Consultant and Construction Contracts

As consulting engineers navigate the new contractual expectations under COVID, there are many things to contemplate. While the main parties to the contract (owner/consultant/contractor) are all trying to keep this industry moving forward, consultants find themselves facing owner’s valid cost risk concerns owners are raising, and attempting to address these clearly at the outset of any project.

However, there are some basic considerations of note around unanticipated costs. The distinction becomes whether costs were known or anticipated when the contract was executed. Ask whether COVID circumstances are impacting a project/contract that is already ‘in flight’, in the process of being drafted, or contemplated.  It can be argued that many costs can be anticipated now that COVID is a known entity, and contracts written during COVID should capture these known entities.

Considerations currently under discussion by public clients include:

Here are a few references to consider moving forward:

https://www.canadianconsultingengineer.com/features/legal-bulletin-construction-contracts-and-covid-19/

https://www.fasken.com/en/knowledge/2020/03/covid-19-triggering-an-excusable-delay-claim-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/

https://www.revay.com/index.php/news/proactive-documentation-and-monitoring-of-the-impacts-of-covid-19-on-construction-projects/

https://www.revay.com/index.php/news/covid-19-now-is-the-time-to-turn-our-focus-towards-mitigation/

May 5, 2020


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