Overview
Timothy B. Froessel, an attorney in Holland & Knight's Construction Industry Practice Group, has more than 20 years' experience representing public and private owners, construction managers and general contractors in a wide variety of matters. Mr. Froessel's practice involves every aspect of construction, including negotiation of construction agreements, advice during project administration, claim development and response, mechanic's liens, insurance issues and representing clients in all forms of dispute resolution.
Mr. Froessel has comprehensive experience in public construction in New York state. He has represented numerous New York state public authorities, public universities and municipalities in a wide range of matters. Mr. Froessel is well versed in public procurement laws and policies, bid protest proceedings, the Wicks Law and exemptions thereto, and public improvement liens. He has been involved in various types of public works projects, including educational facilities, public transportation, waste water treatment facilities and bridge/highway construction. He has litigated and resolved complex claims on public projects involving as many as 13 separate prime contractors, and has been involved in the first public design-build project in New York state.
Mr. Froessel has experience in a broad range of construction industry sectors, including education, infrastructure and utility, transportation and highway, commercial, and residential and mixed use.
In the area of dispute resolution, Mr. Froessel has a track record of obtaining favorable results for clients in federal and state courts, as well as in arbitration, mediation and public agency internal dispute resolution proceedings. Published decisions in Mr. Froessel's litigated matters are listed below.
Representative Experience
- Prosecution and defense of delay, extra work, defective construction and design defect claims arising from construction of a new 785,000-square-foot educational facility in Manhattan
- Prosecution and defense of claims arising from construction of a new 140,000-square-foot building on a college campus in Brooklyn
- Defense of suit seeking to void award of public contract for the expansion of a college performing arts building
- Defense of subcontractor's claims arising from construction of a new 99,000-square-foot public school
- Defense of contractor's payment claim arising from unit-price contract to install municipal sewer system
- Advice to owner in connection with construction defects/warranty claims on 20-megawatt (MW) solar generation facility
- Defense of contractor extra work claims arising from construction of a bulkhead on the Hudson River
- Advice to agency on change order negotiations concerning modernization of commuter rail line signals
- Defense of contractor extra work claims arising from construction of new rail stations
- Assist agency with evaluation of claims arising from construction of new twin-span bridge
- Defense of claims arising from termination of $20 million contract for exterior building renovation
- Prosecution and defense of claims arising from build-outs of leased office and retail space
- Defense of delay/extra work claim arising from construction of art exhibition space
- Defense of delay/extra work claim arising from renovation of commercial space at a New York City pier
- Defense of developer's construction defect and consequential damage claims arising from construction of 1 million-square-foot mixed-use development in Washington, D.C.
- Prosecution and defense of defective construction and delay claims arising from termination of subcontracts for new 160-unit senior apartment complex
- Defense of subcontractors' extra work claims arising from construction of new 226-unit apartment complex
- Crana Electric, Inc. v. Battery Park City Authority, 153 A.D. 3d 1206 (1st Dep't 2017) –affirming dismissal of contractor's action for damages in favor of alternative dispute resolution process required by contract
- E.W. Howell Co., LLC v. City University Construction Fund, 149 A.D. 3d 479 (1st Dep't 2017) – affirming dismissal of contractor's action seeking declaration that public works contract was void
- Plato General Construction Corp./Emco Tech Construction Corp., JV, LLC v. Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, 89 A.D.3d 819, 932 N.Y.S. 2d 504 (2d Dep't 2011) – $10 million judgment reversed and vacated, and contractor's complaint dismissed, on the ground that contractor's delay claims were barred by contract's no-damages-for-delay clause
- Travelers Casualty and Surety Co. v. Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, 735 F.Supp. 2d 42 (S.D.N.Y. 2010) – summary judgment granted dismissing surety's delay claims, made on behalf of prime contractor and its subcontractors that had liquidated claims, on the ground that claims were barred by contract's no-damages-for-delay clause
- Travelers Casualty and Surety Co. v. Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, 734 F.Supp. 2d 368 (S.D.N.Y. 2010) – summary judgment granted dismissing surety's claims for negligence and professional negligence against architect and construction manager, on the ground that claims were barred by New York's economic loss doctrine
- Universal/MMEC, Ltd. v. Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, 50 A.D.3d 352, 856 N.Y.S. 2d 560 (1st Dep't 2008) – prime contract's no-damages-for-delay clause incorporated by reference into subcontract, thereby barring subcontractor's delay claims for damages caused by delay)
Credentials
- New York Law School, J.D.
- State University of New York at Albany, B.A., Criminal Justice, cum laude
- Connecticut
- New York
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- All State Courts in New York
- U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut
- All State Courts in Connecticut
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- Construction Lawyers Society of America, Fellow
- American Bar Association, Forum on the Construction Industry
- New York Building Congress
- New York State Bar Association, Commercial and Federal Litigation Section
- Town of Southeast, New York Zoning Board of Appeals, Chairman
- Holland & Knight Pro Bono All-Star, 2020
- Guide to the World's Leading Construction Lawyers Legal Media Group's Expert Guides, 2013, 2015
- Chambers USA – America's Leading Business Lawyers guide, Construction Law, 2009-2012
- Law Clerk, State of Connecticut Superior Court, 1991-1993