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Volume 6 - Number 31 | August 4, 2008
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EDITOR'S NOTES
"No one loves the messenger who brings bad news," wrote Theban playwright Sophocles in his tragedy Antigone. Shakespeare echoed the sentiment nearly 2,000 years later: "Don’t shoot the messenger!" he wrote, in Henry IV and Anthony and Cleopatra. Though blaming the messenger may be convenient, it is usually a misplaced knee-jerk reaction. On an Army Corps of Engineers project, the contracting specialist initially placed blame on the mailroom for late delivery of a bid package. The package arrived shortly after the 2 p.m. bid opening deadline. However, further investigation proved that the bidder failed to follow instructions, thus hindering a timely delivery. The lessons learned here are: 1) Follow instructions; and 2) Don’t wait until the last minute to submit a bid.
Also this week, non-specific and vague contract verbiage spell out trouble for contract specifications. The ASBCA rendered its definition of "typical" and when it can apply to a specification. And, a painting contractor learns that before signing a contract for a limited partnership, it should do a little homework to find out the specific players involved, especially if the partnership is in financial trouble.
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