ARTICLES

July 25, 2011 | Corwin & Corwin LLP |

Litigation costs are an important element in any construction claim. There are ways in which you can help control those costs.

One of the simplest methods is to actively assist your lawyer in obtaining the relevant information and documents necessary to pursue your claim. Not only will this help to control costs, but it will also avoid situations where important documents are undiscovered until well after the litigation is under way. The late production of documents can lead to a court excluding those documents, not on the ground of relevancy, but because they were simply found too late.

There are a number of “dos” and “don’ts” that can save time and money.

1. DO designate a point person for the collection of information and documents required by your lawyer. The most logical person to collect information is the project manager. Don’t make your lawyer chase the project manager, the project engineer, the super, or other key personnel to obtain information. It only takes more time and results in a disorganized and incomplete collection of relevant information and documents.
2. DON’T collect the information in a piecemeal manner. This results in repetitive review of documents by your own personnel and your lawyer.
3. DO have your point person collect all documents from every person or department involved in the project including, estimating, engineering, accounting, and field personnel. This includes obtaining any notes, documents, or photos kept by any employee in all personal files.
4. DO have these documents immediately organized into separate files, such as contract documents, addenda, correspondence, plans, sketches, submittals, field reports, requisitions, change orders, field directives, punchlists, photographs, and any other major category.
5. DO prepare summary sheets of the contract, listing the original contract amount, approved change orders, the date and amount of each payment and a summary listing all disputed extras.
6. DON’T be the judge of what is relevant. Collect and organize all documents so that your lawyer can determine which documents are relevant to the claim.
7. If subcontractors are involved in the claim, DO have your point person obtain the job records kept by that subcontractor.

Every step you take to assist your lawyer in the gathering and organization of information and documents means that your lawyer can spend his time concentrating on the legal aspects of the claim. The bottom line is that time is money, and time saved is money saved.

This newsletter is intended to provide general information of interest to the construction industry. It is not intended to provide specific legal advice or to address fact specific issues. For that you should consult your legal counsel. Corwin & Corwin LLP assumes no liability in connection with the use of this newsletter. The Supreme Judicial Court may consider this material advertising.
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