Andrew D. Ness, Esq., FCIArb brings 40 years of domestic and international experience in resolving complex business disputes, with expertise in construction, engineering, design and energy issues. A JAMS Neutral since 2019, Mr. Ness is an arbitrator, mediator, neutral evaluator and dispute review board member focused on effective and efficient dispute resolution. A consummate professional, Mr. Ness is well known for cutting through entrenched positions to find creative, practical solutions. He combines intelligence and humor with outstanding problem-solving skills. One of his many strengths is the ability to distill complex facts and issues to their essence.

As an advocate, Mr. Ness represented contractors, engineers and other design professionals, as well as owners and developers, on an extraordinary range of projects and problems, including numerous megaprojects around the world. He played a lead role in major domestic and international arbitrations and mediations involving large, highly complex disputes across a wide variety of diverse jurisdictions and arbitral rules.

Mr. Ness also has a great deal of experience handling federal and state government projects and contracting issues.

ADR Experience and Qualifications

• Extensive experience resolving complex, multi-faceted disputes as a mediator, arbitrator and utilizing other ADR processes
• Arbitrator in cases under JAMS Construction and Comprehensive Rules, AAA Construction and Commercial Rules, ICC Rules, and CPR Rules
• Very familiar with all types of construction industry contracts – including PPP, EPC, EPCM, Design-Build, architect-engineer, construction management and program management – and form contracts of AIA, ConsensusDocs, FIDIC, as well as U.S. Government contracts under the FAR
• Engaged on numerous occasions to provide a detailed, independent assessment of the merits of major disputes for use in mediations and settlement discussions

Representative Matters

• Arbitration

As Tribunal Chair: 

• $22 million in claims and counterclaims relating to an earthen dam project in Georgia
• $26 million in claims and counterclaims relating to a “luxury” condominium building in Pennsylvania
• $65 million in claims on three design-build highway projects in Florida
• $77 million in claims on a combined cycle power plant project in Wisconsin
• $46 million in disputed delay damages on an affordable housing project in a Northeast state
• $37 million in claims and counterclaims on two PV solar power plants in Alabama
• $9 million in claims and counterclaims relating to civil work on a solar power plant in Virginia
• Claims and counterclaims on a new NFL stadium in a Northeastern state
• $6 million dispute relating to claimed deficiencies at a condominium project in Washington, D.C.

 As a Tribunal Member: 

• $28 million in claims relating to a $ 9 billion petrochemical plant expansion in Louisiana
• $27 million in claims on a $2.5 billion natural gas pipeline project crossing two Midwestern states
• Declaratory judgment action regarding obligations under a joint venture agreement for a $3 billion LNG terminal expansion
• $120 million in claims and counterclaims on a $750 million PPP highway project in North Carolina
• $17 million ICC Rules dispute relating to a high security building for the U.S. Defense Dept. in South Korea
• $29 million in claims and counterclaims on a historic townhouse renovation in New York
• $30 million builders risk claim on a hospital project in a Northeastern state
• $4 million dispute regarding an underground security facility in Washington, DC
• $6 million in claims and counterclaims on a hotel project in Maryland
• $3 million dispute regarding asphalt paving design errors on an Ohio project
• $20 million dispute relating to design and construction of a power plant fueled by sewage digester gas in a Northeast state 

As Sole Arbitrator: 

