Matthew Emmons

Matthew “Matt” Emmons is a shareholder in the Firm’s Mandeville office. Matt’s practice focuses on construction law – both litigation and transactional – providing effective and efficient legal counsel to contractors, subcontractors, owners, developers, design professionals, suppliers and other construction parties in all aspects of public and private commercial, industrial and residential construction.

Matt regularly represents construction clients in complex, multiparty litigation in state and federal courts, mediation and arbitration in a variety of disputes, such as those involving breach of contract, nonperformance/termination, construction and design defects, delay/disruption, productivity/inefficiency, differing site conditions, payment disputes, acceleration, force majeure, surety matters, False Claims Act defense, audit, bid disputes and third party property damage, among others.

Matt has drafted and negotiated numerous multi-million dollar construction related contracts for both contractors and owners involving various delivery methods and pricing structures, such as design-build, design-bid-build, lump sum, cost-plus and GMP.

Matt is experienced in contractor licensing law and has counseled clients in navigating through multi-state licensing issues in a variety of contexts, including both the acquisition of new licenses as well as changes to existing licenses, such as those necessitated by changes in a qualifying party, conversion of the licensed entity, company mergers and ownership changes. Matt also regularly represents construction clients in more routine licensing issues and advocates on their behalf at licensing board hearings concerning alleged licensing violations.

Matt routinely represents construction clients in matters involving the preparation, filing and enforcement of construction lien and payment claims under the Louisiana Private Works Act, Louisiana Public Works Act and the Miller Act, and also represents clients in defending against such liens and claims when improperly asserted.

While Matt’s practice focuses on construction, he also counsels non-construction commercial clients in various general business and commercial matters, both litigation and transactional.

EDUCATION:

• Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center, J.D., 2009, magna cum laude
• Southeastern Louisiana University, B.A. Marketing, 2006, summa cum laude

ADMISSIONS:

• Louisiana, 2009
• United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• United States District Court for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana

Representative Matters:

• Litigation
  • Represented industrial contractor in prosecuting multi-million dollar delay and cumulative impact claim arising from industrial construction project and defending against owner’s delay and lost profit claims exceeding $30 million.
  • Represented specialty subcontractor in prosecuting multi-million dollar delay and impact claim associated with various sequencing and coordination issues, design changes, and related matters on a project involving the construction of a $1 billion medical center complex.
  • Represented joint venture contractor in prosecuting significant delay, acceleration, and inefficiency claims on a large public project, and defended contractor against Public Works Act claims and other claims, disputes, and negotiations with subcontractors and suppliers on the project.
  • Represented pipeline general contractor regarding changed site conditions and force majeure claims associated with two separate pipeline construction projects.
  • Represented EPC Contractor against multiple multi-million dollar subcontractor claims associated with $1 billion-plus Inner Harbor Navigation Canal Hurricane Protection Project.
• Transactional and Contractor and Design Professional Licensing
  • Negotiated and prepared numerous multi-million dollar commercial construction related contracts for contractors and owners, both institutional and private.
  • Negotiated and prepared contracts and subcontracts for execution of various disaster recovery projects throughout the southeastern United States, and counseled clients on disaster recovery laws and regulations.
  • Defended clients in multiple matters before the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board, and the Louisiana State Board of Architectural Examiners.

Professional Honors & Activities:

• Member – Louisiana State Bar Association
• Member – Federal Bar Association
• Member – New Orleans Bar Association
• Member – Covington Bar Association
• Member – Associated Builders and Contractors