John M. Tedder

John M. Tedder
Shareholder and Director
28th Floor, Two PNC Plaza
620 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
jmt@sgkpc.com

Phone: 412-258-6757
Fax: 412-261-6221

John M. Tedder

Mr. Tedder is a Shareholder and Director of the firm and a member of the firm’s Construction Services Group.  He practices primarily in the areas of construction and commercial litigation, and has handled a wide range of complex construction disputes for commercial and industrial owners, sureties, design professionals, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers. Mr. Tedder’s substantive construction claim experience has touched upon nearly all facets of a construction dispute, including construction/design defect claims, delay/acceleration claims, extra work/unjust enrichment claims, mechanic’s liens, surety indemnification claims, surety takeovers, and payment and performance bond claims as well as termination for cause/convenience claims. Mr. Tedder also has substantial experience with the preparation and negotiation of turnkey EPC, construction, architectural services and engineering services agreements on behalf of owners, design professionals and contractors alike.

Areas of Law / Focus

  • Commercial Litigation
  • Construction Litigation

Selected Engagements

  • Power Plant: Represented national engineering and construction firm in breach of contract, breach of warranty and contractual indemnification claims against national turbine manufacturer subcontractor in connection with the construction of a $150 million waste-to-energy mass burn facility in Long Beach, California.
  • Power Plant Capital Projects: Construction counsel to largest power cooperative in the United States in connection with a multibillion-dollar procurement and construction program for a series of biomass and gas-fired power generating facilities.
  • Steel Mill: Represented U.S. subsidiary of international steel mill equipment manufacturer/supplier in defending multimillion-dollar breach of contract and breach of warranty claims arising out of steel mill construction project. Also represented this same manufacturer/supplier in prosecuting indemnification claims against its fabrication subcontractor.
  • Heavy Highway & Bridge: Representation of national engineering firm in connection with the prosecution of an additional engineering fee claim and defense of breach of contract and engineering negligence counterclaims collectively in excess of $6 million relating to the Market Street Bridge construction project in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
  • Commercial Development: Representation of national development company in prosecuting multimillion-dollar latent construction/design defect claims against building contractors as well as various design, testing, surveying and inspection professionals.
  • Material Production/Supply: Representation of U.S. producer of alumina in an approximate $30 million international arbitration against a United Arab Emirates metals-trading company and its Indian parent for refusing to accept delivery of contracted quantities of alumina.
  • Construction Asset Sale: Represented national construction company and its corporate parent in a breach of contract, breach of warranty and indemnification action arising from the asset-purchase sale of the company’s construction assets.
  • Federal Building Construction: Represented general contractor in a multimillion-dollar subcontract dispute on the $54 million Moorhead Federal Building project in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  • State Bid Protest: Represented national electrical contractor in protesting state turnpike commission’s award of electrical contract for highway tunnel renovation project.
  • School Construction: Represented various prime contractors in prosecuting labor-inefficiency and extra-work claims in multimillion-dollar/multiparty construction disputes against Pennsylvania public school districts
  • Mechanics’ Liens: Represented owners and contractors in defending/prosecuting mechanics’ lien claims for unpaid contract sums.
  • Surety: Defended national surety company in a bankruptcy adversary proceeding arising out of surety’s takeover of defaulted bond principal’s business operations. All claims asserted against the surety were dismissed with prejudice.

Education

  • Duquesne University School of Law, J.D., 1996, Cum Laude
  • Clemson University, B.A., 1993, Cum Laude

Publications and Speaking Engagements

  • Regional Coordinator / Speaker, “The Construction Contracts Program:  Understanding and Negotiating the Clauses in the New Industry Form Documents,” American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry, November 3, 2011
  • Author, “Project Performance and Termination,” chapter in Pennsylvania Construction Law: Getting Started, Getting Covered, Getting Paid, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 2010
  • Speaker, “Counterattack:  Utilizing and Responding to TROs and Other Litigation ‘Fasttrack’ Processes,” American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry, Annual Meeting 2008
  • Author, “Seeking Emergent Relief Pending a Mandatory Arbitration Subject to the Federal Arbitration Act,” American Bar Association, 2008
  • “Still Owed Money? Don’t Cash That Check Just Yet!,” The Critical Path, March 2003
  • “Taxpayer Standing to Challenge Public Contract Award – Not a ‘Fiction’ After All,” The Critical Path, January 2001
  • Co-Author, “To Spoliate or Not to Spoliate…,” Commercial & Banking Litigation, American Bar Association, 1997 Summer Edition

Professional & Community Activities

  • Member, American Bar Association
    • Forum on the Construction Industry
  • Member, Pennsylvania Bar Association
  • Member, Allegheny County Bar Association
    • Construction Law Section
      • Section Council, 2010-2013

Bar Admissions

  • Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1996
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, 1996
  • U.S. Court of Claims, 2000
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, 2003