McBride, Pope Published in CLM’s Construction Claims Magazine

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Adams & Reese Real Estate and Construction Attorneys Andrew McBride and Carter Pope are published in the Spring 2025 issue of Construction Claims magazine. McBride and Pope authored “The Hidden Ball Trick: Aaron Judge’s Lawsuit and Lessons for Contractors.”

Construction Claims magazine is published by the Claims and Litigation Management (CLM) Alliance, which has a membership of more than 50,000 professionals and power players who play a part in the process of managing claims and litigation.

In “Hidden Ball Trick,” McBride and Pope use the baseball analogy to relay the story of a construction lawsuit that has made headlines in which New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge and his wife are suing their interior designer, claiming fraud and $750,000 of hidden charges on bills for renovations to their Florida home and New York apartment. Since 2014, the Judges have had a home in Tampa (where the Yankees play spring training). In 2022, following Aaron’s blockbuster $360 million contract, they commenced construction of a new home.  

The Judges claim they had a flat-rate contract of $10 per square foot, but they noticed hidden charges like a 20% fee for a general contractor and a significantly marked-up couch, and that the interior designer failed to provide receipts. The lawsuit – Aaron and Samantha Judge v. Drew Designs, LLC – was filed Jan. 28, 2025, in the Civil Division of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County. It alleges breach of contract and a lack of transparency.

Unethical billing practices, unreasonable markups, breach of contract, lack of transparency – these are all hot-button phrases that contractors never want to hear about their business. The Aaron Judge case, while undecided by the court, carries valuable lessons for businesses when it comes to working with clients in the construction field. McBride and Pope offer best practices for contractors and subcontractors to not only foster strong client relationships but also to protect your business from legal risks.

McBride is a Partner in the Adams & Reese Tampa office. He has a diverse Florida-based litigation and transactional practice focused on real estate transactions, contract review and drafting, construction litigation, foreclosure, and other creditors’ rights matters.

Pope is an Associate in the Adams & Reese Tampa office. He represents clients in all areas of corporate law and transactions, construction, and litigation.