‘On 7 February 2020 Mrs Justice Cockerill DBE handed down judgment in PBS Energo AS v Bester Generacion UK Ltd & Anor [2020] EWHC 223 (TCC). Steven Walker QC and Tom Owen appeared for Bester instructed by Rebecca Williams of Watson Farley Williams.’
Atkin Chambers, 7th February 2020
Source: www.atkinchambers.com
‘The chairman of the Grenfell Tower inquiry has backed a request from firms that refurbished the building that evidence they give should not be used against them in criminal prosecutions.’
BBC News, 7th February 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The Government has unveiled plans for a new regulator to oversee the design, construction and occupation of high-risk buildings.’
Local Government Lawyer, January 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Planned measures to improve high-rise residential building and fire safety in England will be speeded up, the UK government has announced.’
OUT-LAW.com, 22nd February 2020
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
‘White Constructions, a developer, engaged a sewer designer (“IWS”) and water servicing coordinator (“SWC”) to design a sewerage solution that complied with New South Wales regulations. The initial design was rejected by the relevant authorities, but a second design was later submitted and accepted. Subsequently, White Constructions brought proceedings against IWS and SWC for failing to produce a sewer design acceptable to the relevant authority within a reasonable time period, submitting that this failure caused delay to the completion of the project and thereby led to significant additional costs. At trial, the parties were each permitted to engage their own experts to assess the alleged delay. White Construction’s expert used an ‘as planned versus as-built windows analysis’, stipulating that there had been a serious delay of 240 days. The Defendants’ expert used a ‘collapsed as-built (or “but-for”) analysis’, demonstrating that there had been, at most, a 19-day delay. However, neither evidences were used by the Court because the they seen as not being appropriate for the case. Instead, the Court appointed a third expert whose evidence was preferred. The Court found that no breach had been established and so damages were not awarded.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 16th January 2020
Source: hardwicke.co.uk
‘We don’t see the section 106 residential occupier exemption appearing in the law reports all that often, possibly because the law surrounding its meaning is fairly well settled, particularly since Coulson J’s 2013 judgment in Westfields Construction Ltd v Lewis. Therefore, I was rather intrigued by the judgment in Howsons Ltd v Redfearn and another. It dates from the summer but is an interesting read because the judge, HHJ Nigel Bird, appears to have extended the section 106 residential occupier test to cover the question of lawfulness of occupation.’
Practical Law Construction Blog, 17th December 2019
‘Since my colleague Eveline Strecker last blogged about modular construction, it has continued to develop in popularity. The more we see of modular, the more it becomes clear that it is a very different beast to “traditional” construction projects, demanding an evolution in procurement routes and contract content.’
Practical Law Construction Blog, 11th December 2019
‘2020 is looking to be a year in which the tax burden of companies operating in the UK construction sector is likely to increase. This is due, first, to the delayed implementation of the VAT reverse charge (now 1 October 2020) and secondly, to major changes in the UK tax treatment of off-payroll workers. In this blog we discuss the implications of the changes to the off-payroll working rules (commonly known as “IR35”) and the steps companies affected by these changes can take.’
Practical Law Construction Blog, 10th December 2019
‘A claim relating to an unlawful trespass to the Claimant’s person that occurred on 26 October 2014. During the course of their work, three sub-contractors engaged on a construction site by First Defendant, namely the Claimant, Kieran Fowler and Alan Fowler, became involved in an argument concerning their work. The incident started as verbal argument on a scaffold and culminated a few minutes later (off the scaffold) with Kieran Fowler striking the Claimant violently over the head with a scaffolding pole. As a result, the Claimant sustained a right-sided subdural haemorrhage, a subarachnoid haemorrhage, and extensive skull fractures. Following the incident Kieran Fowler was convicted of causing Grievous Bodily Harm and sentenced to 12 years in prison. The Claimant’s case was that the First Defendant were vicariously liable for the actions of Kieran Fowler. The Second Defendant was the insurer of the First Defendant.’
12 King's Bench Walk, 20th November 2019
Source: www.12kbw.co.uk
‘Camden Council has submitted claims to the High Court to recover costs from the contractor PFIC (Partners for Improvement in Camden) and its principal subcontractors, who previously had responsibility for refurbishment and maintenance of the Chalcots Estate, under a private finance initiative agreement.’
Local Government Lawyer, 29th November 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Recent decisions considering time bars and notification provisions have generated considerable commentary and discussion over the last few months. One of these is Boskalis Offshore Marine Contractive BV v Atlantic Marine and Aviation LLP (the “Atlantic Tonjer”) which concerned notification provisions in a payment clause and the timely challenge of disputed invoices before they were due for payment.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 26th November 2019
‘Arbitration is the best available process for resolving disputes arising from international construction projects and should be augmented but not replaced by technology, according to the findings of one of the largest surveys of the sector ever undertaken.’
Litigation Futures, 28th November 2019
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘Round one was an adjudication enforcement application before Lord Doherty in the Scottish courts. The contractor (Dickie & Moore) had succeeded in an adjudication and, when the adjudicator’s decision went unpaid, issued court proceedings to get its money.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 19th November 2019
‘Both contractors and developers often enter into joint ventures to carry out a specific project. It enables parties to bid on larger projects, pool their resources, including specialised knowledge, and spread risk across the participants. The recent decision in Doosan Enpure Ltd v Interserve Construction Ltd serves as a reminder to participants in construction joint ventures of the potential pitfalls of intra-JV disputes.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 13th November 2019
‘Firefighters’ ‘stay put’ tactics and apparent lack of preparation and construction materials criticised.’
The Guardian, 30th October 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘It’s a scenario we see all too often. Employer meets contractor. Employer and contractor enter into a contract and, for a while, everything seems rosy. Then, as the project progresses, unresolved claims start escalating and the relationship deteriorates. Inevitably, the parties’ minds turn to adjudication, and the potential recourse that they may find there.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 21st October 2019
‘The High Court has provided guidance to parties on the application of the payment provisions in the 1996 Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act (“Construction Act”) to “hybrid” contracts, which cover both construction and non-construction operations.’
OUT-LAW.com, 10th October 2019
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
‘For some years now modular construction has been on the increase for new buildings, particularly in the hotel sector where it is now the norm for new hotels to be supplied with bathrooms and bedrooms manufactured off site. Indeed, I suspect that most of us have stayed in such rooms without even realising that more or less everything in the room (except the loose furniture) was installed off site, and sometimes many thousands of miles off-site. It may be because I only see the projects where things have gone awry and disputes have arisen, but, having decided a few disputes regarding modular building products, it’s clear that this part of the industry remains susceptible to the types of disputes we see with more traditional methods of construction. I want to talk about one such case this week, namely the Court of Appeal’s decision in Bennett (Construction) Ltd v CIMC MBS Ltd (formerly Verbus Systems Ltd) (which it handed-down at the end of August).’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 10th September 2019
‘Coming into effect on 1 October 2019, the reverse charge in relation to building and construction services is set to bring about a major change in how VAT is handled in the construction sector. All those involved – including developers – need to be aware of when it will apply and how it will work.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 3rd September 2019
© Inner Temple Library 2023