May 12, 2008

EDITOR'S NOTES

If construction is as old as time, so, too, are construction claims. Under the simplest layman’s terms, an owner contracts a builder—be it by handshake, written document or other agreement—to construct the project to certain specifications, and then compensates the contractor accordingly. The contractor, in turn, builds the specified project. If the project does not proceed as desired, for whatever reason, and the parties cannot resolve the issue, one or more parties may have cause to file a complaint, or claim, against the other party. Many times, the dispute comes down to the original agreement. Was the contract ambiguous? In some cases, yes. Did the contract permit leniency (even if unintentional) in the specifications? Perhaps. These and other related questions are at the heart of the case summaries presented this week.

When disputes do arise between parties, what’s the best course of action? Guest columnist Farid Saddik suggests taking a day (or even a week) to look at the problem from every direction and then meeting with the opposing party’s top decision-makers to hammer out a solution before the problem escalates to litigation.

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