‘On 28 February 2022, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) published its latest guidance to contracting authorities (CAs) on preparing for PFI contract expiry. It provides practical guidance on managing expiry and service transition. We have previously written about the IPA’s earlier guidance and its PFI expiry health check report.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 23rd March 2022
‘The case in question is Bilton and Johnson (Building) Co Ltd v Three Rivers Property Investments Ltd, which was heard by Mr Jason Coppell QC (sitting as a deputy High Court judge). I admit that the case doesn’t tell us anything new about the law of adjudication, but it is a useful reminder of the limits of natural justice challenges to adjudicators’ decisions, as well as the fact that whether an adjudicator’s findings are correct as a matter of law is not material to whether their decision should be enforced.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 18th March 2022
‘Clare Mendelle and James Goldthorpe discuss how the insolvency of Farrar Construction leads to clarity from the Courts on dealing with an insolvent contractor under JCT.’
Local Government Lawyer, 11th March 2022
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Despite the volumes of case law illustrating the dangers of not having a written contract when carrying out a construction project, it is still common practice, particularly for smaller domestic projects and in this current market where builders are in high demand, for parties not to have a formal contract. Nine times out of ten all will be absolutely fine: works will progress, any small issues will be amicably overcome between the parties, the project will complete and everyone will be satisfied with the result. But construction projects can be uncertain beasts. Every now and then, things won’t run so smoothly. There may be defects, delays, cost pressures, design changes, or any variety of unforeseen issues. This is when not having a written contract to fall back on can become a real problem. The case of Lumley v Foster is a good reminder of what can happen if a written contract is not put in place.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog. 9th March 2022
‘An English High Court ruling in an insolvency case concerning a Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) Minor Works contract (2011) could apply to other standard form contracts in the same suite, a legal expert has said.’
OUT-LAW.com, 4th March 2022
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
‘Last year I wrote about the judgment in Davies & Davies Associates Ltd v Steve Ward Services (UK) Ltd, where Roger ter Haar QC (sitting as a deputy High Court judge) granted summary judgment on a claim for payment of an adjudicator’s fees and expenses arising from an adjudication in which the adjudicator resigned prior to issuing a decision. The matter has now come before the Court of Appeal in Steve Ward Services (UK) Ltd v Davies & Davies Associates Ltd, with Coulson LJ giving the leading judgment. The court upheld the first instance decision and also allowed the adjudicator’s cross-appeal, finding that the judge was wrong to suggest the adjudicator’s decision to resign was erroneous or that he went outside the ambit of paragraph 13 of the Scheme for Construction Contracts 1998.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 2nd March 2022
‘A subcontractor has been jailed for 18 months for submitting bogus invoices worth £36,000 to a company building sets at a Welsh TV and film studio.’
The Independent, 28th February 2022
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Compared to the restrictions we faced a couple of months ago with the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, it really does feel as if we are starting to return to some normality, and it was wonderful to see so many construction law professionals at the Society of Construction Law lunch in London last Friday. I had intended to read Morris J’s interesting judgment in John Graham Construction Ltd v Tecnicas Reunidas UK Ltd on the train home, but I sensibly put that off until the weekend, otherwise I fear my ramblings might have been somewhat difficult to discern.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 16th February 2022
‘The court may order a stay of a claim pursuant to CPR 3.1(2)(f) where the claimant has previously been ordered to pay the defendant sums in satisfaction of an adjudicator’s decision and the claimant has not done so. That power is exercised, in part, with the “pay now argue later” ethos of the Construction Act 1996 in mind. The key decisions to date (which I discuss below) balance a party’s rights of access to the court against those broader policy objectives. This post looks at a case in which the TCC applied and expanded the case law in this area, RHP Merchants and Construction Ltd v Treforest Property Co Ltd.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 2nd February 2022
‘It is not the role of the courts to “re-write a bad bargain” between commercial parties, an English judge has said, in a dispute over the wording of an option agreement.’
OUT-LAW.com, 21st January 2022
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
‘I appreciate that not everyone will agree but, as well as striving to get to the right answer, correctly applying the law, and so on, most adjudicators also want to provide the parties with a decision that is ultimately enforceable by the TCC. I think I also speak for most adjudicators when I say that it comes as somewhat of a relief when we read a judgment on BAILII or the like and we’ve been enforced.
But what about cases where only part of the decision is enforced, and the other part is severed? It is arguable that for the adjudicator it is, to use the language of the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, “just a flesh wound”. However, I can attest to the fact that it is frustrating, having been one of the first adjudicators to be severed back in 2012 in Beck Interiors v UK Flooring Contractors. I was thoroughly annoyed with myself for getting it wrong and only part of my decision was enforced (but I was assured by my peers that “tis but a scratch”).’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 19th January 2022
‘New-build housing: construction defects – issues and solutions (England).’
House of Commons Library, 17th January 2022
Source: commonslibrary.parliament.uk
‘The title of my review of the last online FIDIC conference a year ago, FIDIC contracts – a preview of what is to come, now has a somewhat ominous ring to it as for the second year running the International Users’ Conference had to convene online in December 2021 due to the current COVID-19 situation. It felt a bit more “down to business” than last year with no online networking platform between Zoom sessions, but instead included some excellent, hosted, breakout discussion rooms, which I thought was a great addition. I particularly enjoyed the very open (collaborative) discussion around the new FIDIC Collaborative Contract that is a work in progress. More of that below.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 11th January 2022
‘We often hear cases referred to as having turned on their facts and, if there was ever an example of this it would be the judgment handed down in October 2021 in G&D Brickwork Contractors Ltd v Marbank Construction Ltd. The parties’ names will ring a bell with some of you because, earlier in the year, O’Farrell J refused to grant an injunction restraining G&D from bringing adjudication proceedings, and last month’s judgment from Joanna Smith J deals with the enforcement of the adjudicator’s decision.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 24th November 2021
‘Laura Campbell discusses liquidated damages in construction contracts, focussing upon the long-running Triple Point saga which ended in the Supreme Court this year.’
Local Government Lawyer, 12th November 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘“Quick and dirty” is not a phrase that we usually associate with dispute resolution. However, as many construction practitioners will know, adjudication provides an exception.
Speed has its benefits but it rarely makes things simple. As our colleague, Ravinder, explained in her blog, adjudication is not always a straightforward process. Many disputes involve multiple, complex issues. This creates fertile ground for challenge, and adjudicators find themselves engaged with jurisdictional arguments more often than not.
One such argument is whether the issues referred to adjudication comprise one or multiple disputes. Our blog focuses on the courts’ approach to this question in the recent case of Quadro Services Ltd v Creagh Concrete Products Ltd.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 3rd November 2021
‘The genuine article? Does a valid payment notice need to set out the sum the payer genuinely considers due? The requirement that a valid payment notice must set out “the sum the payer considers due” is often at the centre of payment disputes. The recent decision in Downs Road Development LLP v Laxmanbhai Construction (UK) Ltd, provides a necessary clarification around what this actually means, confirming that a valid payment notice must set out the sum the payer genuinely considers due.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 20th October 2021
‘The UK government has published several draft regulations designed to give parliamentarians a better idea of how the Building Safety Bill will be implemented.’
OUT-LAW.com, 21st October 2021
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
‘Leading London law firm Withers has fought off a £12m claim on the basis of causation after the High Court ruled that it gave negligent advice to a property developer.
However, His Honour Judge Pelling QC, sitting as a High Court judge, found that the firm gave negligent advice on a settlement agreement, leading to an award of £270,000 in damages.’
Legal Futures, 1st October 2021
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
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