I cannot comment on the legal or ethics of your situation, but I would suggest that your situation is an outcome of several decisions that have been made and need to be respected, not the least of which is that the client chose this contractor to carry out their building plan. Unless you were part of that discussion & decision process, you cannot then be aware of other factors for choosing the contractor such as previous relationships, other successful projects, or promised schedule and cost controls. So, taking your concerns regarding their pricing policies to this Owner could be challenging.
Secondly, you chose to work in a Design/Build relationship with assumed foreknowledge of the various challenges that are inherent in this form of contracting. You have now found the chief one of those challenges in that there is very little accountability in the system. Unless there is outright fraud being committed there is little legal recourse for you. If there is actual fraud, then it is your duty to report it. Otherwise, actions you take may likely open you up to legal challenges by your client (the contractor) for disclosing potentially protected information to the Owner.
Your choices actually seem limited:
1. Finish the contract and don't work with the Contractor again.
or,
2. Find a legally acceptable reason to terminate the contract....like perhaps the first architect did.
One other cautionary note would be to make sure that if the contractor is offering up revisions as a cost control measure, that you are getting compensated for the work it takes to make changes to work you feel is still within budget.
I wish you luck in your deliberations.
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Michael Clark AIA
Owner/Architect
AMC Public Safety Consulting
Plymouth MN
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-12-2021 12:30 PM
From: Lawrence Paschall
Subject: Clients/Not Clients
I am currently working contract to a design-build contractor who parted ways with his designer in July. Essentially I'm stepping in and working with his existing clients to complete design and construction documents. However, I'm finding myself in a bit of a internal conflict as an architect and firm owner.
I am not contracted to the clients and am not involved in the contractors bidding process. However, I am concerned that his pricing is high on a couple of the projects, and the clients are taking what he tells them at face value and prematurely cutting scope. For my clients, I would have no trouble expressing those concerns as I am their advocate. But what do I do when I'm just the designer on the job? I see them as both clients and not clients. A new experience for me, so any thoughts on this would be great.
Thanks!
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Larry Paschall AIA
President/CEO
Spotted Dog Architecture
Dallas TX
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