Kevin
J.
McKeon
Partner
T: (703) 749-1000 vCard McLean kmckeon@wthf.com
Honors
Memberships and Affiliations
Representative Judgments and Arbitration Awards
Representative Mediated Settlements
Other Representative Engagements
Publications and Presentations
T: (703) 749-1000 vCard McLean kmckeon@wthf.com
For more than 15 years, Kevin's practice has been devoted to counseling various members of the construction industry in dispute prevention and resolution. While attending law school, Kevin started working nearly full time for a Pittsburgh-based Construction and Labor Law Firm, in which he ultimately became a name partner. Kevin then moved his family to the Washington, D.C. Metro-area to expand his practice and where he subsequently became an equity partner at Watt, Tieder, Hoffar & Fitzgerald, LLP, one of the largest and most well-recognized construction law firms in the world.
As a result of the development of Kevin's practice, he has a wide-range of experience in all aspects of the construction industry, while representing general contractors, design/builders, sub and specialty trade contractors, materialmen, sureties, and owners. In the early part of his career, Kevin welcomed court-appointed matters to accelerate his trial experience, while handling mechanics' liens, payment bond claims, and change order disputes on mid-sized commercial projects, residential developments, multi-prime public schools jobs and public works municipal projects.
Since then, Kevin has served as lead counsel through dozens of trials and arbitrations, and has represented members of the ENR-Top 400 and some of the world's largest sureties in matters that have involved default terminations, performance bond claims, engineering and design defects, as well as numerous differing site conditions, and delay, acceleration and lost productivity claims arising out of high-rise luxury condominiums, stadiums, power plants, heavy/highway and bridge projects throughout the country.
Kevin has always been engaged in the academic side of the law since serving as a member of the editorial board of
The Duquesne Law Review
, as a teaching assistant to a former dean, and as a research assistant to a former associate dean. After law school, Kevin taught business law, civics and ethics at both Penn State and Duquesne University, and currently lectures and is frequently published on new developments in construction law.
Honors
- Legal Counsel to the Pennsylvania Utility Contractors Association (www.puca.org)
- Virginia Super Lawyer Rising Star - 2008
Memberships and Affiliations
- American Bar Association
- Forum on the Construction Industry
- Litigation Section Public Contracting Section
- Pennsylvania Bar Association
- Allegheny County Bar Association
- Construction Law Section Council Member
- Editor of The Cornerstone Newsletter
- Virginia State Bar Association
- Construction Law Section
- Public Contracts Section
- Pennsylvania Utility Contractors Association
- Mid-Atlantic BX
- Washington Building Congress
- National Bond Claims Association
- Philadelphia Surety Claims Association
Representative Judgments and Arbitration Awards
- $10 million award as lead counsel for a wrongfully terminated at-risk construction manager on a high-rise condominium project in New York City, also defeating owner's $135 million counterclaim against the surety's performance bond.
- Summary judgment as co-counsel for the surety dismissing a $25 million performance bond claim on a major league baseball stadium.
- Judgment on the pleadings as lead counsel for a general contractor against wrongful termination and tort claims asserted by a subcontractor on a project on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
- Dismissal of all claims as lead counsel for a general contractor defending against claims for contract balance, changes, and RICO allegations by a subcontractor terminated for default on an apartment complex.
- Obtained injunction, including mandatory relief, as lead counsel against the City of Trenton, New Jersey, prohibiting the City from rejecting all bids and ordering the City to award pumping station contract to prime contractor.
- Favorable jury verdict as co-counsel for general contractor seeking to recover re-procurement costs against a subcontractor that withdrew its bid.
- Favorable verdict as lead counsel for a material supplier in an action directly against the design engineer for economic damages caused by the engineer's negligent approval of submittals.
- Several favorable awards as lead counsel for prime contractors against municipal authorities for changes, differing site conditions, lost productivity, excessive retainage and improperly assessed liquidated damages, on various sanitary sewer projects.
- Favorable award as lead counsel for concrete subcontractor against lead prime contractor for scope changes, improperly assessed liquidated damages, and excessive retainage on a public school project. Successfully defended the award through the Pennsylvania Supreme Court twice.
- Award for full amount of claim as lead counsel for electrical prime contractor against school district for delay claim.
- Favorable award as lead counsel for steel prime contractor against construction manager for scope changes and differing site conditions on an office building project.
- Favorable award as lead counsel for asbestos abatement contractor against community college for differing site conditions.
- Favorable award as lead counsel for site development prime contractor against owner of condominium development for differing site conditions.
- Favorable award as lead counsel for drywall subcontractor against general contractor for scope changes and differing site conditions on an office building project.
- Dismissal of criminal charges against a general contractor accused of disturbing waterways.
- Favorable award as lead counsel for owner against general contractor on a large residential project.
- $0 award as lead counsel for general contractor against subcontractor's claims for changes on a warehousing project.
Representative Mediated Settlements
- Favorable settlement as counsel for an owner against a general contractor for defect claims on two large condominium projects in California.
- Favorable settlement as lead counsel for plumbing prime contractor against school district and other prime contractors on a public school project.
- Favorable settlement as lead counsel for general contractor against a church in Ohio for scope changes and design deficiencies.
- Several favorable settlements as lead counsel for general contractors against municipal authorities for delays, lost productivity, and differing site conditions on various sanitary sewer projects.
- Favorable settlement as lead counsel for paving subcontractor against general contractor, owner, and design professionals on a country club.
- Favorable affirmative recovery settlement as lead counsel for the surety on claims against a turbine supplier on a power plant project in California.
- $0 settlement as lead counsel for the surety against performance bond claims on an office building project in California.
- Favorable settlement as lead counsel for a site work subcontractor against a general contractor for changes, excessive retention, remedial work, and building settlement claims on a commercial warehouse project.
