Dennis Cavanaugh, chair of the firm's Construction Law Practice Group, focuses on construction law and contract suretyship matters. Mr. Cavanaugh counsels public and private building owners, tenants, lenders, building contractors, design professionals, subcontractors, and sureties. Mr. Cavanaugh's capabilities span a period of over 25 years in his handling of complex transactions that often involve construction finance, contract procurement, and negotiation, as well as commercial-related litigation and alternative dispute resolution. Mr. Cavanaugh has lectured and authored articles on a variety of construction and suretyship topics. He has been recognized by Super Lawyers® since 2006 as a New England Super Lawyer in the areas of Construction Law and Construction Litigation, the result of a joint selection process conducted by Law & Politics and Connecticut Magazine (Super Lawyers is a registered trademark of Key Professional Media, Inc.). Mr. Cavanaugh was also recognized in Super Lawyers®, Corporate Counsel Edition, in May 2009. Professional Associations - American Arbitration Association, Commercial Panel of Neutrals, Connecticut Construction Advisory Committee - American Bar Association, Litigation and Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Sections and Forum on the Construction Industry - Connecticut Bar Association, Construction Law Section, Past President; Federal Practice Section - Surety Claims Institute - The National Bond Claims Association - University of Hartford Construction Institute Community Involvement - State of Connecticut Justice of the Peace - Town of Glastonbury, Board of Assessment Appeals - University of Connecticut Alumni Association, President of National Board of Directors, 2011-2012 Honors and Awards - Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® as Hartford Lawyer of the Year in the area of Construction Law for 2012 (Copyright 2011 by Woodward/White, Inc., Aiken, SC) - Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Construction Law for 2011 (Copyright 2010 by Woodward/White, Inc., Aiken, SC) - Listed in Connecticut Super Lawyers® in the area of Construction Litigation since 2006 (Super Lawyers is a registered trademark of Key Professional Media, Inc.) - Listed as one of the Top 50 Lawyers in Connecticut by Connecticut Super Lawyers® 2011 (Super Lawyers is a registered trademark of Key Professional Media, Inc.) Experience - Pioneered civil rights action against a municipality, following enforcement of agency requirement concerning disposal of industrial waste. * - Successfully represented a contractor lienor in case which upheld constitutionality of Connecticut's mechanic's lien law. * - Representation of a public-private partnership with the State of Connecticut to redevelop, operate, and maintain Connecticut's 23 highway service plazas. The 35-year agreement was the result of extended negotiations with the state Department of Transportation. The service plaza overhauls will also include "green" initiatives to bring the facilities up to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards, improve water runoff patterns, and install idle-reduction technology for use by trucks on the Connecticut Turnpike, also known as Interstate 95. Including projected revenues, initial construction, and reinvestments, the benefit to the State of Connecticut is estimated to be almost $500 million over the term of the agreement. - Dual representation of mechanical trade contractor and its sheet metal subcontractor in the prosecution of $1.9 Million Dollar claim seeking compensation for delays, inefficiencies, additional field and shop labor, and sheet metal poundage against Construction Manager and Project Designer where project completion time was extended by six months as a result of scheduling, coordination, and deficient and defective bid documents. Case settled following two day mediation in favor of clients after limited discovery in litigation. - Oversaw administration of payment and performance bond claims for construction of five military housing projects throughout the country, financed via a public-private partnership (PPP) between the United States Air Force and a private developer. Represented the surety concerning demands against each of the performance bonds from secondary obligees, resulting in a potential additional exposure of up to $50 million. Negotiated on behalf of the client with the developer/principal, multiple financing entities, and the Air Force to transfer control of all projects to a new developer, through