Mosaic's Dispute Management and Support Services

“If the facts are against you, argue the law. If the law is against you, argue the facts.
If the law and the facts are against you, pound the table and yell like hell.”
Carl Sandburg

Expert Witness & Claims Analysis

Mosaic, our associates and consultants have extensive experience in the preparation, analysis and defending of contract claims. However, our preference is to resolve problems before they become major by proactive management of projects [Refer Mosaic's Consulting Services].

When looking to engage a technical expert, you need to look for:

  • Someone in possession of the relevant skill set to be an 'expert' different people are needed for expertise in scheduling, costing, engineering, or construction
  • A person that is held in high esteem and has the appropriate qualifications and/or experience to be an expert
  • Their integrity, candor and a spine – no one likes surprises, so it’s not about the expert telling you what you want to hear. One needs the truth, and often that does not align with that the client’s position. Hence you need an expert who can stand up for him or herself, won’t be led and backs a position
  • Eloquence, as the expert has to be persuasive in the giving of expert opinion
  • Unflappability, as expert witnesses will be subjected to the blowtorch of cross examination where the advocate will seek to discredit and sometimes humiliate the expert to nullify the effectiveness of the testimony
  • Experience giving testimony in court; the court is no place to “road test” a fledgling for fear of the client becoming the casualty
  • Affordable, the cost of preparing your report needs to be proportional to the value of your case.

Art: Delivering Expert Evidence is Becoming Harder. This article discusses a number of recent judgements that seem to have re-framed expert evidence, 'the court is not compelled to choose only between the rival approaches and analyses of the experts. Ultimately it must be for the court to decide as a matter of fact what [occurred]. '...there is an overriding objective of ensuring that the conclusions derived from that analysis are sound from a common-sense perspective'.

Our key areas of expertise of dispute management are:

  • Analysing project schedules
  • Making and defending Extension Of Time (EOT) and other time based claims (Delay, disruption, etc) for all industries
  • Assessing delay and prolongation costs (for both making and defending claims) [View paper - 'Delay, Disruption and Acceleration Costs']
  • Assessing acceleration costs and resource requirements (for both making and defending claims)
  • Reviewing and understanding the requirements and obligations contained within contracts
  • Analysing contract administration systems and procedures.
Dispute and claims management services offered by Mosaic include:
  • Assistance with, and coordination of, submissions to authorities (particularly councils) related to planning and environmental issues
  • Preparation of claims on behalf of clients
  • Analysis and review / defence of claims made against clients
  • Preparation and presentation of Expert reports to legal representatives for use in Courts, Adjudication and/or Arbitration
  • Acting as an Expert witness in those proceedings.

Our areas of expertise are primarily:

  • Construction and engineering contract and subcontract claims
  • ICT contract negotiation and dispute resolution
  • Small business negotiation and dispute resolution.

Contact Us to discuss your needs


Dispute Management Resources

Mosaic's resources available for use and/or download include:

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Dispute Resolution Practitioner -
Patrick Weaver

Patrick Weaver was a Graded Arbitrator and an Accredited Mediator with the Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators, Australia (IAMA) for more than 30 years (since merging with LEADR in 2014, the Resolution Institute); he resigned his grading in 2017. He is very experienced in the preparation, negotiation and defence of commercial claims in construction, engineering, general business, and ICT disputes, and has been called to provide Expert evidence in a number of court cases.

Patrick was first Graded as an Arbitrator by IAMA in 1987. His interests and involvement in Mediation and Conciliation started in the mid 1980s when he participated in some of the Early Mediation courses run by IAMA. Generally, he prefers to encourage parties to a dispute to use the processes of Mediation and/or Conciliation to resolve commercial issues in preference to the more expensive and disruptive/time consuming processes involved in Arbitration or litigation.

Patrick has worked extensively with clients in the preparation and analysis of claims. More recently, this has involved providing contract services to Doyles Construction Lawyers, focusing on schedule and cost analysis work in response to claims under the securities of payment legislation in both NSW and Victoria. See Patrick's Full CV


Negotiation

In negotiation the parties to a dispute must reach an agreement themselves, through a process they create. Whist in most circumstances, business people are quite happy and capable of conducting negotiations, from time to time the involvement of a skilled negotiator can assist a party to achieve its desired outcomes more effectively.

Negotiations are often structured and follow a predictable pattern. There are also many recognised styles and techniques of negotiating. Assistance with, or training in, negotiation can provide a valuable boost in the final agreement. Patrick is a skilled and experienced negotiator who can be engaged to help an organisation prepare for a negotiation and where appropriate assist in the conduct of the negotiations.
 

Expert Determiner

Expert determination is a flexible alternative procedure for the resolution of disputes based upon the decision of an independent third party expert and is often the quickest and most effective way of resolving disputes which are relatively simple in content or are essentially technical in nature.

To establish the basis for an expert determination, there either needs to be a clause in the contract that is generally phrased to give the expert the power to decide the best way to resolve the dispute. Typically, the provision will state that once the expert is provided with sufficient material, he or she will meet with and hear from the parties, deliberate and then hand down a written determination. In the absence of a contractual agreement, once a dispute has crystallised, the parties can agree to use expert determination in preference to other options. In either event, the participants agree beforehand to be bound by the decisions of the independent expert. The agreement will normally provide that the parties remunerate the expert on a 50/50 basis and that monies will be placed into a trust account in advance.

Generally, expert determination is enforceable. If a party were to try to overturn the determination in a court of law, the Court would be likely to find that the parties had entered into a contract in which they agreed that they would be bound by the expert’s determination, went in with eyes wide open and accordingly are bound to abide by the experts ruling.

An expert determination clause is designed to fast track dispute resolution so there is an expectation that the expert will deliver a determination promptly. Another virtue is that the procedure can be invoked whilst the contract is still on foot, so the contract can progress and contractual relationships can remain intact. The clause can also provide that the determination can be binding, pending conclusion of the project whereupon it can be litigated or retried. Alternatively the clause can stipulate that the determination is binding, period. Expert determination is contained and confidential.


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