Constructive Acceleration
A claim arising when an owner refuses to grant a contractor a time extension it was genuinely entitled to, for a legitimate excusable delay, while still expecting the original completion date, effectively forcing acceleration without formally directing it or agreeing to pay for it.
Why it matters
The owner never has to say the word "accelerate" for this claim to apply, the acceleration is "constructive" precisely because it happens by the owner's refusal to act, not by any explicit directive.
On a real project
A contractor documents a legitimate weather-related delay and formally requests a corresponding time extension. The owner denies the request without real justification while continuing to hold the contractor to the original completion date.
Who this matters most to
A Scheduling & Delay Consultant builds the forensic schedule analysis a constructive acceleration claim depends on, proving both that the original delay was excusable and that the owner's refusal forced real acceleration costs.
Where this goes wrong
A contractor's legitimate time extension request is denied, and rather than formally documenting the acceleration that follows, the contractor just quietly adds overtime shifts to protect the schedule. Without that documentation, the later constructive acceleration claim has no paper trail to prove the extra costs were the owner's doing.