Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>If a contract was signed and then changed by a deductive change order can the GC decide the amount and increments to pay

If a contract was signed and then changed by a deductive change order can the GC decide the amount and increments to pay

I brought a valued engineering idea to the table saving the owner $200,000 six billings into the job the GC says I must give back the deduct from my job. Here are the numbers Orig Contract 1.9 mil VE Contract 1.7mill New net invoice is 1.7 mil 6 months into billing I the GC for 300K he states that I will only be allowed to bill for 17k because I need to start paying towards my deductive change order and now is a good time to do so. The GC is willing to 17k. If I don't like it I can wait until next billing period. Is this legal and can he make me pay for monies I never received?

1 reply

Apr 2, 2020

I don't think I fully understand the situation. However, a GC shouldn't be entitled to unilaterally make decisions on making deductive change orders, changing billing schedules, etc. This is especially true when the original payment schedule was negotiated between the parties. To clear the air, it might be wise to gather all of the relevant parties (including the owner, GC, lender, or other parties) involved for a call, chat, email, discussion, etc. on how to move forward with billing on the job. Additionally, it might be useful to contact a local Arizona construction attorney or a construction accounting professional for advice on how to properly move forward.

0 people found this helpful

Helpful