Contract review
Contract review — flagged unilateral price escalator
Pre-signing review caught a clause allowing developer to raise price unilaterally up to 12%. Negotiated cap at 3% plus inflation.
Duration
1 months
Outcome
Pre-litigation win
What the client was facing.
Client was about to sign a 24-month-build pre-construction contract that included a clause allowing the developer to increase the contract price by up to 12% during construction 'due to market conditions or input cost variations.' On a $600,000 contract, that's $72,000 of unbudgeted exposure.
The strategy we deployed.
Red-lined the clause to cap any increase at 3% above CPI inflation, and only with documented evidence of input-cost increases — not unilateral discretion.
How it ended.
Developer accepted the red-line. Client built into the deal a hard ceiling on price escalation, capping potential exposure at $18K vs. $72K — and required documentation that effectively makes any increase unlikely.
Your situation deserves the same rigor.
Every case is different, but the methodology holds: strategic pressure, credible escalation, recovery.