#13 - Case History - Litigation For Collections...A Lose-Lose Scenario

GBA Case History Series – Case History #13 - Litigation For Collections...A Lose-Lose Scenario Summary The Member Firm provided two oral proposals for geotech studies to the architect for a 10-story building – one assuming spread footings beneath the one-story basement while the other proposed deeper borings for possible deep foundations. The owner authorized the former and the firm provided appropriate recommendations plus mentioned an alternative for deep, drilled-and-underreamed piers to potentially save money although excavation and construction problems might develop. Construction of deep drilled piers began and caving problems developed requiring multiple but smaller piers for which the owner suggested the Member Firm help with the additional costs. The Member firm pushed back and the owner dropped the issue. Months later, the same owner began a second project and after submitting the geotech report, the owner went silent. The Member Firm filed a claim against the owner to collect their fee and the owner, in response, filed a claim against the Member Firm for negligence on the first project. The Member Firm and owner settled with the owner accepting “defense costs” and paying the Member Firm their fee. Our Hosts: Elizabeth Brown, PE - Principal Geotechnical Engineer/JLT Consultants Elizabeth is the Principal Geotechnical Engineer at JLT Consultants in Boise, Idaho. Elizabeth has performed and/or assisted with numerous geotechnical investigations throughout Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming managing projects, providing geotechnical design, project quality control, cost and value engineering, and evaluating geotechnical constructability issues. Abi Corbett – Project Consultant/SME. Abi is a Project Consultant at SME experienced in managing a variety of steel, concrete, coatings, and nondestructive testing projects. She specializes in managing projects related to DOT fabrication quality assurance reviews but also supports project managers throughout SME’s various service groups. Lessons Learned: Do Not Submit Oral Proposals Do It Right or Don’t Do It at All Insist on Effective Communications How Dare They! Does Not Apply Professional Firms Should Respond Professionally Don’t Rely on Others to Protect You Use the “Confirmation-Dependent Recommendations” Label When Appropriate Do Not Sue a Client to Collect Money Owed Calls-to-action: Download Case History #13 Visit the following link to access all of GBA’s Case Histories: https://www.geoprofessional.org/gba-case-histories/ An account is required to download the individual Case Histories, which are free for GBA Member Firms. Visit the GBA Website at https://www.geoprofessional.org for other training resources and reference materials and/or to become a member. Visit https://www.gbapodcast.com for future Podcast Episodes Contact us at [email protected] with any podcast-related questions or comments Subscribe Subscribe to the GBA Podcast https://www.gbapodcast.com/subscribe This episode was produced by the following GBA Members: Abi Corbett – Project Consultant/SME. Elizabeth Brown, PE - Principal Geotechnical Engineer/JLT Consultants Ryan White, PE, GE – Principal Geotechnical Engineer/Apex Companies, LLC