Offsetting Delays — The Owner's Friend by John Livengood
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When dealing with contractor delay claims, owners of construction projects often use their superior bargaining power to strike a deal better than the facts or the law would permit. This is especially true in cases where it is possible for the owner to argue sequential delays by the contractor should offset earlier delays caused by the owner, making both delays non-compensable. These delays have the special name of offsetting concurrent delays. Concurrent delays, particularly delays associated with performance of non-critical work, are poorly under-stood by the courts and schedule analysts alike. Savvy owners use this lack of understanding when negotiating settlements of delay claims by contractors.
This article discusses the most recent technical issues associated with concurrent delay, and shows how confusion has made the legal rulings on concurrent delay unpredictable, thus strengthening the owners bargaining position and allowing for the popularity of offsetting delays claims.