In the event of any dispute regarding the Contractor, Architect, Engineer, and/or Owner (hereinafter referred to as party/parties for this section only) under this Agreement, the party shall notify the appropriate Owner’s Administrator in writing. The Owner’s Administrator or his designee will then attempt to negotiate a settlement of the dispute between the parties.
If the Owner’s Administrator, or designee, determines he is unable to negotiate a settlement between the parties, the parties may participate in mediation. A request for mediation must be made in writing to the Owner and the parties shall agree upon the location of the mediation. A Mediator mutually agreed upon by the parties shall conduct the mediation process. Mediation shall be voluntary, non-binding and all proceedings in connection with such shall be subject to this Agreement and applicable provisions of Arkansas law. Any mediation fees shall be borne equally between the parties. The parties shall coordinate mediation and the Owner shall notify the University of Arkansas System Office of any mediation prior to it taking place. The Owner’s Administrator or his designee may view any and all mediation proceedings. Any settlements arising out of the mediation process must be approved by the University of Arkansas System Office.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, if any dispute arises between the Parties, whether or not it requires at any time the use of dispute resolution procedures described above, in no event, nor for any reason, shall the Contractor, Architect, or Engineer interrupt the provision of services/performance to the Owner, or perform any other action that prevents, slows down, or reduces, in any way, the provisions of the Agreement unless: (a) authority to do so is granted by the Owner or (b) the Agreement has been terminated by the Owner. Nothing in these contract documents, including the use of mediation, shall be construed to waive the sovereign immunity of the State of Arkansas or any entities thereof.