Interpreting Construction Contracts: Fundamental Principles for Contractors, Project Managers, and Contract Administrators

Every day, engineers and managers are called upon to understand and execute the terms of construction contracts. Often, these professionals have little or no legal training and find themselves relying upon intuition, common sense or hearsay--with possibly unfortunate and expensive results. In Interpreting Construction Contracts , Thomas and Ellis seek to rescue contractors, project managers, and contract administrators struggling to interpret construction contracts. Using rules set forth by the judiciary and drawing upon decades of legal research and practical experience, the authors discuss the most troublesome contract clauses and present rules to construe them so as to avoid disputes that must be resolved in court. Diagrams, case studies, and more than 70 discussion exercises and solutions are provided to reinforce the principles introduced in each chapter. As clear as it is pragmatic, Interpreting Construction Contracts is a welcome teaching resource and an essential reference for engineers and managers working in the construction industry. About the Authors H. Randolph Thomas, Ph.D., P.E., is a professor of civil engineering at Pennsylvania State University. Ralph D. Ellis, Ph.D., P.E., is a professor of civil engineering at University of Florida, where he heads the Construction Engineering Management program. Product Reviews Thomas and Ellis provide a comprehensive journey through the world of construction contracts, illustrating how contract language can give rise to disputes and how construction law principles evolved to resolve them... I certainly recommend this book to help readers elevate their comfort levels with construction contract law without involving a lawyer in day-to-day decisions. --Paul Levin, P.S.P., Project Schedule Engineer, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Washington, D.C., and author of Construction Contract Claims, Changes, and Dispute Resolution (ASCE Press, 1998) This is a useful resource for contract administrators. The case studies make the work meaningful as well as interesting to read. --Amarjit Singh, Ph.D., associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa, and editor of ASCE's Journal of Legal Affairs and Dispute Resolution in Engineering and Construction