Experience Matters

On behalf of an LNG buyer seeking to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue as a result of a major fire and explosion on an LNG plant, performed the following scope of work: 1) critiqued the owner’s compliance with established best practice and standard of care for the LNG industry; 2) developed Gross Negligence (GN) table identifying deficiencies and inadequacies in the owner’s operations and maintenance practices; the GN table provided the level of technical support needed by the legal team to essentially prepare an informal statement of claim; and 3) provided technical explanations and clarifications as the legal team required.

Assisted a contractor in resolving a dispute related to design changes and late and deficient owner-supplied materials. Prepared and reviewed notice letters and provided input for negotiations for a combined heat and power (CHP) project aimed to replace two old boilers and two steam turbines from an existing power plant. Proposed installed capacities for the project were 450MW of thermal heat and approximately 30MW of electricity. The thermal heat was supplied to an oil refinery and a petrochemical plant within the same site while electricity was supplied to the grid. The project also produced demineralized water.

Performed quality control and reasonableness review of a schedule delay analysis for a tunnel-boring contract on the Los Angeles metro subway project.

On behalf of an insurance company, analyzed a contractor’s claim for costs associated with repairs to damage resulting from a tower crane jacking failure on a mixed-use development project in Atlanta. Prepared detailed analyses and reports to identify reasonableness of costs claimed in preparation of negotiation and settlement among the insurers, insured, and insured’s contractor.

Prepared monthly progress reports and schedule updates for the preliminary engineering and final civil design of the $600 million Central Florida Light Rail Transit System in Orlando. Developed detailed civil design, construction and system-wide interface schedules.

Provided construction claims consulting services, claims analysis, and change order reviews related to a methanol plant construction project. Reviewed the EPC contractor’s contract and the EPC contractor’s unresolved claims and change order requests to develop more complete descriptions of the claim issues, evaluate the merits of the claims, and prepare a summary of the claim documentation to support the client’s settlement discussions with the EPC contractor.

Provided project management and control services for a contractor providing fire alarm and voice paging systems work on Concourses A, B, and C, the airport office building, and the terminal complex at the Denver International Airport. Assisted client in cost control monitoring, schedule interfaces, change negotiations, and problem resolutions on a $12 million contract. Prepared financial and schedule analyses for the project and interfaced with the project management team for monthly pay applications and resolution of issues. Assisted in the client’s successful settlement of $6 million of outstanding changes with the owner due to unexpected changed conditions and third party contractor interference.

On behalf of an owner, analyzed delays and project management performance deficiencies in defense of a $40 million claim of an EPC contractor. The claim involved additional overhead and fee on a cost reimbursable contract for the management of the design and construction of an LNG terminal project that was delayed over 18 months. Analyzed deficiencies in the EPC contractor’s schedules and analyzed concurrent delays. Prepared the basis of a counterclaim by the owner against the EPC contractor.

On behalf of an owner, analyzed a mechanical contractor’s $7 million marine lien delay and disruption claim against a major oil company on an offshore oil production project. The claim involved the value of equipment, piping, and structural installations on two refurbished rigs.

Assisted original principals in defending a $6 million claim by the acquiring firm regarding a project that manufactured long-term storage containers for spent nuclear fuel. The purchasing firm alleged that the principals of the original firm misrepresented relevant financial information related to the project’s progress and forecast costs at the time of the change in ownership. Assisted original principals in substantiating that actual performance of the work in progress was in fact consistent with projections and the only exceptions were due to a substantial change in the definition and allocation of overhead burdens, and other business decisions made by the acquiring firm subsequent to the transfer of ownership. Claim was settled prior to hearings and on terms very favorable to defendant client.