FAI’s Dispute Resolution Practice offers dispute advisory services, litigation support, construction claims and expert testimony services.

George B. Fink, Jr., P.E.
President
299 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
Tel 212 964 4338
Fax 212 964 4290
gfink@construction.com

Education and Licenses:

B.S., Civil Engineering, United States Military Academy
M.S., Business Administration, Boston University,
M.S., Construction Management, University of California - Berkeley

Registered Professional Engineer, State of Virginia

Military: Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.),
Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Reserve 

Articles and Presentations:

Instructor,
   Construction Claims Management, NYC Office of the Comptroller
   Basic Scheduling, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
   Scheduling and Project Controls, Regional Alliance for Small Contractors
   Basic Scheduling, Nassau County Department of Public Works

Author, 
   "Computerizing Project Information," The Military Engineer

Mr. Fink is the President and co-founder of FAI. He is a licensed Professional Engineer, with testifying experience in both arbitrations and mediations. An expert in schedule delay analysis, he has worked with both owners and contractors to dispute construction claims and prepare requests for additional time and compensation.

Experience

• For the Portsmouth Naval Hospital, evaluated the contractor’s $22M delay claim, identifying Architect, Contractor and Owner delays through extensive analysis of the 3,000 activity schedule. Negotiated a settlement with the contractor for 10% of the claimed value on this $350M, four-year construction project.
• For the $33M Suffolk Skilled Nursing Facility, worked with the owner and contractor to recover six weeks in the schedule lost during the site and foundation work.
• Provided an expert report, schedule delay analysis and expert testimony at the mediation to support the Department of Justice in a $4M claim against the Army Corps of Engineers. FAI identified more than 25 project delays, with responsibility and time assigned for each delay. The delay analysis successfully countered the contractor’s claim, leading to a settlement of less than 15% of the claim amount.
• For a New Jersey School District, evaluated more than $500,000 in construction claims to identify parties responsible for each delay. Negotiating settlement with all parties, to include the construction contractor, engineer, and construction manager.
• Provided expert report on behalf of a New Jersey School District, which terminated the construction manager for cause on a school renovation project. As a result of the expert report, the client successfully settled the construction claim. The expert report was based on analysis of the job performance of the construction manager and given in support of a lawsuit filed by the school district. Also included was a review of the construction claims filed by the four contractors, involving extensive document review and schedule analysis, as well as developing negotiation strategies to resolve the claims.
• Provided expert testimony at arbitration between a general contractor and his terminated steel subcontractor at a Bus Depot Facility in Newark, NJ. The testimony was based on analysis of the job performance of the steel subcontractor and impact on the schedule by nonperformance and delays.
• Representing the general contractor, prepared a delay and acceleration claim by thoroughly analyzing the baseline and update schedules, daily reports, submittal logs and contract correspondence. For the construction of this state university arena, developed a delay claim for inadequate drawings impacting the structural steel drawings, fabrication and erection. Created as built and impacted schedules to demonstrate delay to the contractor for 14 issues on 6 steel erection sequences.
• Using the baseline and update schedules, daily reports and contract correspondence, assisted the general contractor in demonstrating legitimate delay activities to prevent the owner from assessing interim liquidated damages. Developed and evaluated 7 delay issues, recovering more than $1M for the contractor.
• For the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City, was brought in at the 50% point in construction, resolved the schedule and cost issues disrupting the project progress on this $230M project. The hotel was brought back on schedule and completed within the original budget.
• Assisted the City of San Jose in defending a claim for inefficiency and delays. Supervised production of an as-built schedule and negotiated with the general contractor to resolve a $15M. These efforts reduced the settlement to $1.6M.
• Supervised the efforts to assist a construction contractor in obtaining $3.4M for delays and owner impacts. Developed and researched 33 issues and an as-built schedule which formed the basis for the award.
• Defended the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on a $3M claim for delay and inefficiency by the steel subcontractor. Using the contractor’s resource-loaded schedule and daily reports, demonstrated that the contractor used fewer man-hours than planned, and therefore sustaining no inefficiency. Claim was withdrawn.
• Coordinated the defense of the General Services Administration (GSA) against a $1M claim for delays and disruptions. Through evaluation of the contractor’s original schedule, creation of an as-built schedule and review of the project documentation, assignment for responsibility for each delay was established. A negotiating position for the GSA was developed and negotiation assistance provided. Claim was settled for $230,000.
• Assisted the City of San Jose in defending $26M claim for inefficiency and delays on the San Jose Transit Mall. Coordinated the completion of an as-built schedule identifying owner and contractor delays. The project was complicated by utilities and basement encroachments. These efforts reduced the settlement to the contractor to $3.1 million.