#10 - Case History - Case History #10 - It Can Be A Costly Dam, Shame If Clients Won't Take Your Advice
About this episode
The episode discusses a costly legal ordeal faced by a geotechnical engineering firm due to client relationship issues and project scope restrictions.
GBA Case History Series – Case History #10 - It Can Be A Costly Dam, Shame If Clients Won't Take Your Advice Summary The local governmental agency asked the GBA Member Firm to assist during final design and construction of a recreational lake system but then restricted the Member Firm’s scope to only geotechnical engineering. A variety of problems plagued the project and the recommendations of the Member Firm were routinely rejected. Ultimately the governmental agency filed suit against the designers and constructors culminating in a 5½-year legal ordeal with the Member Firm settling for just short of $1MM. Our Hosts: Elizabeth Brown, PE - Principal Geotechnical Engineer/ JLT Consultants Elizabeth is the Principal Geotechnical Engineer at JLT Consultants in Boise, Idaho. Elizabeth has performed and/or assisted with numerous geotechnical investigations throughout Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming managing projects, providing geotechnical design, project quality control, cost and value engineering, and evaluating geotechnical constructability issues. Abi Corbett – Project Consultant/ SME. Abi is a Project Consultant at SME experienced in managing a variety of steel, concrete…
People in this episode
Hosts: Elizabeth Brown, Abi Corbett
Topics covered
- geotechnical engineering
- legal issues
- project management
- construction challenges
- client relationships
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: GBA Member Firm, JLT Consultants, SME
Places: Boise, Idaho, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming
More episodes of GBA Podcast
- #13 - Case History - Litigation For Collections...A Lose-Lose Scenario
- First Word - July 2026
- #2 - Case History - Client's Who Don't Follow Advice Should Be Someone Else's Client
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