Todd is a full-service construction lawyer who assists domestic and international clients on projects throughout the world. He advises clients on all aspects of construction contracting, from selecting the appropriate project delivery system through contract negotiations to project counseling and dispute resolution. Todd’s construction law practice is focused on the transportation, infrastructure, energy and multi-family housing industries, both as a transactional lawyer and litigator.
As a transactional lawyer, Todd has negotiated Engineering, Procurement and Construction (“EPC”) contracts, design-build contracts, construction management agreements, supply agreements and architect/engineer and construction contractor agreements.
As a litigator, Todd has protected his clients’ interests in state and federal courts, international and domestic arbitration and mediation. He has successfully resolved a wide variety of claims, including breach of contract, default and convenience terminations, differing site conditions, delay, impact, defective construction and fraud and negligent misrepresentation.
Todd has taken a particular interest in helping clients not only profit, but to do so in an environmentally-friendly and sustainable way. Specifically, Todd has counseled clients in connection with the installation of air quality control systems on fossil fuel plants, with the design, construction and procurement of utility-scale solar and wind power plants and with energy performance contracting.
Todd’s clients include owners, public entities, EPC contractors, general and specialty contractors, developers, and engineering and design firms.
Publications and Presentations
Publications
- Author, “Building New Infrastructure: EPC Contracting and the Role of Counsel, 2015 NC/SC Construction Conference
- Author, Hanil Bank v. PT Bank Negara Indonesia: The Problem with Form Over Substance in Documentary Compliance Rules, Catholic University Law Review, Volume 50:4
- Author, New Energy, Old Problems: How to Keep Contract Disputes from Derailing Your Energy Infrastructure Project, Renewable Energy Focus.com
Presentations
- Panelist, The Effect of COVID-19 on Commercial Real Estate, CFO Leadership Council, April 2020
Professional Activities
- Maryland Bar Association
- District of Columbia Bar Association
- Virginia State Bar Association
- Fellow, Construction Lawyers Society of America
Honors and Awards
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (BL Rankings), Litigation – Construction, 2021
Experience
Any result the lawyer or law firm may have achieved on behalf of clients in other matters does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.
- Represents the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority in connection with disputes with its contractor, Capital Rail Constructors, arising out of the extension of the Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority’s Silver Rail Line to Dulles Airport and beyond. The Silver Rail Line extension is one of the largest infrastructure projects in the United States. An incredibly complex Project, with numerous stakeholders, Todd’s representation includes project counseling and representing the Airports Authority in alternative dispute resolution.
- Represented Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company in the resolution of a $400 million default termination dispute with the EPC construction contractor arising out of a $1.2 billion commercial nuclear plant decommissioning project. This engagement included state court litigation, a FERC rate case and strategic advice on project completion.
- Successfully defended to final judgment in international arbitration subcontractor claims in excess of $30 million for changed conditions and delay damages brought against Alstom Power Company. The case involved issues of defective design of a cofferdam and other temporary works used to install a cooling water intake pipe for a co-generation power plant in northern Mexico.
- Represented Siemens Power Generation, Inc., an air quality control equipment supplier, in the arbitration of disputes arising out of the construction of the Prairie State coal-fired power plant in Illinois. This case involved the firm’s successful prosecution of Siemens’ payment claims against the project owner and successful defense of over $100 million in delay liquidated damages and defective work claims asserted by the project owner, its insurer and the EPC contractor. Todd developed case strategy, coordinated discovery, and took the lead examining fact and expert witnesses during a two-week arbitration.
- Negotiated and drafted EPC and Balance of Plant (“BOP”) agreements for the construction of utility-scale solar power plants and wind farms throughout the United States for DTE, NRG and Soitec. These projects have an aggregate generating capacity in excess of 500 MW and involved a broad range of testing and commissioning, regulatory, finance, tax, cash-grant, design, equipment, intellectual property, and warranty issues.
- Represented Energy Systems Groups, LLC, an energy performance contractor, in a series of disputes with the Maryland State Highway Administration (“SHA”) in connection with a multi-year contract for the installation of energy conservation measures throughout the State. The disputes were successfully resolved through mediation and direct negotiations with the State. In this engagement, Todd worked closely with a cost and schedule expert to develop and prosecute an equitable adjustment claim, coordinated discovery and mediated the disputes with SHA and a project subcontractor to successful resolution.
