ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses the guidelines to assist in minimising the potential for claims and to ensure that where a genuine ground for a claim exists the amount paid in settlement is neither no more nor no less than is contractually proper in the circumstances. Also reviewed are some malpractices that are often adopted in claim submissions in the expectation that their inclusion will enhance the chances of an exaggerated settlement. A building project is usually a complicated, unique venture erected largely in the open, on ground the condition of which is never fully predictable, and in weather conditions which are even less so. There is a considerable time span between making the initial decision to build and the completion of works on site. A nice touch is often added by making a modest deduction for fluctuations charged elsewhere by the introduction of sophisticated but irrefutable calculations.