Mr. Hayes’s practice focuses on commercial transactions and litigation with an emphasis on the construction industry. Mr. Hayes primarily represents owners, developers, general contractors, and subcontractors in public and private construction transactions and disputes in the Southeast region of the United States. Mr. Hayes provides day-to-day operations counsel and advice on the full range of legal issues faced by all construction industry stakeholders, including construction contract negotiation, contract administration and best practices, mechanic’s liens and filing requirements, and construction dispute resolution, management, and avoidance.
Mr. Hayes is experienced in drafting, reviewing, and negotiating all forms of design and construction agreements, including AIA and ConsensusDoc form contracts, design-build contracts and EPC agreements. Mr. Hayes’s transactional experience includes review, negotiation, and drafting contracts for multi-million-dollar construction projects spanning across a wide variety of market sectors, including retail office, commercial, industrial, multi-family, mixed-use, condominiums, hotels, and solar power generation facilities.
Mr. Hayes represents and counsels owners, developers, general contractors, and subcontractors in arbitration, mediation, and litigation in state and federal courts. His litigation experience includes the successful prosecution and defense of complex, multi-million-dollar construction disputes involving claims for breach of contract, breach of warranty, delay, disruption, acceleration, negligent design and/or construction, design and construction defect, violation of the prompt pay act, lien and bond claims, negligent misrepresentation, fraud, and fraudulent or preferential transfers.
Mr. Hayes has also counseled and successfully defended Georgia municipalities in a diverse range of lawsuits involving land use planning and zoning disputes, local permitting disputes, inverse condemnation claims, civil rights violations, billboard/sign regulation, premises liability claims, and negligence claims. Mr. Hayes is also experienced in reviewing and drafting ordinances, presenting at public meetings, and handling local hearings and administrative appeals for both public and private clients.
Mr. Hayes is a member of the Construction Law Section of the Atlanta Bar Association and is a member of the American Bar Association. He is also a member of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Georgia.
