AGC’s annual Surety Bonding and Construction Risk Management Conference has featured presentations and papers addressing best practices to mitigate and resolve construction disputes from tiered party negotiations, mediation, arbitration, dispute review boards (DRBs), other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures, and litigation.
- Achieving ADR Success What We Want in Construction Mediation and Arbitration
- Mediation Uncompromised: Mastering The Art of Changing Minds & Influencing Opinions
- The Best Evidence: The Real Time Project Record
- Managing ESI Risks Costs and Burdens
- Taming the Multi-Party Construction Dispute in Mediation
- 10 Risk Management Maxims that Will Change Your Approach to Project Delivery
- Planned Early Dispute Resolution: The Why and the How
- How to Avoid and Resolve Disputes over Delays and Disruptions
Alternative Dispute Resolution and Mitigation in ConsensusDocs
Dispute Mitigation ConsensusDocs utilizes an innovative tier approach that requires the parties to talk with each other at the project within 5 days of a dispute arising and then, if not resolved, at the senior project level. This has been effective at eliminating or mitigating claims before they are escalated to a formal claim.
Mediation ConsensusDocs requires mediation before elevating a claim. Parties are empowered to choose AAA, JAMs, or their own chosen rules and service provider for mediation services.
Project Neutral ConsensusDocs has a specific option to use an objective project neutral who will be generally apprised of the project facts. Significantly, this does not default to be the project's artitect or engineer, who is paid by the Owner, like the American Institute of Architect's (AIA) initial decision maker (IDM).
Dispute Review Boards (DRBs) ConsensusDocs is the only publisher of standard construction contracts that has standard Dispute Review Boards. Check out the ConsensusDocs 200.4 which establishes a DRB will be used on the project, and the ConsensusDocs 200.5, which governs how the DRB will operate with the parties.
Arbitration ConsensusDocs empowers parties to choose AAA, JAMS or their own choosen rules and service provider for arbitration services. AAA fastrack procedures are favored if AAA is selected. The substantially prevailing party pays attorneys' fees as well as court costs.
Litigation If arbitration is not selected as the binding dispute resolution procedure, litigation is the default. The substantially prevailing party pays attorneys' fees as well as court costs.