Home builders and remodelers usually allocate between 5% and 10% of a project budget for a construction contingency. This amount creates enough breathing room for unexpected costs. Anyone tracking estimates and costs manually will calculate a contingency percentage on top of all costs before profit margins are applied.
This contingency is normally calculated as a percentage. If the phase is 100 days of effort, contingency at 20% would be another 20 days. As the project progresses, the level of risk reduces as the requirements and issues become known, so the percentage will be reduced.
The most basic way to calculate a contingency reserve is to add a fixed percentage to the total project budget, known as the Flat Rate method. Alternatively, if different percentages are applied to unique budget line items, this would be called a Mixed Rate method to establish the reserve.
"In order to recover attorney fees, a prevailing party must prove both their actual costs and their reasonableness." In re Serpentfoot, 285 Ga. App. 325, 329, 646 S.E.2d 267, 271 (2007) (attorney's fees for frivolous litigation pursuant to OCGA §9-15-14).
Under Georgia law, a party bringing a legal malpractice claim must prove the following: (1) the client employed the defendant-attorney in a case; (2) the defendant-attorney failed to exercise ordinary care, skill, and diligence for the client; and (3) that failure proximately caused damages to the client.
§ 9-11-68, (a/k/a Rule 68 – Offer of Settlement), allows either party in a tort case to serve the other party with a written offer to settle, so long as the offer is made 30 days after service of the summons and complaint, and not less than 30 days before trial (or 20 days if it is a counteroffer).