Ben Martin
Mr. Martin has been a civil litigation attorney for over 30 years, having handled numerous cases in federal and state courts, as well as before administrative bodies and arbitrators, and appeals to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, North Carolina Supreme Court, Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and U.S. Supreme Court.
For more than a decade, Mr. Martin has focused his practice on the areas of construction law and litigation, representing general contractors, trade contractors and subcontractors, owners, developers, as well as sureties, municipalities, designers and owners’ associations in contract review, negotiation and preparation, as well as claims, litigation and arbitration. He has prepared contracts and handled claims concerning a wide variety of projects including hospitals, schools, condominium and apartment projects, hotels, manufacturing facilities, shopping centers, subdivisions and highways. Mr. Martin also has extensive litigation experience with real estate disputes and the areas of products liability, insurance claims and other areas of commercial litigation.
Mr. Martin has an AV Preeminent Peer Rating by Martindale-Hubble, and has been selected annually for inclusion in Business North Carolina’s “Legal Elite,” North Carolina “Super Lawyers” and Best Lawyers in America, in the fields of construction law and litigation, since 2005-2006. He was ranked as Lawyer of the Year – Construction Law (Charlotte 2014, 2016) by Best Lawyers. He currently serves on the Council of the Construction Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association.
Practice Areas
Education
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Law, JD with honors, North Carolina Law Review
- Wake Forest University, BA, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
Experience
- Advises and represents contractors, owners, sureties and subcontractors regarding contracts, claims and dispute resolution.
- Representation of owners and contractors in litigation and arbitrations involving multi-family, subdivision, hotel and other commercial construction projects.
- Representation of municipalities and contractors in claims involving public infrastructure projects, including water, sewer, treatment plants, roads and mass transit.
- Representation of contractors and sureties in claims involving public schools and universities.
- Representation of trade contractors in litigating multi-million dollar claims involving hospitals, prisons and other public projects.
- Representation of contractors and designers in claims to N.C. State Construction Office.
- Litigates a variety of commercial disputes including construction, manufacturing, banking, insurance, real estate, sales and noncompetition agreements.
- Extensive experience in alternative dispute resolution, including mediation, commercial and construction arbitration.
- Reported cases include Young & McQueen Grading Co., Inc. v. Mar-Comm Associates, Inc.,728 S.E.2d 1 (N.C. App. 2012) (lien law); Gaston Grading v. Young, 116 N.C. App. 719, 449 S.E.2d 475 (1994) (lien law); Fieldcrest Cannon , Inc. v. Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., 124 N.C. App. 232, 477 S.E.2d 59; 127 N.C. App. 729, 493 S.E.2d. 658; 348 N.C. 497, 510 S.E.2d 383(1998); (Insurance Coverage); and Smith v. Selco Products, Inc., 96 N.C. App. 151, 385 S.E.2d 173 (1989)(products liability).
- Frequent lecturer on and author of construction-related topics, including constructive change clams, public contracting, contractor defenses to surety claims, and dispute resolution.
- Co-author of Equitable Liens: An Important Protection for Contractors and Suppliers, N.C. Bar Association Construction Law Newsletter (Sept. 2014), and “Last Acts or Omissions that Trigger the Statute of Repose,” N.C. Bar Association Construction Law Section Newsletter (June 2003)
Honors + Activities
- Martindale - Hubble® AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rating
- Named to Business North Carolina’s “Legal Elite” Construction Lawyers, North Carolina “Super Lawyers” and “Best Lawyers in America”
- Selected as a "Legal Elite" in Business North Carolina's "Legal Elite" publication