Category: construction industry

Construction: Adjudication – unilateral withdrawal – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 23rd, 2017 in arbitration, construction industry, dispute resolution, news by sally

‘Introduced by the Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, the statutory adjudication scheme is a well-established dispute resolution mechanism within the UK construction industry. The scheme is often referred to as a ‘pay now, argue later’ mechanism which seeks to maintain cashflow during construction projects by providing a cost-effective and swift means of determining disputes. Although an adjudication award is binding, it is not final. However, in practice an adjudication award is often the final resolution of a dispute.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 23rd October 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

The shifting sands of risk management in construction projects – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted October 20th, 2017 in construction industry, delay, insurance, news by sally

‘Construction and engineering projects, whether land-based or marine, are inherently risky. For this reason, parties to construction and engineering contracts manage risk by seeking to allocate responsibility for each different type of risk to a particular party.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 20th October 2017

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Ignore the procurement dispute timetable at your peril – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted October 19th, 2017 in civil procedure rules, construction industry, disclosure, news, public procurement, time limits by tracey

‘The parties to procurement challenges are required to act quickly and in accordance with a strict timetable. When a losing bidder issues a claim, it must serve the claim form on the defendant within seven days after the date of issue. Pursuant to CPR 7.4(2), the particulars of claim are to be served no later than the latest time for serving the claim form. That is, they must also be served within seven days after the date of issue.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 18th October 2017

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Can a party withdraw from adjudication part way through and what are the implications? – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted October 17th, 2017 in construction industry, costs, dispute resolution, news, wasted costs orders by tracey

‘Jacobs UK Ltd v Skanska Construction UK Ltd was a dispute all about the adequacy of Jacobs’ design services, which related to street lighting in Lewisham and Croydon. It highlights some interesting issues related to whether a party is entitled to withdraw from an adjudication and then start again.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog , 17th October 2017

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

“Ingenious arguments” fail to topple “smash and grab” award – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted October 6th, 2017 in construction industry, contracts, dispute resolution, enforcement, news by tracey

‘It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about a payment notice case, and so the case of Jonjohnson Construction Ltd v Eagle Building Services Ltd caught my eye.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 3rd October 2017

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Who knows where the time goes? – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted October 5th, 2017 in construction industry, contracting out, contracts, damages, delay, news, time limits by tracey

‘Einstein famously said that the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion. The nature of time is not an easy concept to grapple with and I had a similar (albeit not quite so ethereal) experience preparing a recent seminar on the practical effect of the decision in Carillion Construction v Emcor Engineering Services relating to contiguous (or rather non-contiguous) extensions of time.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 2nd October 2017

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

July to September 2017 case review for construction practitioners – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted October 5th, 2017 in arbitration, construction industry, contracts, negligence, news by tracey

‘A selection of the more interesting decisions affecting construction and engineering practitioners during the third quarter of 2017.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 2nd October 2017

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

High Court enforces contractual provision allocating responsibility for concurrent delay to contractor – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 4th, 2017 in construction industry, contracts, delay, news by sally

‘The High Court has found that a clause in a construction contract which allocates the risk of concurrent delays to the contractor is valid and enforceable.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 3rd October 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Using Part 8 to “appeal” adjudicator’s decision – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted September 12th, 2017 in appeals, arbitration, construction industry, contracting out, contracts, news by tracey

‘It isn’t every day that we get to refer to Will Smith’s “wicky wicky wild wild wild west“, on this blog, but Jonathan managed it last year when he discussed Fraser J’s judgment in Beumer Group UK Ltd v Vinci Construction UK Ltd. The parties have been before the court again, this time before O’Farrell J, on a Part 8 declaratory relief application. There is no mention of the wild west this time around. It was all about whether the adjudicator had correctly interpreted the parties’ sub-contract. Not a subject for cowboys!.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 12th September 2017

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Unite asks barrister to examine worker blacklisting collusion claims – The Guardian

Posted August 30th, 2017 in construction industry, employment, news, reports, trade unions by sally

‘Britain’s biggest trade union has commissioned a barrister to examine allegations that union officials colluded with a covert blacklisting operation financed by major firms to prevent certain workers from being employed.’

