Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 19, September 20, 2024
Mandatory provision for all construction contracts:
"Termination for Default - Damages for Delay - Time Extensions
"(1) If the Contractor refuses or fails to
prosecute the work, or any separable part thereof, with such diligence as shall
insure its completion within the time specified in this contract, or any
extension thereof, fails to complete said work within this time, or fails to
provide any required annual and renewable bond 30 days prior to expiration of
the current bond then in effect, the State may, by written notice to the
Contractor, terminate the Contractor's right to proceed with the work or the
part of the work as to which there has been delay. In this event the State may
take over the work and prosecute the same to completion, by contract or
otherwise, and may take possession of and utilize in completing the work the
materials, appliances, and plant as may be on the site of the work and
necessary therefor. Whether or not the Contractor's right to proceed with the
work is terminated, the Contractor and its sureties shall be liable for any
damage to the State resulting from the Contractor's refusal or failure to
complete the work within the specified time.
"(2) If fixed and agreed liquidated damages
are provided in the contract and if the State so terminates the Contractor's
right to proceed, the resulting damage shall consist of such liquidated damages
until a reasonable time as may be required for final completion of the work
together with any increased costs occasioned the State in completing the
work.
"(3) If fixed and agreed
liquidated damages are provided in the contract and if the State does not so
terminate the Contractor's right to proceed, the resulting damage shall consist
of these liquidated damages until the work is completed or accepted.
"(4) The Contractor's right to proceed may
not be so terminated nor the contractor charged with resulting damages if:
(a) The delay in the completion of the work
arises from unforeseeable causes beyond the control and without the fault or
negligence of the Contractor, including but not restricted to, acts of God,
acts of the public enemy, acts of the State in either its sovereign or
contractual capacity, acts of another Contractor in the performance of a
contract with the State, fires, floods, epidemics, quarantine restrictions,
strikes, freight embargoes, unusually severe weather, or delays of
subcontractors or suppliers arising from unforeseeable causes beyond the
control and without the fault or negligence of either the Contractor or the
subcontractors or suppliers; and
(b) The Contractor, within 10 days from the
beginning of any such delay (unless the procurement officer grants a further
period of time before the date of final payment under the contract), notifies
the procurement officer in writing of the causes of delay. The procurement
officer shall ascertain the facts and the extent of the delay and extend the
time for completing the work when, in the procurement officer's judgement, the
findings of fact justify such an extension, and the procurement officer's
findings of fact shall be final and conclusive on the parties, subject only to
appeal as provided in the "Disputes" clause of this contract.
"(5) If, after notice of
termination of the Contractor's right to proceed under the provisions of this
clause, it is determined for any reason that the Contractor was not in default
under the provisions of this clause, or that the delay was excusable under the
provisions of this clause, the rights and obligations of the parties shall, if
the contract contains a clause providing for termination for convenience of the
State, be the same as if the notice of termination had been issued pursuant to
the clause. If, in the foregoing circumstances, this contract does not contain
a clause providing for termination for convenience of the State, the contract
shall be equitably adjusted to compensate for the termination and the contract
modified accordingly; failure to agree to any such adjustment shall be a
dispute concerning a question of fact within the meaning of the clause of this
contract entitled "Disputes".
"(6)
The rights and remedies of the State provided in this clause are in addition to
any other rights and remedies provided by law or under this contract.
"(7) As used in paragraph (4)(a) of this
clause, the term "subcontractors or suppliers" means subcontractors or
suppliers at any tier."
