Opinion ID: 2514285
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Contract Remedy for Delay

Text: [ś 44] We begin with the City's claim that the exclusive remedy for delay available to HCI under the contract was an extension of time. The City points to Article 8 of the standard form contract which provides: 8.3.1 If the Contractor is delayed at any time in the commencement or progress of the Work by an act or neglect of the Owner or Architect, or of an employee of either ... or by changes ordered in the Work ... or other causes beyond the Contractor's control, . . . then the Contract Time shall be extended by Change Order for such reasonable time as the Architect may determine. The City further claims that HCI did not follow the contract claims procedures requiring claims, including claims for extension of time, to be filed within 21 days of the event giving rise to the claim. The City asserts HCI waived its right to a time extension by failing to follow the procedures set forth in the contract. [ś 45] HCI responds that the contract allowed the contractor to recover money damages. It cites the following provisions of the contract: Article 8.3.3 This Paragraph 8.3 does not preclude recovery of damages for delay by either party under other provisions of the Contract Documents. . . . . Article 13.4.1 Duties and obligations imposed by the Contract Documents and rights and remedies available thereunder shall be in addition to and not a limitation of duties, obligations, rights and remedies otherwise imposed or available by law. HCI references State Highway Comm'n v. Brasel & Sims Constr. Co., Inc., 688 P.2d 871, 877 (Wyo.1984) for the principle that delay damages are available at law. Additionally, HCI quotes William Schwartzkopf, the City's construction expert and author of Calculating Construction Damages (2d ed.2001), as having stated that Article 8.3 of the AIA General Conditions of the Contract for Construction does not preclude delay damages. Id. § 14.02(c), 284. [ś 46] Implicit in the district court's rulings on the City's motions was the legal conclusion that the contract allowed the recovery of money damages. Courts interpret contracts to effectuate the parties' intention, as expressed in the language of the agreement. Reynolds v. Milatzo, 2007 WY 104, ś 14, 161 P.3d 509, 513 (Wyo.2007). As long as the contract language is clear and unambiguous, our obligation on appeal is to interpret it as a matter of law. Id. The parties to a contract are free to incorporate within their agreement whatever lawful terms they desire, and the courts are not at liberty, under the guise of judicial construction, to rewrite the contract. Christensen v. Christensen, 2008 WY 10, ś 13, 176 P.3d 626, 629 (Wyo.2008). [ś 47] The provisions at issue are part of the general conditions of construction contracts published by the AIA. This Court has considered these provisions in prior cases but has not previously been asked to decide whether they preclude the recovery of money damages. In Quin Blair Enterprises, Inc. v. Julien Constr. Co., 597 P.2d 945, 949 (Wyo. 1979), this Court held that the contractor's failure to submit a written request for an extension of time to complete the project as required by Article 8.3 precluded his claim that he was entitled to credit for the delay caused by the owner. In State Surety Co. v. Lamb Constr. Co., 625 P.2d 184, 192 (Wyo. 1981), we held that Article 8.3 required the contractor to obtain extensions even for delays caused by the owner and the contractor's failure to do so made it liable to the owner for damages resulting from the delay. Both Quin and Lamb involved claims brought by the owner against the contractor for delay damages and in both cases the Court upheld part of the damage award. However, the issue of whether the contract precluded the contractor from recovering money damages for owner caused delay was not raised or discussed. [ś 48] This Court has adhered to the principle that remedies provided in a contract are generally not exclusive. Dewey v. Wentland, 2002 WY 2, ś 40, 38 P.3d 402, 417 (Wyo.2002); Walters v. Michel, 745 P.2d 913, 915 (Wyo.1987). Rather, such remedies are merely some of several remedies which might be pursued by an injured party. Id. This Court also has found it significant when an agreement does not include a limiting exclusive remedy clause or contains a clause recognizing the rights available at law or in equity. Dewey, ś 41, 38 P.3d at 417. Although Dewey and Walters involved disputes about whether the remedies of damages and specific performance were available under the respective contracts, we think the principles espoused in those cases are equally applicable here. [ś 49] Article 8.3 of the construction contract does not provide that an extension of time was the exclusive remedy available for delay. It does provide, however, that the remedies available under the contract were in addition to those remedies available at law. One of the remedies available at law for breach of the implied covenant is contract damages. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that an extension of time was not the exclusive remedy available to HCI for City caused delay but was merely one remedy that HCI could pursue. [ś 50] Moreover, a leading commentator on construction law provides the following example of a typical no damage for delay clause: If the Contractor is delayed by the Owner or Architect or any Agent or employee of either, the Contractor's sole and exclusive remedy for delay shall be the right to a time extension for completion of the Contract and not damages. Robert F. Cushman and James J. Myers, Construction Law Handbook, § 26.01 (1999). Unlike this provision, the contract provision at issue here does not state that the sole and exclusive remedy for delay is a time extension nor does it say recovery of damages is not allowed. We hold that Article 8.3.1 is not a no damage for delay clause; therefore it did not preclude HCI from recovering damages and the district court properly reached the same conclusion. We turn to the City's claim that the district court erred in allowing the jury to consider the total cost method in calculating damages.