• $5 million dispute regarding high-voltage underground electrical duct banks in Maryland
• Special arbitrator to determine issue of potential consolidation of arbitrations for disputes relating to chemical plants in Oregon and Texas
• Dispute regarding building defects in a project in Michigan
• Mediation
• Regional Public Authority – Design-Build Contractor dispute relating to a rapid transit line in a Mid-Atlantic state
• Department of Energy – Design-Build Contractor dispute relating to a radioactive waste treatment plant project
• Contractor – Defense Dept. dispute regarding delayed construction of large hangars at an overseas Air Force Base
• 5-party dispute (Architect, Engineer, Owner, Contractor, Subcontractor) regarding delays and alleged design defects at a high-rise apartment building in a Midwestern city
• Dispute between Contractor and pre-cast tunnel liner segment Supplier on a TBM tunnel project
• Dispute between joint venture partners regarding accounting treatment of business taxes
• Dispute between Owner and Contractor regarding HVAC deficiencies at a condominium project in a Mid-Atlantic state
• Contractor – Subcontractor dispute regarding delays and changes to a rapid transit project
• Owner – site preparation Contractor dispute regarding site development work for a new shopping center in a Northeast state
• Owner – Contractor dispute regarding deficiencies and delayed completion of a cogeneration plant in Alabama
• Owner – Contractor dispute regarding extensive hotel renovation project that incurred two substantial physical damage incidents during construction
• Contractor - Subcontractor dispute regarding clearance of unexploded munitions at a building site on a Pacific island
• Owner - Contractor – Subcontractor dispute regarding blowouts of post-tensioned concrete slabs at an office building 
• DRBs and Other Neutral Assignments 
• DRB chair for a $300 million PPP international airport terminal renovation and expansion project in a Western state 
• DRB chair for a $450 million, 2-mile long TBM tunneling project in Virginia
• DRB member for the 4.5-mile long Blue Plains Tunnel project in Washington, D.C.
• DRB chair for a design-build headquarters building project in New York
• Detailed neutral evaluation of engineering negligence claims on a cable-stayed bridge PPP project
• Neutral evaluation of arguments for an upcoming arbitration regarding a mixed-use project
• Consulting with respect to disputes process and DRB design for a multi-unit international nuclear power project
• International Experience
• Extensive experience with major international and transnational projects since 1986 involving projects in 15 countries in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, South America, the Caribbean and Africa. Projects include power plants, petrochemical plants, industrial facilities, oil and gas production and processing facilities and pipelines, high-rise buildings and highways.
• Lead counsel in major arbitrations under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), and UNCITRAL. Familiar with FIDIC form contracts and numerous other bespoke forms of international construction and engineering, procurement and construction agreements.
• Power Plants
• Natural gas combined-cycle plants: disputes relating to delays, changes, differing site conditions and design/construction defects on projects in California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico, representing either the EPC contractor or owner
• Air pollution control equipment: disputes relating to major flue gas desulphurization (FGD) and/or selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system additions and retrofits to coal-fired power projects in Tennessee (2), Florida (2) and Maryland, representing the EPC contractor
• EPC joint-venture dispute on $3 billion project involving design and construction of five heavy oil-fired power plant units in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia
• Representing an Italian EPC contractor in over $70 million in disputes relating to completion and warranty issues on an air-cooled, dual-fuel, combined-cycle power project in Balochistan, Pakistan
• Contractor/subcontractor disputes relating to delayed completion and defects respecting a pulverized coal injection system for a power plant in Michigan, on behalf of the design-build contractor
• Representing the construction contractor on large extra work claims on a mine-mouth, coal-fired power plant in Wyoming
• Defective design and construction disputes regarding a Department of Energy coal gasification demonstration project in Alabama, on behalf of the EPC contractor
• Representing the solar boiler designer and supplier respecting performance and warranty disputes at a 300 MW collecting solar project in California
• Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals
• Evaluated EPC contractor claims for the owners of the Sadara Project, at $20 billion, the world’s largest petrochemical complex ever constructed in a single phase, Jubail Industrial City, Saudi Arabia
• Disputed termination of a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract for two petrochemical plant expansions, in Yanbu and Jubail, Saudi Arabia, representing the owner
• Disputes relating to additions, major revamps or complete renovation of oil refinery production units at refineries in Slovenia, Trinidad and Puerto Rico, on behalf of the EPC contractor
• Oil pipeline construction disputes in Trinidad on behalf of the EPC contractor, and in Saudi Arabia on behalf of the owner
• On behalf of the EPC contractor, resolution of $95 million dispute relating to three offshore oil platform contracts, for platforms to be installed in the Arabian Gulf, Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Natural gas processing plant claims in Saudi Arabia, on behalf of the EPC contractor
• Oilfield sea water injection facilities and pipelines in Saudi Arabia, on behalf of the EPC contractor
• Disputes regarding a natural gas processing plant in Wyoming, on behalf of the owner
• Disputes between a major equipment supplier and its pipe fabricator relating to petrochemical facilities in Equatorial Guinea
• Nuclear Power and Radioactive Materials
• Numerous disputes totaling $1.5 billion regarding delays and alleged changes at the first new nuclear power plant built in the United States in almost 30 years, representing the owners
• Representing the EPC contractor in disputes over fees owed following suspension of construction of WPPS Nuclear Unit 3, in Washington state
