Originally from:
AAA Handbook on Construction Arbitration and ADR - 2nd Edition - Electronic
AAA Handbook on Construction Arbitration and ADR - 2nd Edition - Hardcover
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CHAPTER 20
CLOSURE ISSUES IN CONSTRUCTION
MEDIATION
Howard D. Venzie Jr.*
I. Introduction
The importance of identifying and resolving all the closure issues is even more critical in construction mediation because of the many parties that are typically involved, the multiplicity of contractual obligations, and the technical complexity of the issues. Construction disputes often involve a mix of money, delay, performance and construction defect issues, each of which raise a series of closure issues.
Setting the stage to deal with the closure issues in an effective way begins much earlier than the eve of the parties’ “handshake deal.” It requires good preparation coming into the mediation, which means,
among other things, knowing the facts, the issues in dispute, and the strengths and weaknesses of your case and that of the other parties. It is also essential for all the parties with a financial or other significant
interest in the outcome to willingly participate in the mediation process.
This chapter will identify some of the key closure issues that parties should address when mediating construction disputes involving work completion claims, time-related claims, and allegations of defective
workmanship, and when negotiating financial settlements. It also suggests an effective approach to drafting the settlement documents.
Howard D. Venzie, Jr. is a principal of Venzie, Phillips & Warshawer, Philadelphia, where his practice focuses on construction litigation and alternative dispute resolution. His experience in construction litigation includes all types of contract claims and disputes involving the construction of public and private projects.
He is the former Co-Chair of the Commercial Arbitration and Mediation Committee of the Pennsylvania Bar
Association and is a member of the American Bar Association’s Forum Committee on the Construction Industry, the Construction Committee of the Litigation Section and the Committee on Fidelity and Surety Law of the Section of Tort and Insurance Practice. He is a member of the AAA commercial/construction panel of arbitrators and the AAA’s Large Complex Case panel of arbitrators, the Construction Arbitrator Master Panel, and the National Construction Arbitrator Training Faculty.
