Richard R. Chaves

Rick Chaves is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Construction Law. He represents contractors, subcontractors, design professionals, owners, developers, associations, bond sureties, and other commercial entities. 

Mr. Chaves has litigated, tried, and arbitrated numerous complex construction cases involving construction defects, lien law and bond disputes, and commercial general liability (CGL) insurance coverage, claims for equitable adjustments, and collection claims. He also has extensive experience in representing parties in transactional construction law, such as the drafting, review, and negotiation of construction contracts and related construction industry documents. 

Mr. Chaves has presented at seminars for several organizations, including the Associated General Contractors of America, The Florida Bar, National Business Institute, Lorman Education Services, and the Palm Beach County Bar Association. His lecture topics have included construction contracts, construction lien and bond law, and drafting and interpretation of A.I.A. and industry contract documents. 

During college, Mr. Chaves served six years with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves in both West Palm Beach and Tampa. 

Practice Areas

•  Construction Litigation and Construction Law 

Representative Matters

•  Successfully represented residential roof contractor in lien claims and defenses raised by owner with a favorable jury verdict (2013). 
•  Successfully represented commercial general contractor in lien claims and owner defenses through non-jury trial and affirmed on appeal handled by Mr. Chaves (2012). 
•  Represented owner in claims against unlicensed contractor resulting in favorable judgment affirmed on appeal handled by Mr. Chaves (2011). 
• Successfully represented commercial general contractor in multi-party construction defect litigation initiated by condominium association with matter settled      at commencement of trial (2016).
•  Successfully defended an arbitration claim seeking over $1.3 million in damages with an award of no liability or damages, with recovery of defensive attorneys’ fees (2021).

Representative Publications or Presentations

•  Associated General Contractors: “Contract Clauses of Interest to Contractors in Vertical and Condominium Projects,” October 2014 
• “AIA Contracts,” Presenter, August 21, 2014 (Lorman)
•  Sixth Annual Construction Law Institute 2013 (The Florida Bar): “Design Liability for the Construction Certification Review Course,” March 2013 
•  “Construction Lien Law in Florida—Liens , Bonds and How to Get Paid: Representing the General Contractor,” Presenter, October 18, 2011 (Lorman) 
•  Fourth Annual Construction Law Institute 2011 (The Florida Bar): “Workshop F: Advanced Lien Law”(with Bruce G. Alexander), April 2011