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Volume 6 - Number 10 | March 10, 2008

EDITOR'S NOTES
An expert witness plays a unique role in a courtroom. Unlike other types of witnesses, the expert may proffer opinions based on his or her unique professional qualifications, which are read into the court record. Failure to present proper or convincing qualifications may prove detrimental to a party’s outcome. Such was the case in which two experts could not agree on calculations of labor inefficiencies. The government’s expert, who was properly presented and accepted by the court, provided a more convincing argument and set of calculations to the ASBCA.

The Advisor has covered topics of jointly issued checks in previous issues. When the parties of one such agreement failed to predetermine how such checks would be disbursed and one party defaulted on its obligation, conflict ensued. Miller Act rights are at the heart of this most recent case.

And finally, though often favored as a more effective and timely form of dispute resolution, arbitration can prove legally confusing. The question in this week’s final case centers on which law prevails—state or federal.


LABOR INEFFICIENCY ANALYSIS REJECTED DUE TO METHODOLOGY
Expert witnesses go head to head to evaluate labor inefficiencies on an accelerated project. In the end, the government’s expert proves convincing.

ENDORSEMENT OF JOINT CHECK DID NOT WAIVE PAYMENT BOND RIGHTS
Joint checks create confusion about the allocation of funds and Miller Act rights. A federal appeals court determines that an endorsement of a jointly issued check does not remove a supplier’s rights to the payment bond.

STATE STATUTE SUPERSEDED BY FEDERAL ARBITRATION ACT
The Federal Arbitration Act trumps a state statute that prohibits out-of-state arbitration for disputes that originate in state.