William C. Hurt, Jr.

E-mail: bhurt@hdmfirm.com
William C. Hurt, Jr. received his B.A. degree with high distinction from the University of Kentucky. He received his J.D. degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Kentucky, College of Law where he was inducted in the Order of the Coif and served as Associate Editor of the Kentucky Law Journal. After completing his legal studies, Mr. Hurt worked as an associate in the Lexington, Kentucky office of the state-wide law firm of Brown, Todd & Heyburn (now Frost Brown Todd) concentrating his practice in construction, business and commercial litigation.

He has written numerous articles and chapters on various construction law areas and is a frequent speaker on construction law topics. Mr. Hurt is a member of the Fayette County Bar Association, the Kentucky Bar Association (in which he is a member of the Public Contracts and Construction Section) and the American Bar Association (in which he is a member of the Forum on Construction Industry and the Construction Litigation Section). Prior to returning to law school upon completing his undergraduate studies, Mr. Hurt successfully owned and operated an award-winning construction firm.

He is also a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and is a graduate of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy’s (“NITA”) Master Advocate Program. He is licensed to practice law by the Kentucky Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Hurt primarily focuses his litigation practice on construction, real estate and business disputes.

Mr. Hurt routinely represents parties in disputes arising out of major construction projects. Recent matters involving public projects include:

1. Termination of defaulting contractor, negotiation of takeover agreement with the contractor’s surety, defending claims by contractor, surety, suppliers and subcontractors, assessment of liquidated damages, negotiation of settlement agreement with surety, and coordination of project completion between the governmental owner, KYTC, the project engineer and the surety.
2. Defending claims for additional cost and extension of time on a public project based upon claims of differing and allegedly unforeseen conditions.
3. Defending claims by contractor on a public project for additional cost and extension of time based upon claims of defective specifications and differing conditions.
4. Claims involving allegedly defective specifications, differing conditions and misconduct by governmental officials.

Disputes involving private construction projects include the following:

1. Pursuing owner’s claims against general contractor and construction manager arising out of delays and defective performance in the construction of a major manufacturing facility.
2. Pursuing a group of owners’ claims against a general contractor for breach of contract and delay damages as well as defending owners from mechanic lien claims by subcontractors.
3. Pursuing general contractor’s claims against owner for failure to pay and defending counterclaims alleging defective performance and delay.