Angela Styles Quoted in Construction Dive on Implications for Contractors if Border Wall Construction Stops

Construction Dive has quoted Akin Gump government contracts partner Angela Styles in the article “Border wall breakup: What would happen if Biden becomes president.” The article looks at the ramifications for contractors and subcontractors who are working on the U.S.-Mexico border wall if Joe Biden wins the presidential election and suspends construction.

According to Styles, the potential end to border wall construction is an example of the risk that contractors take when entering into an agreement for a project that is controversial or political in nature.

For prime contractors faced with a termination for convenience, however, Styles said the greatest risk lies in the termination of their agreements with subcontractors. Some contractors, she noted, will add language to their subcontracts mirroring the government’s right to terminate for convenience. If not, those contractors could find themselves owing their subcontractors the profit they expected to realize from the entire project, not just on the work performed up to the point of termination. That liability could also extend to sub-subcontractors as well.