Category: construction industry

Building Safety Act 2022: changing the rules on the landlord and tenant relationship – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted November 17th, 2022 in building law, construction industry, health & safety, housing, landlord & tenant, news, repairs by sally

‘The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) creates a whole new world of building safety regulation and litigation. A key legislative objective was to regulate and direct responsibility for the cost of works to remedy building safety issues, so that the risk of such costs could no longer be the subject of agreement between landlord and tenant, but would (in defined circumstances) be apportioned in advance, by law, to the landlord.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 16th November 2022

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

When is it appropriate to use Part 8 in adjudication enforcement? – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted November 11th, 2022 in construction industry, contracts, damages, dispute resolution, enforcement, indemnities, news by sally

‘The case of Breakshore Ltd v Red Key Concepts Ltd, as heard in the TCC earlier this year, reconfirms the court’s position in respect of when it is appropriate to use Part 8 claims to resist adjudication enforcement hearings.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 11th November 2022

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

How final is a final certificate? – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted October 28th, 2022 in appeals, construction industry, contracts, judgments, local government, news by sally

‘At the end of last year, Jonathan discussed the Court of Session’s judgment in D McLaughlin & Sons Ltd v East Ayrshire Council, where Lord Clark looked at the conclusiveness of a final certificate under a Scottish Standard Building Contract with Quantities, 2011 Edition (SSBC, 2011 Edition). That case has popped up in the law reports again, this time in the Inner House (also called D McLaughlin & Sons Ltd v East Ayrshire Council), where three lords (Carloway, Woolman and Malcolm) have considered the Council’s appeal against Lord Clark’s judgment. In a rare occurrence these days, that judgment split the house.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog , 26th October 2022

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Good faith: reliance on the repugnant – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted October 21st, 2022 in appeals, construction industry, contracts, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘English law has, to put it mildly, a fractious relationship with the concept of good faith. There is a deep-rooted scepticism towards it that has often manifested as outright hostility: Lord Ackner famously described the duty to negotiate in good faith as “inherently repugnant to the adversarial position of the parties” (Walford v Miles). Indeed, the Supreme Court has recently confirmed that there is no general principle of good faith in English law (Times Travel (UK) Ltd and another v Pakistan International Airlines Corp).’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog , 19th October 2022

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Be certain, be specific and be clear: milestone judgment for liquidated damages – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted October 10th, 2022 in construction industry, contracts, damages, delay, drafting, news by sally

‘Recent case law has shown how careful parties need to be when drafting a liquidated damages (LDs) regime. The case of Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd v Peel L&P Investments and Property Ltd provides yet another example of what can happen if there is any ambiguity in the drafting.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 5th October 2022

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Cladding and fire safety: more reaction to Martlet v Mulalley – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted August 26th, 2022 in building law, construction industry, fire, health & safety, housing, news by sally

‘At the end of last month, Tom Coulson and Amy Armitage discussed the decision of Martlet Homes Ltd v Mulalley & Co Ltd, the first decision from the TCC on fire safety defects following the Grenfell Tower tragedy. This decision is highly significant for the construction industry, given the number of similar cases which are either progressing through the courts or at the pre-action stage. Although the judge emphasised the fact-specific nature of the dispute, this decision provided some insight on the court’s likely approach to some of the significant issues that affect cladding disputes.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog , 24th August 2022

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

TCC provides reminder of the meaning of paragraph 9(2) of the Scheme – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted August 19th, 2022 in construction industry, dispute resolution, guarantees, insolvency, news by sally

‘I appreciate that some of you might be reading this blog on your summer holidays, so you may well have far better things to be doing with your time (ordering another piña colada perhaps?). I will therefore keep the blog short – what might be termed a “blogette”. As one would expect over the summer break, there haven’t been many reported TCC cases recently and so the case I want to discuss today is from June, namely ML Hart Builders Ltd (in liquidation) v Swiss Cottage Properties Ltd, which is a judgment of Mr Roger Ter Haar QC sitting as a deputy High Court judge.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 17th August 2022

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

NEC and notices of dissatisfaction – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted August 15th, 2022 in construction industry, contracts, dispute resolution, news, notification by sally

‘Getting the notice right is important for all construction contracts and NEC is no exception. Failing to issue a notice as required under the contract can have serious consequences and in NEC this is often an issue that arises in relation to the obligation to notify compensation events within an eight week period (clause 61.3 of NEC4 ECC). Another key issue arises in respect of the obligation to issue a notice of dissatisfaction within 28 days of an adjudicator’s decision, as a failure to do so will mean that such decision becomes final and binding, and cannot be challenged by referring it to the tribunal (clause W2.4(1) of NEC4 ECC). Three recent decisions have considered notices of dissatisfaction under NEC, highlighting the importance of getting it right.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 10th August 2022

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

The High Court’s approach to cladding claims – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 4th, 2022 in construction industry, contracts, defective premises, fire, health & safety, news by sally

