By Matthew DeVries on Posted in Arbitration,Case Law,Legal TrendsYou don’t always say what you mean. And you don’t always mean what you say. In construction contracts, parties attempt to use plain and ordinary words to describe their respective obligations. As an example, when the parties use the word “shall” in their agreement, they generally understand that the obligation specified is mandatory. Or when parties use the… Continue Reading
By Matthew DeVries on Posted in Alternative Dispute Resolution,Arbitration,Best Practices,MediationWhen it comes to identifying the best mediators in the country, Tony Piazza and Eric Green are at the top of the list. And, on October 8, 2015, they will be sharing the stage in Austin, Texas for the Construction ADR Summit (pdf) sponsored by the American Bar Association’s Forum on Construction Law. The program. When a… Continue Reading
By Matthew DeVries on Posted in Alternative Dispute ResolutionAs you may know, I am the Co-Chair of the upcoming Construction ADR Summit (pdf) sponsored by the American Bar Association’s Forum on Construction Law to be held on October 8-9, 2015 in Austin, Texas. As part of that program, I want to invite you to participate in a unique survey to learn firsthand from… Continue Reading
By Matthew DeVries on Posted in Alternative Dispute Resolution,Arbitration,Legal Trends,MediationThe past week has been one of sweeping changes. (…no comment…) But one set of non-controversial changes is the Revised Construction Industry Arbitration and Mediation Procedures released by the American Arbitration Association. The Rules, which take effect July 1, 2015, can be downloaded here. The major revisions include: A mediation step for all cases with… Continue Reading
By Matthew DeVries on Posted in Alternative Dispute Resolution,Arbitration,Best PracticesHappy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday Dear AAA Supplementary Rules! Happy Birthday to you! One year ago, the American Arbitration Association implemented new rules to provide an arbitration process that would be more predictable in terms of time and cost. The Supplementary Rules for Fixed Time and Cost Construction Arbitration (“Supplementary… Continue Reading
By Matthew DeVries on Posted in Alternative Dispute Resolution,ArbitrationSometimes it is a race to the courthouse and dispute resolution for construction disputes can take many forms: litigation, mediation, arbitration, med-arb, dispute review boards, flip-a-coin, etc. Every now and then, I will review a construction contract where one of the parties . . . “at its sole option” . . . has the right… Continue Reading
By Matthew DeVries on Posted in Alternative Dispute ResolutionAs many of you know, I am heavily involved in the American Bar Association’s Forum on the Construction Industry. For you non-lawyers, that’s a group (about 6,000) of geeky construction lawyers who get together three times a year for some of the best presentations on construction law, new technologies, risk management, financing, and many others… Continue Reading
By Matthew DeVries on Posted in Alternative Dispute Resolution,ArbitrationWhen parties to a construction project find themselves in a dispute, there are a few options to help find a resolution. These can include: engaging in informal settlement discussions, taking the dispute to an initial decision maker identified in the contract, or hiring a third-party mediator to help the parties find a resolution. If the… Continue Reading
By Matthew DeVries on Posted in ArbitrationI’ve blogged about arbitration in construction disputes on numerous occasions. Just like any other construction contract dispute, the resolution in arbitration often comes down to the language used in the parties’ agreement. This is especially true when the gateway question is: Who decides whether the dispute is arbitrable—the court or the arbitrator? In Massachusetts Highway… Continue Reading
By Matthew DeVries on Posted in Alternative Dispute ResolutionYesterday, I received an email alert from the American Arbitration Association announcing ClauseBuilder, an on-line arbitration and mediation tool that assists individuals and organizations in drafting arbitration and mediation agreements. In today's post, I review the program.… Continue Reading
By Matthew DeVries on Posted in Alternative Dispute Resolution,Legal Trends,TennesseeFor all my Nashville and Middle-Tennessee friends, I want to take a moment to highlight two upcoming conferences. Although the programs are geared towards construction lawyers, don’t shy away if you did not get a “shark degree” from Build ‘Em Big University … Each conference offers a little different glimpse depending on your career path. What do I mean? The… Continue Reading
By Matthew DeVries on Posted in Alternative Dispute Resolution,ArbitrationWho knew that dispute resolution was a lot like ordering from a menu? Would you like one arbitrator or a panel of three arbitrators? Would you like your jurisdictional questions to be determined by the court or the arbitrator? Which arbitration rules do you want to apply? So many choices . . . Recently, the American Arbitration Association revised and… Continue Reading
By Matthew DeVries on Posted in Arbitration,Case Law,Claims and Disputes,Contract Docs,Legal TrendsYou don’t always say what you mean. And you don’t always mean what you say. In construction contracts, parties attempt to use plain and ordinary words to describe their respective obligations. For example, when the parties use the word “shall” in their agreement, they generally understand that the obligation specified is mandatory. Or when parties use the word… Continue Reading
Matt is a construction & litigation attorney at
Burr & Forman LLP and father of seven young kids. 