VERTEX is a premier construction claims firm serving contractors, owners, sureties, and insurance carriers on all types of projects from infrastructure to vertical construction.
VERTEX helps clients investigate and manage litigated construction claims. We investigate the nature and extent of damage caused by substandard work, design errors and omissions, and material deficiencies. We evaluate plaintiff declarations to determine if repair scopes and costs are reasonable. We help our clients assess responsibility and allocate liability. VERTEX is unique in that we have the ability to tender our cost-to-repair reports as formal bids to complete the work. This verifies the legitimacy of our estimates and promotes fair settlements.
VERTEX has full-time construction claims personnel that are experts in assembling affirmative claims for overpayment, differing site conditions, added scope, cardinal changes, delays damages, loss of productivity, maladministration, wrongful termination, etc. This same team is equally qualified to rebut claims asserted against sureties and their principals. In the event that the dispute is elevated to mediation, arbitration, or litigation, sureties can rely on the VERTEX team of experts to provide strong testimony.
Expert Services
VERTEX’s pool of experts has individually testified up to 150+ times in state courts, federal courts, traditional arbitration (AAA, JAG, etc.), and ICC arbitration. Our experts are qualified in construction claims, engineering issues, cost estimating, allocation, construction means and methods, surety completion contracting, and surety claims administration.
Entitlement Review
VERTEX’s claim process starts with an entitlement analysis, which requires a review of contract documents, site specifications, construction schedules, and contemporaneous correspondence. In addition, VERTEX typically interviews key personnel to increase our understanding of the facts. VERTEX then determines the nature of the claim issue, whether it involves: Productivity; Acceleration; Differing Site Conditions; Added Scope / Quantum Meruit; Maladministration; Force Majeure; or any other number of claim categories. Once VERTEX has a complete understanding of the facts we offer our support-based opinions.
Damage Calculation
Once VERTEX completes its entitlement review and forensic scheduling evaluation, we move on to our damages analysis. VERTEX draws upon construction cost data from our portfolio of thousands of construction projects, industry standard construction cost data from various software providers such as RSMeans and Xactimate, subcontractor and vendor quotes on certain divisions of work, and actual cost data work already performed. We are experts in providing actual cost claims, estimated cost claims, and total/modified cost claims.
Forensic Scheduling
Many construction claims involve delay damage components. Therefore, VERTEX’s team of forensic schedulers are experts in the use of scheduling software that is commonly used on construction projects. We use this expertise, coupled with our real-world construction experience, to identify durational impacts that caused financial impacts to our clients. Scheduling impacts are often included in claims that involve: Productivity; Acceleration; Differing Site Conditions; Added Scope / Quantum Meruit; Maladministration; Force Majeure; or any other claim categories.
Fault Allocation
In certain instances VERTEX is asked to provide fault allocation opinions once we complete our claim review. In these instances, VERTEX reviews the issues, identifies the duties of the various parties involved in the design and construction of the project, assigns an initial responsibility, and then adjusts the fault allocation to account for patent conditions and follow-up work that covered up defective work, if appropriate.
