Levitt v Euro Building & Maintenance Contractors Limited (1) Dual Oliva Limited (2) [2019] EWHC 2926 (QB) – 12 King’s Bench Walk

‘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.’

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12 King's Bench Walk, 20th November 2019

Source: www.12kbw.co.uk

Council submits £130m claims in High Court bid to recover costs under housing estate maintenance PFI – Local Government Lawyer

‘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.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 29th November 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Contract administration and notice provisions: mere procedure or condition precedent – Practical Law: Construction Blog

‘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.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 26th November 2019

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Arbitration is “way forward” for construction disputes – Litigation Futures

Posted November 28th, 2019 in arbitration, construction industry, news by sally

‘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.’

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Litigation Futures, 28th November 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

“All for one and one for all” when it comes to severing an adjudicator’s decision – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted November 20th, 2019 in construction industry, contracts, dispute resolution, enforcement, news, Scotland by sally

‘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.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 19th November 2019

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Sharing the pain: considerations for joint venture participants – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted November 14th, 2019 in construction industry, contracts, joint ventures, news by tracey

‘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.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 13th November 2019

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Adjudication of construction professional negligence claims – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted October 31st, 2019 in barristers, construction industry, dispute resolution, negligence, news by sally

‘Ebony Alleyne and Sarah McCann explore the pros and cons of using statutory adjudication as a means of resolving such disputes and then consider the role and potential impact of the new Professional Negligence Bar Association’s adjudication scheme.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 29th October 2019

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Grenfell Tower inquiry: the chair’s findings so far – The Guardian

‘Firefighters’ ‘stay put’ tactics and apparent lack of preparation and construction materials criticised.’

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The Guardian, 30th October 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Considering crystallisation: what dispute should (or can) you refer to adjudication? – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted October 22nd, 2019 in construction industry, contracts, dispute resolution, jurisdiction, news by tracey

‘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.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 21st October 2019

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

UK court considers validity of payment notices under ‘hybrid’ contracts – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 14th, 2019 in construction industry, contracts, estoppel, news by tracey

‘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.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 10th October 2019

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Court of Appeal’s useful guidance on implying isolated payment provisions from the Scheme – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted September 11th, 2019 in appeals, construction industry, contracts, news by tracey

‘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).’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 10th September 2019

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

VAT reverse charge – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted September 5th, 2019 in construction industry, HM Revenue & Customs, news, VAT by tracey

‘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.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 3rd September 2019

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Linking it all together: Russell v PSP [2019] – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted August 29th, 2019 in causation, construction industry, negligence, news, tenders by sally

‘Every professional negligence lawyer knows that establishing the necessary causative link between a professional’s breach of duty and the loss suffered by the client can be the most difficult aspect of any claim. That can prove even more problematic in construction professional negligence cases, in particular those involving costs “overrun”, both because of the broader range of alternative hypotheticals and the number of other professionals involved with the project.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 6th August 2019

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Homeowners beware – adjudication can catch you out – Practical Law: Construction Blog

‘For the litigators among you, it is also summer recess in the courts, which means there is often very little new to write about. Therefore, I was quite pleased to see Waksman J’s judgment in ICCT Ltd v Sylvein Pinto, which dates from earlier in the year but only recently became available. If you are unfamiliar with this judgment, it is certainly a case of “homeowners beware”.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 14th August 2019

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

When is a plant not a power plant? – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted August 1st, 2019 in construction industry, energy, news, statutory interpretation, waste by tracey

‘When it is a plant thermally treating waste. Or is it still a power plant? This was the question that Mr Jonathan Acton Davis QC had to grapple with in Engie Fabricom UK Ltd v MW High Tech Projects UK Ltd. As is often the case when it comes to the exclusions under section 105(2) of the Construction Act 1996, the answer was as clear as mud!’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 30th July 2019

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Willow Corp S.À.R.L. v MTD Contractors Ltd [2019] EWHC 1591 – Hardwicke Chambers

‘Willow engaged MTD to design and build a hotel in Shoreditch. As a result of delays in the project, the two parties agreed a revised practical completion date of 28 July 2017 (‘June Agreement’).’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 28th June 2019

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

A missed opportunity – Haberdashers and subrogation – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted June 11th, 2019 in construction industry, contracts, insurance, news by tracey

‘Earlier this year I found myself waiting for the Court of Appeal to bring the next instalment in a series of interesting decisions regarding subrogation claims in insurance disputes (not a contradiction in terms, I promise!), which I and my colleague John have been taking it in turns to blog about (see Joint insurance and rights of subrogation revisited and Co-insurance and subrogation rights revisited (again!)). Unfortunately (though perhaps not for those involved) the case in question (Haberdashers‘ Aske’s Federation Trust Ltd v Lakehouse Contracts Ltd and others) settled. But it feels as though there’s been a missed opportunity to answer a question that was left entirely open in Gard Marine and Energy Ltd v China National Chartering Company Ltd: where there is a co-insurance policy in place and a sub-contractor causes loss, if the co-insurance policy (for whatever reason) does not cover the sub-contractor, can the insurer bring a subrogated claim against the sub-contractor or, does it first have to prove the sub-contractor is liable for the loss?’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 11th June 2019

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

What does “expert in the field of X” mean? – Practical Law: Construction Blog

‘Picture this scenario. The parties’ contract provides that when there is a dispute, an adjudicator is to be appointed from a panel of three, which the parties have already agreed on. In the alternative, if the parties cannot agree the identity of the three panel adjudicators, they will be nominated by the President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) as the adjudicator nominating body (ANB). In the event, the parties fail to agree on who the three should be, and then one of them is unhappy with who the CIArb selects. This scenario played out before Jefford J earlier this year. It was, in effect, a dispute about a dispute, but led to some interesting comments from the judge about adjudicator nomination.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 4th June 2019

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Further clarification on the impact of a CVA on adjudication enforcement – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted May 23rd, 2019 in appeals, construction industry, contracts, damages, enforcement, insolvency, news by tracey

‘In January, in the second of the two conjoined appeals of Bresco Electrical Services Ltd v Michael J Lonsdale (Electrical) Ltd, Cannon Corporate Ltd v Primus Build Ltd, the Court of Appeal upheld the first instance decision to enforce an adjudicator’s decision where the enforcing party was in a company voluntary arrangement (CVA). In contrast, last week in Indigo Projects London Ltd v Razin and another, the court refused to enforce an adjudicator’s decision where the enforcing party was in a CVA. The reasoning was that enforcement of the decision would interfere with the accounting exercise to be carried out under the CVA. The court provided useful guidance on when this argument is likely to succeed.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 22nd May 2019

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Build UK’s recommendation on contract terms: a step in the right direction – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted May 20th, 2019 in codes of practice, construction industry, contracts, news, standards by tracey

‘Build UK, a leading representative organisation for the construction industry, has published a non-binding recommendation on which contract terms its members should (as a minimum) refrain from using. The recommendation “seeks to form a new common ground between clients and the supply chain on contractual practice in the construction sector” with the key objectives being “to promote collaboration, encourage a fairer allocation of risk through the supply chain, and deliver better project outcomes”. In this blog I look at each of Build UK’s recommendations and consider whether they represent a departure from current market practice, or a consolidation of the examples of best practice that we are already seeing clients and contractors adopting in the current market.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 15th May 2019

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com