No. 1 Cause of Construction Disputes

No. 1 Cause of Construction Disputes?   The survey says:

1. Errors and Omissions in contract documentation, due in part to poor design management
2. Poor contract administration
3. Owner/Contractor/Subcontractor failure to understand their contract

E&O in contract documentation was the most common cause of disputes in North America for the fourth year running.  The annual survey by Arcadis, the multi-billion global dollar consulting firm, documented their findings in a recent report:  “Global Construction Disputes Report 2018”.

The most common methods to resolve disputes were:

1. Party to Party Negotiation
2. Mediation
3. Arbitration

The average time to resolve a dispute took nearly18 months, an increase over 2016.  The good news is that early resolution techniques, including mediation, resulted in an 82% success rate before trial.

The lesson is that early communication with the project team, including your claim professionals and attorneys, can successfully resolve disputes without the need for trial.

Arcadis’ complete report can be found here