• Disputes concerning regulatory and design changes to a Department of Energy trans-uranic (TRU) waste processing plant in Tennessee, on behalf of the design-build-operate contractor
• Representing the contractor in disputes with a subcontractor regarding demolition and disposal of 10 heavily contaminated buildings utilized for handling a variety of radioactive materials
• Representing the design-build-operate contractor for a $350 million Department of Energy facility in Idaho to repackage and store spent nuclear fuel rods, regarding disputes over extensive design changes, regulatory changes and regulatory delays
• Representing the supplier of fuel rod handling equipment respecting defect and warranty claims on a second Department of Energy fuel rod repackaging project in Idaho
• Disputes between contractor and subcontractor regarding the design and construction of a hydrogeologic isolation system for a 30-acre radioactive waste landfill
• Other Industrial Facilities
• Representing the EPC contractor in extensive disputes with the process supplier, erection subcontractor and owner on a hot briquetted iron (HBI) ore processing plant in Venezuela, involving three international arbitrations and litigation in both the United States and Venezuela
• Representing the EPC contractor in a three-party dispute with the equipment supplier and wastewater treatment plant constructor regarding the collapse of a trickling filter at a waste paper recycling and de-inking plant in northern Michigan
• For the contractor, disputes relating to changes, delays and defects at advanced wastewater treatment plants in California and Oregon
• Disputed termination of the EPC contractor for a solar-powered, reverse osmosis desalinization plant in Saudi Arabia, on behalf of the owner
• Disputes regarding defects, air pollution violations and operability issues, representing the owner of a facility for calcining petroleum coke in Texas
• Representing the supplier of a black liquor boiler in payment and work quality disputes respecting a pulp and paper project in Austria
• Evaluation of claims on grain handling system, grain silos and related port facilities project in Jizan, Saudi Arabia
• Claims assessment on a large cold storage warehouse project in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
• At animal feed processing plants in Georgia, California and Mexico, disputes relating to the defective design and operation of large, custom-designed industrial driers, on behalf of the owners
• Delayed completion and defective workmanship disputes regarding a new production line for producing asphalt roofing shingles in Pennsylvania
• Disputes relating to the delayed development and flight certification of a new regional jet, on behalf of the airframe manufacturer
• Bridges, Tunnels, Transit and Other Civil Projects
• Disputed termination of subcontractor, extensive delays and defects in two wastewater transfer tunnels totaling 22 kilometers, driven by tunnel boring machine, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Resolution of $60 million in claims for differing site conditions and unsuitable backfill materials by the site preparation contractor for a large power project in Georgia, on behalf of the owner
• Subway station, line and tunneling projects (changes, delays and differing site conditions) respecting three different stations/segments of the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., metropolitan area transit systems, on behalf of the contractors
• Multiple Interstate Highway bridge and overpass projects (changes, delays and defects) in Virginia and Maryland
• Work sequence changes, utility relocation delays and differing site conditions disputes relating to new Interstate Highway segments in Virginia and Maryland
• Disputed termination of Superfund site cleanup contractor for former industrial hazardous waste site in Pennsylvania
• Resolution of disputed changes, on behalf of the developer of a large mixed-use project in Maryland, with the site grading, utilities and infrastructure contractor
• Change order and defective work disputes on two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects to construct locks and dams, Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway, in Mississippi
• Disputes relating to changed work sequence and quality of protective riprap and gabion stone for slope protection, for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers waterway project in Virginia
• Hospitals and Health Care Facilities
• Disputed termination of at-risk construction manager on a 900,000-square-foot state-of-the-art research hospital at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, in which the construction manager was successfully replaced without interrupting construction
• Termination of at-risk construction manager and resolution of disputed change order issues with replacement construction manager, at $800 million cardiac care and pediatric hospital towers in Baltimore
• Resolution of payment and performance issues with design and construction administration firms on behalf of a major nonprofit organization building a medical school in Rwanda
• Resolution of contractor claims at advanced cancer care center in Maryland, on behalf of the owner
• Disputed termination of the contractor at large lifecare center/nursing home facility in Virginia
• Negotiated resolution of contractor claims at major hospital expansion in Maryland
• Retail, Office and Hospitality
• On behalf of a major hotel chain, resolved disputes relating to full-service and resort hotel construction projects in Virginia, California, and Panama
• On behalf of multiple shopping center developers, resolved disputes relating to seven different major regional malls, “big box” malls and strip shopping center projects in Maryland, Virginia and California, including the adaptive reuse of a former automobile assembly plant converted into a regional mall
• For the Virgin Islands Port Authority, resolved delay and defective work claims relating to a new cruise ship terminal and associated retail center in the U.S. Virgin Islands
• Resolved disputed change order and delayed completion issues on behalf of the developer of a large resort/spa development in western Massachusetts
• Evaluated disputes on behalf of building owner for high-rise office tower at King Abdullah Financial Center in Saudi Arabia
• Resolution of changes and delay disputes on major office building projects in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania
• Resolved subsidence and lateral support issues for the developer of a large multi-family housing project in Washington, D.C.
• U.S. and Other Public Contracts

