Attorneys

Christian Moretz

Shareholdercmoretz@vlplaw.com

christian moretz

Christian is a shareholder in the Tallahassee office, with a practice that primarily pertains to representation of contractors, subcontractors, and sureties on Florida’s public construction sites. Although Christian’s passion is litigation, she also has transactional experience and has drafted a variety of contractual agreements, ranging from project subcontracts to joint venture agreements.

Christian’s litigation practice mainly involves prosecuting and defending against claims involving unpaid contract balances, performance and payment bonds, negligent design/professional malpractice by engineers and surveyors, private property, and torts ranging from civil conspiracy to fraudulent misrepresentation. Her practice also entails significant transactional work, ranging from drafting contracts, subcontracts, and bonds, to advising contractor and subcontractor clients on a variety of pre- and post-bid contract risks and business disputes. Christian often lectures on construction-related topics such as pre-bid considerations, contract negotiation, mitigating contractual risks, claims presentation and preservation, liens, bonds, and design-build delivery method issues.

Relevant Experience and Representative Cases

  • Represented construction subcontractors in prosecuting claims for unpaid subcontract balances against contractors and payment bond sureties
  • Represented construction contractors in prosecuting performance bond claims
  • Represented property owners in defending claims by contractors
  • Represented contractors prosecuting claims for non-payment against property owners on private construction projects
  • Prepared numerous contractual agreements for a variety of construction project needs
  • Represented construction contractors in bid protest proceedings challenging government contract award decisions
  • Represented entities in the construction industry on a variety of tort claims, ranging from civil conspiracy to fraudulent misrepresentation
  • Represented construction contractors in resolving claims against design professionals (such as surveyors and engineers) for damages resulting from defective work
  • Defended sureties on payment and performance bond claims on a variety of construction projects
  • Represented numerous construction companies in a variety of contract and business disputes

Education

  • Florida State University (J.D., with honors, 2011)
    • President, Mock Trial
    • Certificate in Environmental and Land Use Law (with highest honors)
  • Florida State University (B.S., 2007)

Bar Admissions

  • Florida, 2011

Court Admissions

  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida

Publications

  • A Toxic Reciprocity: Examining the E-Waste Stream from the United States to China, Harvard Law and Policy Review (Online Edition) (2010)
  • Liquidated Damages, in 2019 Construction Law Update (Neal J. Sweeney & Chad V. Theriot eds., 2019)

Honor Awards

  • Florida Trend Legal Elite, 2020
  • Florida Trend Florida Legal Elite Up & Comer, 2015, 2019
  • Florida Association of Women Lawyers 2019 Leader in the Law Award
  • American Bar Foundation Fellow

Memberships

  • American Bar Association
    • Forum on Construction Law
  • The Florida Bar
    • Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section
    • Young Lawyers Division
    • Construction Law Committee

Community Involvement

  • Dancing with the Stars Tallahassee, 2019 People’s Choice Award Winner
  • Tallahassee Women Lawyers, 2018-2019 President
  • Tallahassee Women Lawyers, 2017-2018 President Elect
  • Tallahassee Women Lawyers, 2015-2017 Director of Programs
  • Tallahassee Women Lawyers, 2014-2015 Special Events Chair
  • Council of Catholic Women, 2015-2017 Vice President