for a power plant in Connecticut. Effort involved successful summary judgment on behalf of the contractor.
• Counsel for a regional building contractor in matters arising out of the default of a mechanical contractor on a $3 million contract at Yale University's Divinity School Project in New Haven, Connecticut. The default resulted in numerous payment bond claims, the need to hire a replacement contractor, and the re-phasing of the project to avoid delays and additional costs. All issues were resolved after extensive negotiations with the surety without impacting the original project schedule.
• Counsel for a large national building contractor in defense of a $4 million construction defect action arising from the development of a luxury condominium project in Boston, Massachusetts. Dispute focused primarily on errors in the design of the HVAC system, and construction defects associated with the procurement and installation to the exterior windows.
• Counsel for a large national building contractor in a $3.7 million dispute arising from delays and inefficiencies incurred at two United States Postal Service projects in Massachusetts. Disputes involved both differing site conditions and the mismanagement of the projects by the design teams. Detailed schedule analysis were performed to successfully support the contractors delay and inefficiency claims.
• Counsel for a regional developer in the successful defense of a $2.1 million delay claim asserted by a national building contractor contracted to renovate an existing six story building into luxury condominiums in Boston, Massachusetts. Representation included detailed assessment of the alleged schedule impacts, and the timely discharge of numerous mechanic's liens filed by project trade contractors.
• Counsel for a regional developer in matters arising out of the default of a mechanical contractor on a $35 million condominium renovation project in East Boston, Massachusetts. The default resulted in numerous mechanic's liens filed against the property, the need to hire a replacement contractor, and the negotiation and litigation of the mechanic's lien actions.