Misuse of Contracted Specifications

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Author Message Jerome J. Lazar, RA, CCS, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: lazarcitec Post Number: 1080 Registered: 05-2003 Posted on Wednesday, April 09, 2014 - 01:37 am:    Back in 2008 I was contracted to prepare specifications for a Residence Inn project in Miami. Due to the slow down in the economy, the project was put on hold, however the specifications were completed and issued based on the current building code at the time (2004 FBC). My client (the architect) did not pay our Invoice at the time for balance on the fee, being a good client, I assumed payment would be made when the job moved forward. I was advised last month that the project has been brought back to life, I was asked to estimate a fee to update the specifications, which I submitted to the architect. The fee included the balance on the existing agreement. The Owner has advised the architect that he will not retain our services to update the specifications, apparently not wanting to spend the money for this service, however he intends on using the specifications prepared in 2008 as is. I have a clause in my agreement as follows: "Specifications prepared by (my firm) are instruments of service and shall remain the property of (my firm). They may not be used on other projects or extensions of this project except upon written agreement with (my firm) and with appropriate compensation for same." In addition the Agreement clearly states that the specifications are being prepared based on the 2004 FBC. The current project has to be permitted under the 2010 FBC. Is this enough to advise the Architect that the Owner may not use the specifications as is, and will not be permitted to use the specifications on this nor any other project. If the Owner uses the specifications without permission (and compensation) what recourse do I have? It is odd that this Owner is not willing to update the specifications, I have worked on other projects developed by this Owner without any problem. It is a huge company and if I were to persue litigation, this developer could crush me like the cockroach I am (to paraphrase Kevin O'Leary from Shark Tank). Any suggestions are appreciated. Robin E. Snyder Senior Member Username: robin Post Number: 529 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Wednesday, April 09, 2014 - 01:41 pm:    Jerome - I went through this recently - give me a call - I will be in my office in about 45 minutes. 480-776-5885 Jerome J. Lazar, RA, CCS, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: lazarcitec Post Number: 1081 Registered: 05-2003 Posted on Wednesday, April 09, 2014 - 03:51 pm:    Thanks Robin, nice to have a non-blood sucking lawyer frequenting this forum, even better that you are also a spec writer.