Читать книгу Fundamentals of Construction Claims - William J. McConnell - Страница 28

Dispute resolution provisions for state construction contracts vary by state and by state agency. The following example is the dispute resolution provisions that the Colorado Department of Transportation prescribes in its standard construction contracts.

Colorado Department of Transportation––2019 Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction CDOT's “Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction” include exhaustive provisions for non-binding dispute resolution. This non-binding process can take more than a year before a contractor can trigger binding dispute resolution. The process is outlined as follows:

 Contractor to bring dispute issue to CDOT's Project Engineer's attention within 20 days of Contractor being aware of the issue.

 If this discussion results in an impasse, Contractor issues a notice of dispute to CDOT's Project Engineer within 15 days of the impasse.

 Contractor provides Request for Equitable Adjustment (REA) to the CDOT's Project Engineer within 15 days of the notice of dispute.

 Contractor and the CDOT's Project Engineer discuss merits of dispute within 7 days of the REA submission.

 CDOT's Project Engineer reviews the REA within 7 days of the discussion.

 Contractor rejects the CDOT's Project Engineer's denial and notices the CDOT's Resident Engineer within 7 days of the Project Engineer's rejection.

 Contractor's project and executive team meet with the CDOT's Project Engineer and the Resident Engineer to discuss within 30 days of notice.

 If impasse, the CDOT's Project Engineer initiates Dispute Resolution Board (DRB) process within 30 or 45 days of this group meeting, depending on type of DRB.

 Contractor to sign the DRB agreement within 20 days.

 Contractor and the CDOT issue pre-hearing submittals to DRB within 15 days of the signing of the agreement.

 DRB, the Contractor, and the CDOT to conduct hearing within 30 days of the submittal issuance.

 DRB renders a “recommendation” within 10 days of the hearing.

 Parties can issue request for clarification/reconsideration of recommendation within 14 days of the DRB's recommendation.

 Either party can reject the DRB's recommendation within 30 days.

 Claimant to issue notice of intent to file “claim” to the Region Transportation Director within 60 days of the DRB's recommendation.

 Contractor submits claim package to the Region Transportation Director within 60 days of notice.

 Region Transportation Director renders a decision within 30 days of receipt of the claims package.

 Contractor can reject the Region Transportation Director's decision and issue an appeal to the CDOT's Chief Engineer within 60 days of the Region Transportation Director's decision.

 CDOT's Chief Engineer shall render its decision within 45 days of the appeal.

 Contractor can reject the CDOT's Chief Engineer's decision and trigger binding dispute resolution within 180 days of the Chief Engineer's decision.

 The claim is resolved via binding dispute resolution.