Over the duration of a construction project, changes to its scope are inevitable, and the easiest way to address such changes, and their potential impacts on scheduling and contract price, is for the project owner and the contractor to mutually execute a change order prior to implementing a change. However, for a variety of reasons, disputes will arise over the need for a change order or a contractor will refuse to proceed with the changed work. In an article for the Daily Journal of Commerce, I look at options the owner has under different circumstances – when the parties agree that certain work is a change but dispute the associated cost or time or if the parties cannot come to an agreement that something is a change. Read the full article here.

Originally published as “OP-ED: When a contractor refuses to perform work without a change order” by the Daily Journal of Commerce, June 20, 2019.