Other Representative Engagements
- Summary judgment as co-counsel on behalf of a public housing authority in a civil rights action. Successfully defended appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the 3 rd Circuit.
- Favorable verdict including attorneys' fees for employees deprived of wages under the Pennsylvania Wage Payment & Collection Law.
- Favorable settlement as counsel for a general contractor defending against claims by a subcontractor on a pipeline project in Iraq.
- Favorable settlement in malpractice action against a subcontractor's prior counsel for failure to properly perfect a mechanics' lien in Pennsylvania.
- Fa
vorable settlement as co-counsel for a roller-compacted concrete paving subcontractor wrongfully-terminated by a general contractor on an aviation brigade military base in New York.
- Acquittal from the jury as co-counsel to an individual wrongfully accused of indecent and statutory assault.
- Prepared, reviewed and negotiated numerous contracts, claims and change orders.
- Reviewed numerous public contracts, bid documents and private contract documents, and created contract administration manuals and guidelines for same.
- Prepared and prosecuted mechanics' liens and bid protests, and successfully defended against dozens of OSHA Citations.
- Pro-bono lobbying efforts on various pieces of construction-industry related legislation at both the state and federal levels.
Publications and Presentations
- Author:
New Jersey Construction Law
, a treatise co-written with Adam M. Tuckman, to be published by HLK Global Communications, 2012.
- Speaker: "THE Construction Contracts Program: Understanding and Negotiating the Critical Clauses in the Industry Form Documents," ABA Forum on the Construction Industry, Pittsburgh, PA, November 2011.
- Speaker: "Public-Private Partnerships: We Bonded What? And for How Long?!" National Bond Claims Association, Monterrey, CA, October 2010.
- Author:
Pennsylvania Construction Law
, a treatise, co-written with David Wonderlick, published by HLK Global Communications (www.constructionchannel.net), April 2010.
- Speaker: "'Constructability' Certification and Bidding Requirements, and the Implications Under Bilt-Rite, ExTech, and Spearin," Pennsylvania Utility Contractors Association, Erie, PA; Altoona, PA; Wilkes-Barre, PA; and Glenside, PA; April 2010.
- Speaker: "Ethical Issues in Complex Construction Litigation," Allegheny County Bar Association Construction Law Section, Pittsburgh, PA, December 2009.
- Speaker: "Construction Lien Law and Payment," Lorman, Philadelphia, PA, June 2009.
- Speaker: "Legal Issues & Pitfalls in Design/Build Contracting," Pennsylvania Utility Contractors Association, Reading, PA and Altoona, PA, January 2009.
- Speaker: "The Fundamentals of Construction Contracts: Understanding the Issues," Lorman, Allentown, PA, January 2009; Philadelphia, PA, February 2009.
- Speaker: "Construction Lien Law and Payment in Pennsylvania," Lorman, Philadelphia, PA, March 18, 2008.
- Speaker: "Construction Law from Contract to Closeout in Pennsylvania," Lorman, King of Prussia, PA, February 22, 2008.
- Speaker: "Standard Contract Clauses and What They Mean to the Detailer," North American Steel Construction Conference, New Orleans, LA, April 2007.
- Speaker: "Construction Law from Contract to Closeout in Pennsylvania," Lorman, Philadelphia, PA, October 2006.
- Speaker: "Recent Developments in Pennsylvania Construction Law," Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association - Hershey, PA, June 2006.
- Author: "Court Allows Contractor to Pursue Claim for Downtime," Construction Claims Advisor, Vol. 4, Issue 30, July 2006.
- Author: "School Board Finds Loophole to Avoid Paying Extra Work Claims," Construction Claims Advisor, Vol. 4, Issue 9, February 2006.
- Author: "Sureties' Failures to Notify Do Not Merit Claim Denial," Construction Claims Advisor, Vol. 4, Issue 8, February 2006.
- Author: "Subcontractor Not Bound to its Mistaken Bid Price, but Prior Course of Dealing Could Establish Breach of Contract," Construction Claims Advisor, Vol. 4, Issue 1, January 2006.
- Speaker: "Building a Foundation for Managing Complex Construction Law Issues in Virginia," National Business Institute, McLean, VA, October 2005.
- Speaker: "The Fundamentals of Construction Contracts: Understanding the Issues in Virginia," Lorman, Fairfax, VA, September 2005 and September 2006.
- Author: "Beyond the Contract II: Third Party Claims Against A/E's and C/M's," From The Ground Up, Summer 2005. Reprinted in The WBC Bulletin, September 2005.
- Author: "The Clock Runs Out for Payment Bond Claims on Stadium Project," Construction Claims Advisor, Vol. 3, Issue 23, June 2005.
- Speaker: "Life After Bilt-Rite," Mid-Atlantic BX a/k/a Harrisburg Builders Exchange, Camp Hill, PA, December 2005.
- Speaker: "Virginia Construction Law: What do you do when . . .?" National Business Institute, Fairfax, VA, February 2005.
- Speaker: "Selecting a Winning Project and Delivering a Profitable Job," National Utility Contractors Association, Washington, DC, November 2002 and November 2004.
- Author: "Five Years Later: A Look At The 1997 Revisions To The AIA General Conditions - The Mutual Waiver Of Consequential Damages," Construction Law & Public Contracts News, Spring 2003.
- Speaker: "The 1997 Changes to the AIA Contract Documents," "How to Collect Your Money," "The Pennsylvania Contractor and Subcontractor Payment Act," "Negotiation Skills," and other construction-related lectures; Pennsylvania Utility Contractors Association and Associated Builders & Contractors; October 1995 to 2002.
- Speaker: "Construction Contracts," and "Ethics for Paralegals," Pittsburgh Paralegal Association, November 2000.