which the surety received a full release of all performance bond liability. * * Atty. Cavanaugh was counsel in these representative matters before joining Robinson and Cole. Publications & Presentations Articles - "Trial Techniques for Surety Cases" (2008), published in American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section - "Liability of Design Professionals in the Absence of Privity of Contract," coauthored with Peter E. Strniste, Jr. (2002), published in ABA Construction Litigation Newsletter - "Damages: Model Jury Instructions for Surety Cases" (2000), published in ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section - "Construction Case Law Summary and Legislative Review" (2000 to 2003), published in Connecticut Bar Association Construction Law Section, Coeditor - "Design/Build Delivery Systems" published in DRI For The Defense - "Raising a Notice of Defense to a Fidelity Bond Claim: Is a Showing of Prejudice Required?" (1999), published in DRI Bonding - "Balfour Beatty Construction v. National Surety Corporation" (1998), published in ABA Tort & Insurance Law Journal Book Chapters - "Performance Bonds and Contractor Default Insurance" (4/2011), published in Construction Insurance: A Guide for Attorneys and Other Professionals - A State-by-State Guide to Construction and Design Law: Current Statutes and Practices, Second Edition, Connecticut chapter, 2009 Presentations - "Keeping Construction Arbitration from Morphing into Litigation" (September 2010) presented at Connecticut Bar Association's Construction Practice and Federal Practice Sections, New Britain, Connecticut, moderator - "Arbitration Discussion" (September 2010) presented at Pearlman 2010 Conference, Gig Harbor, Washington - "Legislative Update and Effective Skills in Construction Lobbying" (3/21/2006) presented at Construct 2006, 9th Annual New England Construction and Facilities Management Conference and Exposition - "Change Orders in Connecticut" (2005) presented at Lorman Education Services - "An Arbitration Survival Guide" (11/18/2004) presented at American Arbitration Association, East Hartford, Connecticut - "Commercial and Miscellaneous Bond Claims" (5/7/2004) presented at Defense Research Institute Annual Roundtable Meeting, Chicago, Illinois - "Indemnitor's Obligation to Post Collateral Pre-Judgment" (2004) presented at Chicago Surety Association - "Perfection of the General Indemnity Agreement - The Result May Not Be Perfect with the Surety" (2002) presented at Surety Claims Institute's 2002 Annual Meeting - "Beyond the Four Corners: Implied Terms, Liabilities, and Defenses in Construction Contracting Remedies for Breach of Implied Duties: The Price of Failure" (1/25/2001) presented at TIPS Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, American Bar Association, Forum on the Construction Industry - "Design/Build Construction Project from the Perspective of a Surety" (1999) presented at Defense Research Institute, 1999 Annual Meeting - "Connecticut Construction Law: Can This Job Be Saved?" (1998) presented at Lorman Education Services - "Construction Surety Bonds in Connecticut" (1996 to 1998) presented at National Business Institute - "Construction Surety Bonds in Connecticut" (1996) presented at Lorman Education Services - "Latest Developments in Construction Law: The Ten Most Significant Construction Cases in Connecticut and Why" (1994) presented at Connecticut Bar Association, Construction Law Section - "Construction Litigation in the Nineties and Beyond: Subcontractor Survival Strategies, Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain" (1992) presented at Connecticut Bar Association, Construction Law Section News 10.14.11, Five Robinson & Cole Attorneys Selected as "Lawyers of the Year" in Hartford 4.18.11, Attorney Writes Chapter About Performance Bonds and Contractor Default Insurance for Book 10.07.10, Construction Attorney Participates in Two Panels 9.08.10, Robinson & Cole Receives Highest Construction Attorney Count in National Peer Review Survey 7.09.10, Dennis Cavanaugh Named President-Elect of Alumni Association's National Board of Directors 10.29.09, Robinson & Cole Partner Authors Chapter in Construction and Design Law Guide 5.06.09, Robinson & Cole Partner Appointed Member of Construction Advisory Committee 11.14.08, Robinson & Cole, a leading commercial law firm with more than 225 lawyers and eight offices in the Northeast and Florida, announced today that 9 partners and over 20 additional attorneys from Thelen LLP will be joining the firm. |