Gratech Company, Ltd. v. North Dakota Department of Transportation

Summary

The Supreme Court of North Dakota affirmed the dismissal of Gratech Company’s application to vacate an arbitration award arising from highway construction contracts with the North Dakota Department of Transportation. The court held that Gratech’s failure to provide the written notice required by statute and contract waived its claims for additional compensation and prevented arbitration of all but one claim. The court also declined to decide whether a heightened standard of review applies to questions of law in statutorily mandated arbitration because the result was the same under either standard.

Holdings

1. The court declined to resolve whether questions of law in statutorily mandated arbitration should receive de novo review because the arbitration panel reached the correct result under either the completely irrational standard or a heightened standard.
2. A contractor's failure to provide the written notice required by N.D.C.C. § 24-02-26.1 and the applicable contract provisions waives the contractor's right to claim additional compensation and constitutes failure of a condition precedent to demanding arbitration.
3. Additional excavation, subcutting, plowing, discing, and drying required because soil conditions differed from the plans and contract were not work provided for in the original contract and therefore required written notice before additional compensation could be claimed or arbitrated.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the arbitration panel correctly applied the completely irrational standard of review to the arbitration award.
2. Whether Gratech's failure to provide written notice of its claims under N.D.C.C. § 24-02-26.1 and the contract provisions barred arbitration and waived its right to seek additional compensation.
3. Whether additional work caused by materially differing soil conditions was subject to the statutory and contractual notice requirements.

Disposition

affirmed