Formulation and Presentation of Claims

Abstract

All modern building and engineering contracts contain provisions for extensions of time in the event of delay. The nature of the work and the environment in which the work is carried out is such that it is almost inevitable that events and circumstances will cause completion of the work to be delayed beyond the original completion date. Notwithstanding, claims for extensions of time probably cause more disputes than any other contractual or technical issues. Major obstacles to prompt settlement of claims for extensions of time claims are:

• The erroneous assumption that an extension of time is automatically linked to additional payment;

• Late, insufficient or total lack of notice of delay on the part of the contractor;

• Failure to recognise delay at the appropriate time and maintain contemporary records;

• Failure to regularly update the programme so that the effects of delay can be monitored against a meaningful ‘programme of the day’;

• Poor presentation of the claim to show how the progress of the work has been delayed;

• Insistence, on the part of the employer’s professional advisers, that unreasonably detailed critical path programmes are essential in order to assess the effects of the delay;

• The probability that the cause of the delay will reflect on the performance (or lack of it) on the part of the the employer’s professional advisers;

• Pressure, on the part of the employer, to complete on time, irrespective of delays which occur.