Housing – Extreme Custom Residential

Moscow, Russia

The Project

This project involved a 97,000 square foot house being built in an exclusive suburb of Moscow. The main issue was that while the design required triple glazed custom windows, the Window Contractor provided a dual-glazed argon filled substitute. There was a difference of opinion as to the contract vs. the performance specifications; there were also concerns as to whether or not the substitute met the codes for that location. Furthermore, The Designer and Window Supplier were located in the United States and the Window Manufacturer was in Italy. The claim was for $15 million (US).

The Challenge

Although some transactions and contracts were in English, many documents relevant to the underlying entitlement and damages’ aspects were in Russian. It was therefore essential to consider the dynamics of verbal representations as well as the complexities of importing these windows into Russia. Additional areas of consideration included various aspects of the entitlements under Russian Law as well as Russian Means and Methods.

The Solution

A local Russian Consultant initially developed the claim. MKA was subsequently retained and analyzed and perfected the entitlement and damages’ aspects of the project. MKA also introduced the value of the effect from currency exchange rates. We used local Russian Translators to help translate and provide written reports in Russian (even though our final report was in English). MKA had to work through various time zones and overcome language barriers. The team used our international experience to prepare a credible and convincing  Claim Document.

The Result

MKA provided a complete and comprehensive Claim Assessment as well as Expert Testimony that bridged the language barrier and considered the effects of multi-country exchange rates.