Public construction contract provisions barring damages for unreasonable delays declared void.
Richmond, Va., City Code § 21-62
in effectSec. 21-62. - Public construction contract provisions barring damages for unreasonable delays declared void.
(a) Any provision contained in any public construction contract that purports to waive, release, or extinguish the rights of a contractor to recover costs or damages for unreasonable delay in performing such contract, either on the contractor's behalf or on behalf of the contractor's subcontractor, if and to the extent the delay is caused by acts or omissions of the City, its agents or employees and due to causes within their control, shall be void and unenforceable as against public policy.
(b) Subsection (a) of this section shall not be construed to render void any provision of a public construction contract that:
(1) Allows the City to recover that portion of delay costs caused by the acts or omissions of the contractor or its subcontractors, agents or employees;
(2) Requires notice of any delay by the party claiming the delay;
(3) Provides for liquidated damages for delay; or
(4) Provides for arbitration or any other procedure designed to settle contract disputes.
(c) A contractor making a claim against the City for costs or damages due to the alleged delaying of the contractor in the performance of its work under any public construction contract shall be liable to the City and shall pay it for a percentage of all costs incurred by the City in investigating, analyzing, negotiating, litigating and arbitrating the claim, which percentage shall be equal to the percentage of the contractor's total delay claim which is determined through litigation or arbitration to be false or to have no basis in law or in fact.
(d) If the City denies a contractor's claim for costs or damages due to the alleged delaying of the contractor in the performance of work under any public construction contract, the City shall be liable to and shall pay such contractor a percentage of all costs incurred by the contractor to investigate, analyze, negotiate, litigate and arbitrate the claim. The percentage paid by the City shall be equal to the percentage of the contractor's total delay claim for which the City's denial is determined through litigation or arbitration to have been made in bad faith.
(Code 1993, § 22.1-56.2; Code 2004, § 74-66; Code 2015, § 21-62; Code 2020, § 21-62)
Source: City of Richmond, Virginia, Code (2026 recodification) and Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/va/richmond/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICICO_CH21PUPR_ARTIICOFOMESOSE_S21-62PUCOCOPRBADAUNDEDEVOFetched: 11/8/2026