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The Guardian, 29th August 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Court grants injunction to allow client access to design data held in BIM model – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 29th, 2017 in computer programs, construction industry, contracts, injunctions, news by tracey

‘The High Court has granted an interim injunction requiring a consultant to reinstate its client’s access to design data held in a building information modelling (BIM) system to which it controlled access.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 29th August 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Judge quashes decision by minister over dismissal of planning conditions – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 23rd, 2017 in appeals, construction industry, news, planning by sally

‘A judge has quashed a decision by Communities Secretary Sajid Javid to overrule an inspector and refuse planning permission for a housing development in Cheshire.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 22nd August 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Revisiting reasonable skill and care: have construction professionals lost Bolam protection without even noticing? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted August 22nd, 2017 in appeals, construction industry, negligence, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘In recent years there has been increasing interest as to whether construction professionals need to produce an end design that is fit for purpose or simply to show that they exercised reasonable skill and care. The Court of Appeal’s decision to overturn the first instance judgment in MT Hojgaard v Eon (and the first instance decision of Coulson J in MW High Tech v Haase), dampened the excitement somewhat by emphasising the orthodox position that, absent something really quite categorical in the terms, it is the standard of reasonable skill and care that applies.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 31st July 2017

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Grenfell Tower: Government dismisses conflict of interest concerns over chair of independent buildings review – The Independent

Posted August 10th, 2017 in conflict of interest, construction industry, fire, health & safety, news, regulations by tracey

‘There is no “conflict of interest” over a former role held by the woman leading a probe into building regulations in the wake of the Grenfell disaster, the Government has said.’

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The Independent, 9th August 2017

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Supreme Court rules on contractor’s liability for design – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 4th, 2017 in construction industry, contracts, energy, guarantees, news by sally

‘A warranty provided by construction company MT Hojgaard (MTH) that the underlying works would have a service life of 20 years took precedence over conflicting terms in the contract, including adherence to industry standards, the UK’s highest court has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 3rd August 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

HMRC policy on VAT and student accommodation is wrong, says Tribunal – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 3rd, 2017 in construction industry, HM Revenue & Customs, news, universities, VAT by tracey

‘There is “absolutely no basis” for an HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) policy that the VAT treatment of supplies made in relation to a building by a sub-contractor depends upon the treatment adopted by the main contractor, the UK’s First-tier Tribunal has decided in a case concerning student accommodation.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 3rd August 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Law firm should have warned property investor clients of “Mafia risk”, CA rules – Legal Futures

Posted August 2nd, 2017 in appeals, compensation, construction industry, crime, damages, deposits, guarantees, Italy, law firms, news by tracey

‘A law firm with offices in Italy and England has lost its appeal against a High Court ruling that it was under a duty to warn British and Irish property investors of the risks of investing in a part of Italy associated with organised crime.’

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Legal Futures, 2nd August 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Building regulations to be reviewed after safety tests following Grenfell – The Guardian

Posted July 31st, 2017 in building law, construction industry, fire, government departments, health & safety, housing, inquiries, news, regulations by sally

‘The government has announced an independent review of building regulations after tests showed that at least 82 residential high-rises use a combination of insulation and cladding that does not meet fire safety standards.’

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The Guardian, 28th July 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Crossrail worker death: Firms fined £1m for safety breaches – BBC News

Posted July 28th, 2017 in construction industry, fines, health & safety, news, railways by tracey

‘Companies working for Crossrail have been fined £1m for three sets of failures, one of which led to the death of a construction worker.’

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BBC News, 28th July 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Leaseholds on new-build houses in England to be banned – The Guardian

Posted July 25th, 2017 in construction industry, housing, leases, news by sally

‘Builders are to be banned by the government from selling houses as leasehold in England and ground rents on flats could be cut to zero following widespread outrage over exploitative contracts.’

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The Guardian, 25th July 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com