Engineering Firm Obtains $1-Million Judgment for Increased Scope

摘要

A "constructive change" occurs when a party to a contract is required to perform work that it considers to be outside the contract s scope. The theory, in the context of the relationship between the owner and the contractor, is that the owner, through some act or omission, has caused work to be performed without issuing a change order and therefore should be obligated to pay for it. This assumes, of course, that the contractor is right in contending that the extra work went beyond the scope of the contract. This month's case involves an engineering firm that sought to recover more than $ 1 million in unapproved change order work directed by the architect.