‘Judith Hopper and William Cursham analyse a recent ruling where a High Court judge awarded a housing association substantial damages in a claim relating to defective cladding.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 4th August 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

TCC’s judgment in Martlet v Mulalley, a cladding fire safety dispute – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted August 2nd, 2022 in construction industry, contracts, defective premises, fire, health & safety, news by sally

‘Cladding disputes have been ubiquitous in recent years. They are a consequence of the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower in June 2017, which led to a wave of inspections, investigations and scrutiny across the UK as building owners sought to ascertain whether or not their buildings were similarly defective. That process has resulted in numerous disputes relating to all sorts of different buildings – whether residential or commercial, old or new, publicly owned or private developments – which have kept practitioners extremely busy over the past five years.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 28th July 2022

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Fire safety ruling has implications for cladding disputes – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 28th, 2022 in construction industry, contracts, defective premises, fire, health & safety, news, standards by sally

‘Construction companies contracted to design and build cladding systems for buildings may have to pick up the cost of replacing those systems in light of a new ruling by the High Court in London.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 25th July 2022

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

How far does an interim valuation adjudication bind determination of the final account? – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted July 11th, 2022 in construction industry, dispute resolution, news, precedent by sally

‘I was lucky enough to be asked to give a recent case law update lecture for the Adjudication Society. At the end one of the delegates asked a very sensible question, namely to what extent do matters decided by an adjudicator concerning an interim valuation bind later valuations. It’s an issue that I’ve been asked about before, and it’s also one of those that can promote polarising debate, with some extreme positions taken.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 5th July 2022

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

FTH v Varis Developments – adjudication and insolvency meet head on again – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted July 1st, 2022 in appeals, company law, construction industry, enforcement, insolvency, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘In its decision in Bresco v Lonsdale, the Supreme Court confirmed that insolvent companies have the statutory and contractual right to adjudicate construction disputes, even if that claim is affected by insolvency set-off.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog , 29th June 2022

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Adjudicator reaches decision in “procedurally unjust manner” so not enforced – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted June 24th, 2022 in construction industry, contracts, dispute resolution, enforcement, jurisdiction, local government, news by sally

‘Sometimes it feels that, as an adjudicator, you are damned if you do and are also damned if you don’t. In this case – Liverpool CC v Vital Infrastructure Asset Management (Viam) Ltd (In Administration) – it was both what the adjudicator did do and what he didn’t do that led the judge to issue a declaration that his decision was unenforceable. But how did the judge, HHJ Stephen Davies, arrive at this point?’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 21st June 2022

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

CMA provisionally finds construction firm cartels rigged £150m of contracts – The Independent

Posted June 24th, 2022 in competition, construction industry, contracts, fines, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘A group of 10 construction firms illegally colluded to rig bids for £150 million of major contracts, according to provisional findings by the UK competition watchdog.’

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The Independent, 24th June 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

The obligation to pay a notified sum where the contractor is insolvent – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted June 17th, 2022 in construction industry, enforcement, insolvency, news by sally

‘The general rule created by section 111 of the Construction Act 1996 is well known: in the absence of a pay less notice, the notified sum is to be paid without set-off or deduction. Although this is capable of causing problems for an employer in the short term, any overpayments can usually be corrected in future payment cycles (whether interim or final) or by a true value adjudication (following S&T (UK) Ltd v Grove Developments Ltd).’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 15th June 2022

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Tort claims for economic loss on construction projects – Avantage v WSP – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted June 17th, 2022 in construction industry, duty of care, negligence, news by sally

‘Construction claims usually arise out of a breach of contract, because it is easier to establish liability than under a tortious claim. However, where there is no contract or the contractual limitation period has expired, or a contracting party is insolvent or is uninsured, parties may have no choice but to bring a claim in tort.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog , 14th June 2022

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Research Briefing: Leasehold high-rise flats: Who pays for fire safety work? – House of Commons Library

Posted June 13th, 2022 in bills, building law, construction industry, fire, health & safety, housing, leases, news, parliament by sally

‘This briefing considers debate about responsibility for paying for fire safety works on blocks of flats in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire. It covers provisions in the Building Safety Act 2022.’

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House of Commons Library, 9th June 2022

Source: commonslibrary.parliament.uk

Experts on Trial – 4KBW

Posted May 24th, 2022 in building law, chambers articles, construction industry, expert witnesses, news by sally

‘Chris Bryden and Georgia Whiting write in the April edition of Construction Law, examining case law surrounding the role of expert witnesses, which suggests a worrying trend towards a loosening of the established principles of how experts should behave, and are instructed.’

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4KBW, 4th May 2022

Source: www.4kbw.co.uk

Council prosecution sees building materials company hit with £400k fine for health and safety offence – Local Government Lawyer

Posted May 17th, 2022 in construction industry, fines, health & safety, local government, news by sally

‘A prosecution brought by Thanet District Council has seen a building materials company fined £400,000 over an incident that left one employee with life-changing injuries and a second suffering from deep cuts and lacerations.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 16th May 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk