October 17, 2020 5:00 am Published by Staff |

Both practically and legally, a picture is worth a thousand words. In both the construction and legal industries, attempting to resolve issues based on oral conversations can be a recipe for further conflict. This is because it is inherently difficult to determine the truth in a “he said, she said” situation.

A judge, jury, or owner will need to determine who seems most trustworthy. Therefore, in preventing and prevailing on construction claims, it is essential that contractors create and retain the proper documentation.

One of the most important aspects of documentation is that it is kept on a consistent and contemporaneous basis. To properly utilize construction documentation, it must be kept as a general business practice at the time an event occurs.

One of the most important construction documents is the daily log. While a poorly kept daily log may be a waste of time, a properly kept daily log can be the key to avoiding liability. To do it right, a company should document the who, what, when, where, and why of the day. By recording these items, the contractor is preserving a reliable source of information.

A dispute over payment is common in construction litigation. One of the best ways to resolve or prevent such disputes is to properly record and keep invoices and pay applications. Proper record keeping maintains the trust relationship. Although it is tempting to hide cost overruns in different items within a schedule of values, such practices can and do result in a loss of the owner’s trust and can push a project into litigation.

To resolve a dispute over delays, contractors need to be keeping and updating proper schedules.

Even if a contractor starts out with a true CPM schedule, failure to preserve the baseline schedule and periodic updates as separate files negates any benefit there would have been.

Photographs and video records provide excellent evidence. No matter the type of claim, photographs and videos provide concrete proof of the status of the job at the time the photograph or video was taken.

When it comes to change orders, the Supreme Court of Utah has required strict conformance to contractual written notice requirements. See Meadow Valley Contractors, Inc. v. UDOT, 2011 UT 35. A good practice is to follow up conversations with an email summarizing the conversation. This gives you the ability to frame the conversation how you would like, and the recipient still has the ability to correct it if necessary.

Lastly, a contractor should not over document a job. Such notices hold little weight, and impacts the credibility of the party who is guilty of over documentation. A contractor should be cautious when making broad assertions of damages or default without specifics, and should limit such notices to when an actual default is affecting the project.