Masonry Magazine December 2011 Page. 37
Melvin Mancia (Mason Forman)
Job: The John Winthrop School,
Dorchester, Ma
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The foundation of a construction case is documentation, since it determines the parties involved and defines the scope of the project being discussed. Construction litigation often involves numerous participants, who each have several employees and large amounts of paperwork related to the project. Lawyers need to access essential documents, so they can prepare an effective case. Document control software systems can provide them with the information they need in a manageable format.
Construction projects include transmittal letters, correspondence, shop drawings, project reports, change order proposals, change orders, daily reports, requests for information and numerous other documents. Not only do lawyers and the parties involved need this information, but so do experts called in to make expert testimonies. Both sides of a construction litigation proceeding commonly call in experts to give their opinions on certain issues. Experts must be paid and, in order to prepare for the trial, they must be familiar with all of the documents involved. Providing experts with an easily accessible software system can reduce the amount of time that businesses have to pay them for, further reducing litigation costs.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, litigation is an inevitable part of the construction process, and all professionals involved in building projects can minimize their exposure to risk before litigation begins with proper document and project control. Implementing project and document management software sometimes can detour the entire litigation process but, at the very least, reduce associated expenses by saving time and money during the discovery process and minimizing the money spent on expert witnesses. IMAS
Diane Haines is director of strategic marketing for Sage.
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December 2011
MASONRY 35