EDITOR'S NOTES | Issue 4-47
publication date: Nov 26, 2006
As the holidays quickly approach, the level of anxiety begins to rise. The typical holiday worries are often compounded with extra on-the-job stress that may stem from the meteorologist’s promise of impending winter weather conditions, end-of-year report deadlines, budgeting obligations, or a desire to wrap up a project (big or small) before the entire work force takes vacation. In light of this extra stress, we bring you this week’s first case, which is a good reminder that rushing is not necessarily a good business practice. The owner of a car dealership was so anxious to start construction on his new showroom that he approved a fixed-price contract and issued the notice to proceed before the contractor had accurate documents in hand and before the city had approved those plans. The hasty start cost the owner more than just an adjusted price.
In another case, a public owner set up SBE requirements on a public project, but then violated those same requirements, prompting a jilted contractor to sue for lost profits.
In a scenario that repeats itself regularly, a contractor ignored soil boring logs before submitting a low bid on a government project. In this particular case, the contractor argued that the contracting officer agreed to discuss a differing site condition claim, which it argued showed government culpability. However, the ASBCA was not convinced.
At construction conventions and conferences, one topic emerges time and time again—the ever-increasing cost and time associated with construction disputes. The Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR) Institute took note and formed a committee to draft new rules to help address the problem. Committee chair Barry Grove offers a summary of the rules and a link to the complete document in a special report that wraps up this week’s issue.
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