Litigation in Construction Contracts: Literature Review

Abstract

In the last few decades, the topic of alternate forms of dispute resolution in construction projects has received considerable interest from researchers and practitioners because of the importance that the industry places on efficient methods of dispute resolution. However, the issue of parties approaching courts to resolve disputes still remains a matter of concern. It is time to synthesize the collective knowledge in the literature to script a direction for the industry toward reducing the adoption of litigation as a means to resolve disputes. By a systematic review of the literature, it was observed that the dynamics that led parties to resort to litigation needed special focus because of the limited discussion observed in the construction context. It was observed from the literature review that while the people and behavioral (PB) factors have a dominant impact on the litigative behavior of parties, a badly drafted contract bears an influence that can promote such behavior in people that may culminate in litigation. On contrary, a well-drafted contract may be a necessary but not a sufficient condition to promote amicable resolution of disputes among the parties to the contract. Through a review of literature, this study throws light on the importance of managing the people and their behavior to make construction projects less prone to litigation.

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