John Condrey is a partner in the Phoenix office of GRSM, practicing in the construction, insurance, environmental/toxic tort, tort & product liability, intellectual property, employment, professional liability defense and commercial litigation groups. For more than 25 years, he has been representing general contractors, architects and engineers, developers and owners in matters ranging from professional negligence claims, default terminations, delay and disruption claims, project development, land use, CEQA, EPA and a number of other types of transactions and disputes. John has also represented municipalities in several matters, including those related to wastewater facilities construction and maintenance, as well as public golf course construction. John has also defended legal malpractice and insurance bad faith cases, has represented medical device manufacturers/inventors in diverse matters and jurisdictions, and has handled a variety of intellectual property matters concerning trademark, patent, copyright and licensing disputes.

John handles matters related to employment on behalf of employers. John represents employers before administrative agencies as well as state and federal court at the trial and appellate level. He has successfully represented employers before administrative agencies including the EEOC and the NLRB, and has handled all manner of employment claims, including wrongful termination, breach of contract, discrimination, retaliation, harassment and related claims. He counsels employers with regard to personnel issues, including policies and procedures, hiring, termination, leaves, overtime compensation, and disability.

John has represented surety companies in every aspect of their business. He has represented surety interests directly, bond principals in disputes with claimants and has investigated claims by third parties against principals on behalf of the surety. He has tried surety claims in state and federal court, and has represented surety interests on appeal in state and federal courts. Additionally, he has handled fidelity, financial institution, subdivision map act and financial guarantee bond claims.

John has tried many types of cases, including complex construction, real estate development, surety claims and defense, business litigation, RICO claims, legal malpractice defense, insurance coverage and bad faith, in state and federal courts in California and in Arizona. He has successfully handled appellate issues before the California Court of Appeal, the Arizona Court of Appeals, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the California Supreme Court. Additionally, John has arbitrated many complex matters. For example, he was lead attorney in a binding arbitration before a panel of the American Arbitration Association, where he obtained an award for his clients in a complex termination-for-default case of over $12 million. Recently, John obtained a defense verdict in federal court in Arizona on behalf of his architect client from multimillion dollar claims related to design and construction of a jail facility.

Admissions

• Arizona
• California
• U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Memberships

• American Bar Association Litigation Section
• Bar Association of San Francisco
• Arizona Builder’s Alliance
• Associated General Contractors of America

• Represented the developer/owner in binding arbitration related to multiple live-work loft projects in San Francisco and obtained award of over $12 million in this termination-for-default case against the contractor and its joint venture partner
• Obtained a multi million dollar settlement for a general contractor in a breach of contract/delay/termination for default case involving a public entity
• Drafted and negotiated AIA, AGC, DBIA and non-standard form contracts for various design professionals, contractors and owners
• Represented surety in California Supreme Court case involving “pay if paid” and “pay when paid” clauses
• Represented surety in dozens of cases involving tax-deferred investments in wind-mill farms, greenhouses and other investment vehicles
• Represented contractor in claims involving IDIQ contract with Dept. of the Air Force
• Represented a major steel manufacturer at trial and on appeal in Federal Court involving upgrades to the Basic Oxygen Furnace at its steel making facility in Granite City, Illinois, and recovered over $1 million in a published Ninth Circuit case
• Represented engineering companies, design professionals and project archaeologist in multiple cases involving collapse of structures, including bridge structures, falsework structures and ancient elevated sidewalk structures. (e.g., collapse of elevated freeway in San Francisco during demolition, and collapse of a falsework bridge structure in Tulare County)
• Represented inventors and licensors and manufacturers of medical devices nationally and internationally in all matters except patent prosecution.  
• Represented developers in bank work-outs and related negotiations with contractors, subcontractors and suppliers to avoid default and foreclosure
• Successfully represented contractors in making and defending against bid-protests involving state and federal contracts
• Represented an insurance company at trial and on appeal in complex case involving sinking of ship at dry-dock
• Represented contractors in bid protests, including contractors who were not the apparent low bidder at time of bid opening and apparent low responsible bidders responding to protests
• Represented surety industry as amici in California Supreme Court case regarding application of pay-if paid clauses in contracts and effect on obligations of surety
• Represented a bank at trial of twelve year old dispute with adjacent landholder regarding development issues and claims in millions, and obtained favorable defense verdict in trial in San Diego Superior Court
• Represented a computer component manufacturer and supplier in an action against computer manufacturer in complex breach of contract matter and obtained favorable verdict in Santa Clara Superior Court

Publications 

• Author, Chapter on Alternative Project Delivery Methods, Arizona Construction Law Practice Manual, State Bar of Arizona (2016)

Presentations

Mr. Condrey has been a lecturer on surety and bad faith issues for the Insurance Education Association. He has been a speaker on a variety of other issues affecting the interests of contractors, owners, architects and engineers, including Design/Build, use of finite element analysis in failure reconstruction, and Risk Avoidance.