Mediation is often a good idea, but only if it is “ripe.” An unripe mediation can leave a bad taste in your mouth. Have you ever tasted an unripe persimmon? Not only will it drain all the moisture from your mouth, but you may never want to try one again – the tannins of the unripe fruit are very bitter. However, having tasted one ripened to perfection, you will certainly want more. The same is true of most fruit and of your experience with mediation.
Assuming your construction contract includes a mediation provision and you just received a letter from a subcontractor requesting mediation, how should you respond? Since the contract obligates you to mediate, you should agree, right? Yes, but the contract and the request may not account for a pre-mediation exchange of information to ripen the dispute before a mediation session. Mediating without a reasonable understanding of each party’s position and the relative risks and rewards of settlement is like tasting an unripe persimmon – it will drain the good perspective that you had for mediation and you may never want to mediate again.
But how will a pre-mediation exchange of information succeed? After all, the dispute probably arose because the parties couldn’t or wouldn’t work together through normal project procedures? How then can the parties expect to ripen the dispute for mediation?
With time, the gradual exchange of information, a willingness to consider both giving and taking, and maybe the help of a third-party, the parties will understand that resolving the dispute now will likely save time and money later.
Linking Obligations
If you want to bind the subcontractor to the prime in every way the same as the prime is bound to the owner, then the incorporation clause of the subcontract should be: . . .
Termination of Government Contracts for Convenience (T4C)
Imagine you’re a Government Contractor under a firm, fixed-price contract and you’ve done nothing wrong. Nevertheless, the Government has decided to unilaterally end its contract with you. Yes, the Government can do this...
Government Contractors: Build a Snowman in August
As a Government Contractor, when have you agreed to perform a certain way, but later realized that another way is better for everybody? When the Government agrees, expressly or impliedly, to the alternative performance, it waives a credit for the unperformed work.
Construction Dispute Settlement: Dealing with Details
Reap the benefits of settling a construction dispute by doing these things.
E-mail Signature Not Enough to Certify a Claim
Construction project professionals routinely send e-mails with “signatures,” which typically include the sender’s typewritten name, title, contact information, and/or company logo. But, this sort of e-mail “signature” is not enough to certify a claim to the Government.
Government Contractors: Ask for a “Sum Certain” in Your Claim
If your Claim includes an item for damages with an amount “TBD,” you could lose the entire Claim.
Contractors: Be Aware When Contracting with Virginia Public Agencies
Without a valid contract, a Virginia public entity has no duty to to pay for any of your work.
Constructive Acceleration
Contractors know that time is money. So, the point is clear when expressly told to “Speed Up! Go Faster!”
But, what do you […]
Construction Contracts & Whodunit
Imagine reading a crime novel and just when you think you figured out whodunit, a plot twist suggests a different culprit. In construction contracting, finding the right answer can be a difficult task when
