Construction Claims, Damages, Contract Audits & Related Services
Overview
The MWL team provides a depth and breadth of exposure to the records of relevant cost and claim, contractors, and subcontractors that is unmatched in our area. We have performed audits of billings and cost representations on scores of projects using cost-reimbursable contract forms (e.g. GC/CM, EC/CM, MC/CM, Guaranteed Maximum Price, and time and material or “force account” reimbursement) and have deep familiarity with various types of change order pricing related to other contracts (to include unit priced, lump-sum, cost reimbursable, and those with design-build variants). Our firms have been named as "on-call" consultants to major public entities, to assist with their work as needed. And, importantly, we have participated in support of project owners on the largest construction projects in the Northwest and elsewhere in the country. The team is particularly proud to have been associated with obtaining for King County the largest jury award in the history of the State of Washington, while simultaneously defending tens of millions of dollars of inappropriately priced counterclaims; our same team also successfully assisted the State of Washington defend nearly $700 million of claims on the Big Bertha tunnel matter, where a jury awarded damages solely to the State.
Project Services
Our personnel have a variety of experiences in providing services to clients during the project timeframe, pre-project contract development efforts through project close-out. We have participated with a number of clients, both public agencies and private developers, in reviewing contract terms and offering suggestions and insights as to potential issues and concerns that can be mitigated through improved contract terms.
Claims Services
When claims are made, whether formally or as Requests for Equitable Adjustment, the MWL team can be counted on to understand the financial aspects of what is being claimed and the risks of amounts being sought that are at variance with the contract terms, or the basis of the economic handshake that took place in the initial pricing of the project. Our people are familiar with the typical buzzwords of claim terminology, and have worked on many scores of matters involving allegations of “delay,” “disruption,” “lost labor productivity,” “extended field overhead,” “extended home office overhead,” and the new favorites of “expanded” overhead claims.