Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title III Chapter 30
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 30, § 39O (2026)

Contracts for construction and materials; suspension, delay or interruption due to order of awarding authority; adjustment in contract price; written claim

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 39O. Every contract subject to the provisions of section thirty-nine M of this chapter or subject to section forty-four A of chapter one hundred forty-nine shall contain the following provisions (a) and (b) in their entirety and, in the event a suspension, delay, interruption or failure to act of the awarding authority increases the cost of performance to any subcontractor, that subcontractor shall have the same rights against the general contractor for payment for an increase in the cost of his performance as provisions (a) and (b) give the general contractor against the awarding authority, but nothing in provisions (a) and (b) shall in any way change, modify or alter any other rights which the general contractor or the subcontractor may have against each other.

(a) The awarding authority may order the general contractor in writing to suspend, delay, or interrupt all or any part of the work for such period of time as it may determine to be appropriate for the convenience of the awarding authority; provided however, that if there is a suspension, delay or interruption for fifteen days or more or due to a failure of the awarding authority to act within the time specified in this contract, the awarding authority shall make an adjustment in the contract price for any increase in the cost of performance of this contract but shall not include any profit to the general contractor on such increase; and provided further, that the awarding authority shall not make any adjustment in the contract price under this provision for any suspension, delay, interruption or failure to act to the extent that such is due to any cause for which this contract provides for an equitable adjustment of the contract price under any other contract provisions.

(b) The general contractor must submit the amount of a claim under provision (a) to the awarding authority in writing as soon as practicable after the end of the suspension, delay, interruption or failure to act and, in any event, not later than the date of final payment under this contract and, except for costs due to a suspension order, the awarding authority shall not approve any costs in the claim incurred more than twenty days before the general contractor notified the awarding authority in writing of the act or failure to act involved in the claim.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases, 1985–1999 · leading case: TLT Constr. Corp. v. A. Anthony Tappe & Assocs., Inc., 716 N.E.2d 1044 (Mass. App. Ct. 1999).
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TLT Constr. Corp. v. A. Anthony Tappe & Assocs., Inc., 716 N.E.2d 1044 (Mass. App. Ct. 1999). · cites it 2× “Because the construction contract included a “no damages for delay” clause as required by G. L. c. 30, § 39O, the arbitrator determined that the contractor was not entitled to delay damages, and, after hearing the evidence, allowed the owner’s motion to strike the contractor’s…”
City of Worcester v. Granger Bros., 474 N.E.2d 1151 (Mass. App. Ct. 1985). “4 did not *389 apply to delay caused by the acts of third parties such as another general contractor like Granger, and, in any event, that it was superseded by § 7(f) (i) of the phase IV contract, which was required by G. L. c. 30, § 39O, and which provides for an equitable…”
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