Many construction contractscontain “boilerplate” language that does not seem to have anything to do with the actual work that a contractor has to perform. However, these “boilerplate” sections can have a tremendous impact on the contract’s scope of work. Therefore, to protect themselves against unpleasant surprises on the jobsite (or in court trying to collect on a claim) contractors are well-served to read the “boilerplate” so that they fully understand the scope of work that they are binding themselves to perform by signing a contract.
However, careful contractors cannot stop there. In many instances, in one simple sentence, a contract can “incorporate” obligations and responsibilities that are not even mentioned in the contract itself. As a recent case in federal court in New York City, Industrial Window Corp. v. Federal Insurance Company , shows, contractors who sign contracts that refer to other documents must also be aware of what those other documents require to be sure that they fully understand their own scope of work. As the Industrial Window case shows, the law in New York is not friendly to contractors who do not read all of the materials referenced in their contract and then sue in court when they realize that they underbid a job as a result.