Peter L. Agovino, Attorney

Peter L. Agovino, Esq. has more than 20 years experience in commercial trials, arbitration and alternate dispute resolution proceedings, and has specialized in contract disputes involving heavy construction, highways, tunnels, bridges and complex building projects. As a former member of Goldberg & Connolly and Berman, Paley, Goldstein & Berman, he has represented numerous contractors in the New York metropolitan area and throughout the United States. Mr. Agovino has also represented architects, major material and equipment suppliers, sureties, as well as the construction division of a prominent New York commercial bank.

Mr. Agovino has considerable experience in identifying and asserting various classifications of damages that contractors sustain on construction projects, such as impact costs, extra work, and delay and acceleration damages. Working with engineers and construction claims specialists, he has utilized state of the art CPM and computerized scheduling analyses to prepare and prosecute numerous claims against governmental and private owners.

In a major victory for contractor's rights, Mr. Agovino, as lead counsel in Abiele Contracting, Inc. v. New York City School Construction Authority , 91 N.Y. 2d 1, 689 N.E. 2d 864, 666 N.Y.S. 2d 970 (1997), successfully appealed and overturned the mandatory default termination procedures implemented by the New York City School Construction Authority. In its opinion in Abiele Contracting , the New York Court of Appeals ruled that the SCA had neither statutory nor contractual authority to render a binding determination of default against a contractor, and further held that a contractor could not be forced to surrender or waive its legal remedies.

A graduate of the College of Insurance, Mr. Agovino received his law degree from Brooklyn Law School in 1972, where he graduated second in his class and was an editor of the Law Review. Mr. Agovino also holds a Masters of Law degree in corporate law from New York University's Graduate School of Law. Following his graduation from Brooklyn Law School, Mr. Agovino served as a law clerk for the Hon. Mark A. Costantino, United States District Court Judge, Eastern District of New York.

• Abiele Contracting, Inc. v. New York City School Construction Authority 1997