A construction lawyer with more than 20 years in the profession has created a one-day workshop to help contractors reduce the risk of litigation.
“It personally pains me to see some of the things I’ve seen over the years. That is people becoming embroiled in litigation, costing thousands and hundreds of dollars and years of their lives when it might have been avoided,” says Janice Quigg, principal of Janice Quigg International Inc.
“Sometimes a simple follow up email or other documentation could have resulted in the avoidance of a multimillion dollar dispute.”
To be held in various venues across the Greater Toronto Area, the one day workshops will examine common errors, best practices and will highlight some case studies.
In explaining the rationale for the workshop, Quigg notes that construction sites are hectic pressure-filled places. But in the rush to meet scheduled deadlines little details can and do get overlooked and often it’s those small points rather than major events which can send owners and contractors on the road to litigation.
“Details such as not getting written confirmation of a change order, even if it’s only email confirmation for extra work the parties have agreed to. Then later, the owner denies that it authorized the work and there is no paperwork to confirm that it was indeed authorized,” says Quigg, who is also a speaker, trainer, and author who specializes in teaching conflict resolution and how to use it as a competitive advantage.
Besides not obtaining signed change orders, some of the common mistakes contractors keep making over and over again include not complying with the terms of the contract such as Notice of Default requirements or requests for schedule extensions on the change order.
Other mistakes are even more glaring such as relying on verbal rather written agreements — a trap which she labels as “dangerous” — or simply not bothering to read or understand the terms of the contract.
That oversight doesn’t just apply to contractors. In litigation she was involved with, the project owner admitted in discovery (pre-trial procedure) that “he got bored and didn’t bother finishing reading the contract.”
Another major error some contractors fall into is not signing the company’s proper legal name on the contract. Or one corporate entity signs it and then another division of the same company sends out invoices. In the event of litigation that misstep can cause problems because it will be unclear who the contracting party is and where liability may rise, she says.
Other mistakes include failures either to start on time or not consistently maintaining schedules, says Quigg, using the example of contractors: “who promise to start on a Monday, but don’t show up until Tuesday or even the Wednesday.”
While that habit may be limited to smaller contractors, even larger companies sometimes fail to uphold schedules, she says.
Project omissions aren’t limited to contractors. On the design side failures to respond to ail to reply for RFIs (requests for information) in a timely can result in delay claims which can be significant in terms of dollars, she says.
Asked to provide a list of safeguards to avoid these common errors, Quigg cited the need for a good contract, reading it thoroughly and then adhering to its provisions; and documenting discussions.
“There is also needs to be a need for communication and respect between the parties.”
When asked if that recommendation was something of a cliché, Quigg pointed out that “sometimes it’s best to pick up the telephone” to deal with an issue rather than relying on a string of emails.
Touching on her workshops, Quigg says anyone can attend, but they will be limited to 10 participants per session.
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