Dispute Type
Breach of Contract
Cause
Incorrect Project Grid
Outcome
New Survey Required
The Scenario
The government of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) hired the engineering firm GMP Hawaii, Inc. to perform a road survey in Chuuk State.
The contract explicitly specified a particular local coordinate system ("Truk-Neoch") for the project grid, critical for aligning the new road design with existing infrastructure.
The Technical Error
Mechanism of Failure:
Wrong Coordinate System Selection
Contract Spec: Truk-Neoch -> Delivered: Generic/Incorrect Grid
The consultant produced survey data in a coordinate framework that differed from the government's requirement. While the data itself may have been internally consistent, it was effectively "misaligned" with the rest of the state's geospatial record.
The Litigation & Outcome
When the error was discovered, the government rejected the work. The central technical argument in the resulting lawsuit was whether the survey could be salvaged.
- Defense Argument: The data could be fixed by a simple mathematical coordinate transformation.
- Plaintiff Argument: The breach was fundamental; the work was unusable as delivered.
- Court Ruling: The court treated the use of the wrong coordinate system as a breach of professional obligations. Damages were calculated based on the cost of the remedy—potentially the full cost of a brand new survey.
Professional Lesson
The "Wrong" Grid is a Contract Breach.
🛡️ Professional Lesson
Read the Specs Before You Measuring.
Just because you can transform coordinates later doesn't mean your client is obligated to accept that risk. Delivering data in the wrong system forces the client to assume the liability for the transformation. In this case, that liability was rejected, and the surveyor paid the price.
Source: FSM Supreme Court Case Law / Public Record
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