The change order that was not a change
A contractor billed a museum for site protection its own bid should have covered, and the contract showed it.
My advisory seat covered bids and change orders for an interactive sculpture installation at LACMA. The installer filed a change order against the museum for site protection and dust control, items missing from its own approved bid, at an implied cost that was very high.
Haggling over the price was not my route. I read the contract and the code and turned the contract's own small print against the claim.
A contractor will sometimes omit what you assumed was covered and bill for it afterward. This contract mentioned site protection in loose terms, though that was sufficient.
The claim failed. The museum paid nothing more. We won that one.
Before arguing the price of a change order, find out if it is a change at all.
Story details
| Project | LA Clippers Practice Facility |
|---|---|
| Type | Standing on principle |
| Year | 2015 to 2017 |
| Firm telling | on the Common Ground wiki |