There is no specific described methodology for claim related to acceleration costs, but the following methodology is what suggested based on case law:
- Short introduction to the claim
- Explanation of the requirements to get the claim awarded
- Facts and description of the claim including time line
- Qualification and legal arguments
- Proving an EoT eligible event
- Estimating the expected delay without acceleration
- Proving that the parties have agreed upon acceleration
- Claim amount
- Conclusion
11.1. Framing acceleration claims
In all contract cases it is often possible to frame a claim as the type of claim that suits your case the best, which among other things could depend on the available documentation for the claim.
Acceleration claims can be framed as either a delay/time claim or as variation order claim.
11.2. Short introduction to the claim
It is initially necessary to present a short introduction to the specific claim, so that it is clear to the judges, which type of claim is being presented. This has to be very simple so that the judges knows the overall “picture” though this headliner. The claim amount should be mentioned here too.
11.3. Explanation of the requirements to get the claim awarded
This is the “what”-section of the description of the claim. A short list of the criteria which has to be proven to be successful and who has the burden of proof.
For claims related to acceleration costs the burden of proof is on the contractor.
11.4. Facts and description of the claim including timeline
In this section it is very important to keep it clear and simple.
11.4.1. Facts and description of the claim
Here you describe the documentation which will support the claim. The more factual documentation which can be submitted to the Arbitration Board, the better.
Facts have to be drawn from existing documents like time line/baseline in the original contract, changes in the contract during execution of the project, minutes of meeting from various meetings with the Employer, e-mails and witness statements etc..
11.4.2. Estimating the expected delay without acceleration
In order to justify a claim related to acceleration costs, the contractor has to estimate the delay that would have occurred, had the contractor not accelerated their work. It is hardly possible to accurately predict the delay which would have occurred, had the contractor not accelerated their work, which is why it has to be an estimation. The estimation has to be fair and reasonable, as not to damage the credibility of the claim.
And estimation of the expected delay is necessary to prove that the costs corresponds to the potential delay, substantiating the claim.
11.5. Claim amount
To calculate the acceleration claim amount is in theory relatively straight forward, it is however much more complicated to document in practice.
Assuming that the client is entitled to 100% of an acceleration cost, the claim is calculated in the following way:
Acceleration claim = (1) Actual cost – (2) expected cost
(1) Actual cost being the cost of completing the task when accelerated, (2) expected cost being an estimation of the cost of completing the task without acceleration.
11.6. Conclusion
In the conclusion you wrap everything together and state the exact amount claimed for acceleration