Your heart sinks when you are handed a subpoena commanding you to appear as a witness in a legal proceeding. It could be to attend a deposition, an arbitration hearing, or a courtroom trial before a judge. You are not being sued but are being called to testify because you are involved in some way or know something about the facts underlying the situation giving rise to a difference of opinion between two other parties. It is most likely, but not always, a dispute between a general contractor and the owner, your client. You designed the building and prepared all the contract documents that are now being carefully dissected and examined, as they define the rights and obligations of the contractor and owner. If you used the standard AIA contract forms for your own agreement (Note 1) and for the construction contract (Note 2) and also included the AIA general conditions (Note 3), then AIA's dispute resolution procedures will be in effect. All of the AIA documents provide for arbitration administrated by the American Arbitration Association.
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