Reviewing a contractor's claim step by step

A claim lands on your desk: 200 pages, a schedule analysis and a spreadsheet. Where do you start? This lesson gives a repeatable eight-step review that works for owners assessing a claim, Consultants giving findings under GC 6.6, and contractors stress-testing their own claim before submitting it.

Learning outcomes

• Apply an eight-step review to any construction claim.
• Separate entitlement, causation, effect and quantum in a written assessment.
• Prepare a request for information that closes gaps in a claim.
• Write a response that states what is accepted, rejected and why.

The lesson

Eight steps

Steps 1 to 3: is there a claim?

Read the claim end to end before judging any part. Then check the contract: which clauses are relied on, what the Supplementary Conditions changed, and whether notice was given on time (lesson 2). Then map each event to its category (lesson 3). Many claims shrink here, before any analysis, because some events carry no entitlement to cost.

Steps 4 to 6: did it cause what is claimed?

Check the schedule analysis: the method, the base schedule, the fragnets and whether the claimant's own delays were considered (lessons 6 to 11). Check disruption and acceleration separately (lessons 12 and 13). Then audit quantum head by head: site overhead from the ledger, head office overhead from audited accounts, productivity from labour and quantity records (lessons 14 and 15).

Steps 7 and 8: respond

Ask for what is missing in one consolidated request. Then respond in writing, head by head: accepted, accepted in part, rejected, each with reasons and references. Under CCDC 2-2020 GC 6.6, the Consultant gives findings within 30 Working Days after the detailed account, unless the parties agree otherwise [1]. A clear, reasoned response is the best foundation for negotiation.

Northgate worked example

Northgate Distribution Centre (fictional) is a 12,000 m² tilt-up warehouse in Vaughan, Ontario, built by Halvorsen Builders Ltd. (fictional) under CCDC 2-2020, with Ridgeline Architects Inc. (fictional) as Consultant. See the Northgate fact sheet. This course follows one delay claim from first notice to settlement. Ready-for-Takeover (M9) was due Friday, January 14, 2028 and was reached on Tuesday, March 14, 2028: 60 calendar days late. All events, dates and amounts are illustrative.

Halvorsen submitted Claim C-01 on April 7, 2028. The owner's representative followed the eight steps. Her consolidated request for information, sent on April 21, asked for native schedule files, the cost ledger for December 2027 to March 2028, audited financial statements and weekly mezzanine labour and quantity records. Halvorsen provided them by May 5. Ridgeline's findings, prepared with the owner's representative's analysis, went out on May 19, 2028, inside 30 Working Days.

View the data

Item	Value
Claimed total	$1,140,000
Assessed: site overhead	$129,600
Assessed: head office overhead	$47,330
Assessed: disruption	$64,030
Assessed: acceleration	$24,100
Assessed total	$265,060

Time: 42 days accepted (18 owner, 14 neutral, 10 concurrent). Each head in the findings cites the clause, the records and the calculation, so Halvorsen can see exactly where the numbers differ.

Your move

If you are the owner

• Follow the same steps every time. It makes your response consistent and defensible.
• Send one consolidated RFI. Piecemeal requests look like stalling.
• Meet the 30 Working Day clock. Or agree an extension in writing.
• Show your calculation. A number without workings invites argument.

If you are the contractor

• Run the eight steps on your own claim first. Fix what fails.
• Provide native files and ledgers with the claim. It shortens the review.
• Answer the RFI fully and fast.
• Read the findings head by head. Negotiate the differences, not the total.

Common mistakes

1. Starting with the total.
2. Skipping the notice check.
3. Reviewing only the schedule or only the money. Both matter.
4. Missing the findings deadline.
5. Rejecting without reasons.

Quick quiz

1. What is the first step in a claim review?

   1. Audit the cost
   2. Read the whole claim before judging any part
   3. Reject it
   4. Call a lawyer

2. Within how many Working Days does the Consultant give findings under GC 6.6?

   1. 10
   2. 15
   3. 30
   4. 60

3. Why send one consolidated RFI?

   1. It is shorter
   2. Piecemeal requests look like stalling and delay the review
   3. The contract bans more than one
   4. It saves postage

4. What was the assessed total for Claim C-01?

   1. $1,140,000
   2. $265,060
   3. $184,000
   4. $81,000

5. How should a response treat each head of claim?

   1. Accept or reject the total only
   2. Accepted, accepted in part or rejected, with reasons and references
   3. Ignore small heads
   4. Split the difference

Show answers and explanations

1. B. Understand the whole claim first.
2. C. 30 Working Days unless the parties agree otherwise.
3. B. One complete request keeps the process moving.
4. B. $129,600 + $47,330 + $64,030 + $24,100.
5. B. Head by head, with reasons.

Key terms

Claim review

A structured assessment of entitlement, causation, effect and quantum.

Findings

The Consultant's written determination on a claim under GC 6.6.

Consolidated RFI

A single request listing all information needed to assess a claim.

Head of claim

One component of a claim, such as site overhead or disruption.

Assessed value

The reviewer's valuation of a claim based on the evidence.

References

1. Canadian Construction Documents Committee, CCDC 2-2020 Stipulated Price Contract, GC 6.4 to 6.6 and Part 8. Clause content checked against a publicly posted tender copy; buy the form from CCDC.
2. Fenwick Elliott, The SCL Delay and Disruption Protocol: a second edition (November 2017), summarizing the Society of Construction Law Protocol, 2nd edition (February 2017).
3. Miller Thomson LLP, Ontario Court underlines the evidence and analysis required to establish critical path delays (July 2021).
4. BRC, Northgate fact sheet (fictional case study, v1, November 4, 2026).

Verified on November 9, 2026.

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