(in addition to government projects previously listed)

• $250 million dispute relating to disappointed expectations under a teaming agreement relating to a $17 billion Foreign Military Sale of military aircraft and associated weapons systems
• On behalf of the design-builder, dispute resolution relating to delays and cost overruns in constructing one of the world’s largest and most advanced radio telescopes in West Virginia
• Disputes relating to the proposed closure of a U.S. Army contractor-operated facility for overhaul and maintenance of tanks and armored personnel carriers in Germany
• Bid protests relating to the acquisition of a department-wide telecommunications system for the Department of the Treasury
• Representing an Afghan contractor regarding a terminated Defense Supply Agency contract to supply jet fuel to a U.S. base in Afghanistan
• Disputes regarding delays and development issues respecting a U.S. Navy subcontract to produce radar warning receivers for naval aircraft
• Representing two contractor senior executives in connection with conflict of interest issues on DOE contracts for remediation of Pit 9 at Idaho National Laboratory
• Disputes relating to performance of a contract to develop prototype armored vehicles adapted for desert environments, on behalf of a Saudi government-owned corporation

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

• Completed Virtual ADR training conducted by the JAMS Institute, the training arm of JAMS
• American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law, Cornerstone Award Honoree, 2024
• Chambers USA, Band 1, Construction, National and D.C. (since the outset of coverage)
• Who’s Who Legal: Construction, one of the most “highly regarded individuals,” 2012–2019
• Legal 500, “Hall of Fame,” 2017
• Best Lawyers, “Top 100 Washington Lawyers,” 2012, 2014; “D.C. Construction Lawyer of the Year,” 2012
• Identified as one of the Best Lawyers in America, Construction Law, 2012-2024
• Fellow, American College of Construction Lawyers
• Chair, American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law, 2012–2013
• Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
• David Letterman’s Top Ten Innovative Construction ADR Ideas, 2019 CLSA Annual Conference
• Delay Analysis: Some Big Unanswered Questions, ABA Forum on Construction Law, 2016 Fall Meeting
• Dispute Review Boards, 2017 ACCL Annual Conference
• The Colorado VA Hospital Mess and Beyond: What Can Go Wrong With Design-Build, Design Assist & IPD?, ENR Construction Risk Summit, 2016
• Dispute Review Boards, 2012 International Arbitration and ADR China Conference (Beijing)
• Unlocking Disputes: Challenges in Construction Litigation and Arbitration, U.K. Society of Construction Law, 2012 International Construction Law Conference (London)
• International Construction Disputes – Creative Approaches to Complexity and Cost, 2002 LCIA Symposium (London)
• INTERNATIONAL CONSTRUCTION LAW, A GUIDE FOR CROSS BORDER TRANSACTIONS AND LEGAL DISPUTES (ABA Publishing 2009) (co-editor)
• FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS (ABA Publishing 2003) (co-editor)
• “International Dispute Resolution,” (co-author) in CONSTRUCTION LAW HANDBOOK 3^RD Ed. (Wolters Kluwer 2018)

Background and Education

• Partner and leader of the construction practice at four international law firms, 1987–2018; most recently Jones Day, 2011–2018
• Head of Middle East construction practice, Jones Day, 2014–2018
• Law Clerk, Chief Judge Robert F. Peckham, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 1977–1978
• J.D., magna cum laude, Harvard University, 1977 (Article Editor, Harvard Journal on Legislation)
• B.S., Electrical Engineering, with distinction, Stanford University, 1974