Relief from Bid Mistakes

Abstract

Contractor mistakes in the bidding of construction projects are not unusual occurrences and can delay the planned starting date of projects. It is important that mistakes be handled expeditiously and correctly. This paper analyzes several important court decisions related to bid mistakes to determine the inquiries an appellate court will ask and how it will react to the answers to its inquiries. The decision-making process is formulated in a flowchart format that models the judicial decision-making process. The flowchart can be used to analyze other disputes. Based on the analysis of court decisions, the judicial decision-making process was modeled and applied to a case study example. The outcome of the inquiry analysis was identical to that of the judicial decision.