Court Opinion

ID: 9523871
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 02:47:55.037524+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:08:24.799118
License: Public Domain

STATON, Presiding Judge,
concurring.
I concur in the Majority opinion. Additional costs under this kind of contract are those costs which can be estimated by the contractor because of a necessary change in the construction plans. These changes are usually not anticipated but arise due to unforeseen engineering, structural, or site problems. They are changes which have to be made before substantial progress can be made in completing the project. An owner's delay on the other hand is an entirely different matter. There is virtually no way to estimate with reasonable accuracy the cost of a delay. For example, if the weather had been less severe in the present case, the damages would have been less. If the delay had concerned the timely delivery of materials or the availability of specialized subcontractors to finish certain parts of the construction, the cost could only be obtained after completion of the project because these types of delays tend to effect the cost of other work on the project. Therefore, the argument of the Owner that delay damages fall within the scope of additional costs is spurious and without merit.