Construction Documentation in Arbitration

Abstract

This paper focuses on how arbitrators perceive the effects of poor project documentation on the arbitration process, and what advice arbitrators would give construction professionals to help them properly record project information before a dispute arises. The study is based on a survey questionnaire collected from seven different U.S. cities. The arbitrators were asked to compare the veracity of written documentation with oral presentation to highlight how a document, prepared in the ordinary course of building a project, would weigh in the arbitrator's consideration. The arbitrators were asked to give examples of problems they most often encountered with respect to documentation, and whether they had ever been involved in a dispute in which one party failed to provide documentary evidence that in their opinion could have altered the outcome of the case. The overall results of this study support the notion that the party keeping the most comprehensive and detailed records will have the decided advantage in any dispute-resolution proceeding.