Getting Clients Paid on Construction Projects: Mechanic’s Liens and the New 5% Retainage Caps

Mr. Felezzola earned his J.D. cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2011, where he served as Executive Editor on the Editorial Board of the University of Pittsburgh Law Review. He received his B.A. in History from Columbia University in 2005. During law school, he completed an externship with the Honorable Joseph K. Williams of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County and served as a law clerk for an asbestos litigation firm in Pittsburgh and the Neighborhood Legal Services Association. He is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New Jersey, and is admitted before the United States District Courts for the Middle and Western Districts of Pennsylvania, the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia, and the District of New Jersey.

Mr. Felezzola has been ranked among Pennsylvania’s top construction lawyers in Chambers and Partners’ Chambers USA Guide since 2023. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Construction Law and Litigation – Construction since 2026, and received Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America recognition for Commercial Litigation and Litigation – Construction from 2021 to 2025. He was selected to the Pennsylvania Rising Stars lists from 2019 to 2021 and was elected to the Order of the Coif in law school.

Mr. Felezzola is a member of the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and American Bar associations. His writing and presentations on construction payment include “Lien and Bond Claims: A Subcontractor’s Security Blanket” (The Contractor’s Compass, 2018), “2 Recent Court Opinions Clarify Mechanics’ Lien Claim Practices, Procedures” (The Legal Intelligencer, 2020), and “Pennsylvania Construction Law: Getting Started, Getting Covered, Getting Paid” (PBI Press, 2014). His recent work on contracts and project risk includes “Subcontractor Methods for Protection from Material Price Escalation” (The Contractor’s Compass, 2026), “What To Look for When Entering a Construction Contract” (The Contractor’s Compass, 2025), “Faulty Wiring: Fraud’s Growing Threat to Construction” (Breaking Ground Magazine, 2026), and “Supply Chain Considerations in Data Center Development” (Shale Power, 2026). He was interviewed by Sue Ostrowski for “3 Steps to Manage the Financial Risks in Your Construction Project” (Smart Business, 2022). His other publications and presentations include “Use of AI-Generative Tools Poses Significant Risk to Attorney-Client Privilege and/or Work-Product Protections” (Babst Calland Firm Alert, 2026), three 2020 pieces on COVID-19 and Pennsylvania construction activity, “Construction Law 2017: The Year in Review” (2018), “P3: The Future of the Construction Industry?” (Foundation Drilling Magazine, 2014), a labor law primer for the 29th Annual Construction Labor Symposium (2013), and a construction law update for the American Bar Association’s Forum on Construction Law (2012).

On the construction side of his practice, Mr. Felezzola serves as outside general counsel for owners, developers, design professionals, and construction companies, and frequently represents them in a variety of commercial and construction-related disputes including construction bid protests, construction defect claims, differing site condition claims, delay and inefficiency claims, payment and performance bond claims, mechanics' lien claims, as well as all other types of payment and contract performance disputes. Mr. Felezzola also specializes in construction contract review, drafting, and negotiation. He has extensive experience preparing and negotiating all forms of construction contracts, from customized forms to standard industry and government agreements, including the contracts of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and ConsensusDocs.

The other side of Mr. Felezzola's practice focuses on environmental litigation with an emphasis on contaminated sites and insurance recovery in the environmental context. He has extensive experience representing clients in large-scale cost recovery actions under CERCLA, RCRA, and other environmental statutes. Mr. Felezzola also advises clients on issues related to site remediation and pre-litigation matters involving responses to information requests, notice of liability letters, and enforcement orders from state and federal agencies and assists clients with navigating environmental liability issues and negotiating settlements and consent decrees with those agencies.

Mr. Felezzola has litigated on behalf of his clients before Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Ohio, and New York state trial level courts, the appellate courts of Pennsylvania, United States Federal District Courts throughout the country, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Additionally, Mr. Felezzola has experience representing clients in disputes resolved by the American Arbitration Association, JAMS, and other private dispute resolution forums.