Connolly Gallagher Wins Six-Figure Arbitration Award for Contractor

Connolly Gallagher’s Joe Wolcott successfully obtained a six-figure award for ALN Construction, Inc., a general contractor, after a full-day arbitration before a Construction Industry Arbitration Tribunal of the American Arbitration Association. As part of the construction of the new Dover High School, ALN was the successful bidder for the acoustical ceiling contract. Near the end of the construction of the school, the construction manager issued a directive to add work, specifically, the installation of acoustical wall panels in the school library, to ALN’s contract without an adjustment to the price of the contract. ALN did the work, but then filed a request for arbitration to determine whether the installation of the acoustical wall panels was part of the initial scope of its work. The parties agreed that if ALN proved to the arbitrator that the work described in the directive was outside of the initial scope of its work, then the cost of materials and labor for the extra work would be awarded to ALN; if not, ALN would receive nothing. The arbitrator found that the installation of the acoustical wall panels was outside of the initial scope of work and issued an award to ALN for the full amount requested.