Construction Super Conference 2018

Federal contract delay claims present special challenges that prime contractors and subcontractors must address if they hope to succeed.  Passing through subcontractor claims involve the federal severin doctrine, and become complicated by waiver issues with each progress payment and common change order release language. The negotiation of liquidation or joint prosecution agreements between contractors and subcontractors are complex and unique for each subcontractor and project. Managing multiple subcontractor pass-through claims from submission of claims, through potential negotiation and into trial with contractor and subcontractor co-counsel requires special skills.  Finally, the recent trend of Miller Act cases require prime contractors to weigh the risk of having clear subcontract pass-through disputes clauses limiting prime contractor liability to amounts recovered from the government declared invalid if contractors and subcontractors do not agree to the pass-through claim process.  We will present the viewpoints of federal prime contractors and subcontractors.

Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:

• Demonstrate good practice and how to manage pass through subcontractor delay claims from a project management and legal points of view.
• Identify risks in advance of negotiating  subcontractor cooperation/liquidation agreements.
• Understand the risk general contractors have under the Miller Act if subcontractors do not cooperate.