"Time Extension Requests – A Checklist" by

• James G. Zack, Jr., CCM, CFCC, FAACEI, FRICS, PMP - Navigant Consulting, Inc.
• Mark A. Sgarlata, Watt Tieder Hoffar & Fitzgerald®
• Joseph S. Guarino, Watt Tieder Hoffar & Fitzgerald®

Description: 

This paper examines the decision of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in George Sollitt Construction Company v. US. While the outcome of the case was not particularly significant, the Court surveyed all delay cases decided by U.S. Federal Courts going back to approximately 1900 and created a checklist for what a claimant must document and prove should they seek a time extension (excusable or compensable) in a Federal Court. The paper summarizes the checklist for owners, construction managers and contractors and provides references for each point.

1. Purpose – The purpose of the paper was to provide a checklist of what contractors have to do with respect to proving a delay and recovering time related damages when dealing with the U.S. government.

2. Design / Methodology / Approach – The approach taken in this paper was to perform a detailed analysis of this court case and summarize it in a way that non-lawyers could apply the findings in a practical manner.

3. Findings & Value – The value of the paper is that it provides claimants and owners with a clear step by step process when making or analyzing delay claims under Federal contracts.

4. Research Limitations / Implications – The obvious limitation is that the paper only deals with U.S. Federal court decisions. While U.S. State courts typically follow Federal court decisions various States have somewhat different approaches to delay claims which are not included in the paper.

5. Practical Use / Implications – The practical use for claimants is to make certain they have documented all points from tis checklist and made that clear in their time extension request. Conversely, for owners and their representatives who have to review time extension requests, the practical use of this paper is to check each such request against this paper to see that the claimant has covered all issues.

6. Originality /Value – Few papers have attempted to set forth a step by step process for proving entitlement to a time extension and time related damages.

7. Conclusions – The paper and accompanying presentation slides are an excellent training tool for both contractors and owners dealing with time extension requests.