Danielle Ternes/Construction Dive This feature is a part of "The Dotted Line" series, which takes an in-depth look at the complex legal landscape of the construction industry. To view the entire series, click here. Pandemic-related material and equipment delays are challenging contractor schedules and wallets. But when do delays turn from costly inconveniences into contractual headaches? When it comes to material deliveries, delays and contractor responsibility, the contractor is assuming certain risks, said attorney Quinn Murphy with Sandberg Phoenix in St. Louis. "If a party has submitted a bid on a project, they're going to be assumed by the law, and in all likelihood the contract, to have evaluated and known the risks associated with delayed delivery," he said. "They're going to be held to have done their due diligence in submitting an agreement and signing an agreement to deliver certain things by a certain time."