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Construction News
An issue which has sometimes vexed adjudicators is whether they have jurisdiction to award interest. This is because the Construction Act makes no mention of interest. The power to award interest will arise where: there is an express term in the...
Can a term be implied into a contract which requires the contractor to proceed with its works “regularly and diligently”? This is the question the Court had to deal with in Leander Construction Ltd v Mulalley & Company Ltd . Mulalley...
Readers may recall the case of Linnett v Halliwells where Mr Linnett the adjudicator claimed his fees from Halliwells even though Halliwells objected to the adjudicator’s jurisdiction and did not take part in the adjudication. Mr Linnett’s...
We have all heard of the usual adjudicator nominating bodies such as RICS, RIBA, TeCSA and so forth. But what if one party to the construction contract named itself as the adjudicator nominating body? This is what happened in Sprunt v London Borough of...
Readers may recall the case of Linnett v Halliwells where Mr Linnett the adjudicator claimed his fees from Halliwells even though Halliwells objected to the adjudicator’s jurisdiction and did not take part in the adjudication. Mr Linnett’s...
I recently read an interesting article on “fitness for purpose” in the context of construction contracts and it got me thinking about whether the revile held for these words was actually justified. I have been involved in negotiations where...
In the current economic climate, the risk of contractor insolvency remains an issue for employer clients. For this reason, many employer clients will insist on contractors taking out Performance Guarantee. Such guarantee typically provide that in the event...
From 6 October 2011 new incremental penalties will be imposed by HMRC for late CIS Returns. They range from £100 to £300 (or 5% of the deductions shown on the return whichever is the greater). Higher penalties of up to £3,000 may be...
The Court of Appeal Judgment in McIlroy and others v Quinn Insurance provides some assistance for parties seeking to pursue under insurance policies where the original insured is insolvent. Here, a contractor was undertaking refurbishment works on a...
In the last edition of our monthly newsletter we reported on the case of Jerram Falkus Construction v Fenice Investments which concerned the recoverability of an adjudicator’s fees. The Judgment in Fenice Investments v Jerram Falkus Construction ...
The Construction Act amendments which primarily affect payment provisions and adjudication in construction contracts come into force on 1 October 2011 . Are you ready? Click here for our briefing note providing a summary of what you need to know. ...
A TCC Working Party is currently reviewing the Pre-Action Protocol for Construction & Engineering Disputes , and in particular the role the Protocol should play in the future including the level of compliance required prior to the parties being able to...
On 19 August 2011 the Treasury Select Committee concluded that PFI does not provide good value for money to taxpayers. The industry is considering alternative funding models including the setting up of “not for distributable profit”...
It is well established that adjudicators generally have jurisdiction to recover their fees and decide who should pay them. Paragraph 25 of the Scheme, for example, entitles the adjudicator to fees “reasonably incurred by him”. But what if the...
The decision in Harrison v Shepherd Homes Limited whilst not controversial, provides helpful guidance on issues relating to the interpretation of building contracts, the incorporation of implied terms, the Defective Premises Act, unfair contract terms, the...
Previous articles have considered the danger of “Letters of Intent” or where correspondence has unintentionally resulted in a legally binding contract. The decision in Immingham Storage v Clear provides a similar warning in respect of...
So, how do you get rid of an adjudicator you don’t like? The case of Galliford Try Infrastructure v Lanes may provide an answer, albeit a tentative one. The contract between GTI and Lanes incorporated the ICE Adjudication Procedure, which provided...
Contract claims must be commenced within 6 years of any breach, whereas claims in tort (i.e. where a breach of duty of care is alleged) must be commenced within 6 years of the date of the damage. There is, though, an extension for latent defect claims,...
Buckles Solicitors LLP is delighted to announce that as of 1 April 2011 James Coppinger was promoted to the partnership. James has headed up the Construction & Engineering Team since joining the firm in February 2008 and this promotion recognises the...
Readers may recall that in the March 2010 edition we considered the cases of Stanton v Callaghan and Jones v Kaney and whether expert witnesses could be sued by the parties appointing them. The Supreme Court has now handed down its judgment in the Jones v...
A word of warning in relation to Performance Bonds which arises out of development project we have recently been advising on. As a condition of providing a Performance Bond in favour of an Employer, some Sureties require the Contractor to enter into a Deed...
Professional Fees: The Architect, the Debt Collectors, and the Maserati Every now and then a case comes along in which the facts are so incredible you couldn’t make it up! Michael Phillips Architects Ltd v Riklin is one such case. MPA was...
Entire Agreement clauses appear in many contracts. Their main purpose is to prevent parties arguing that that pre-contractual statements amount to additional terms of the contract, or to prevent any other terms being implied into the contract, e.g. through...
The Without Prejudice rule is important in contentious matters. Parties to a dispute are encouraged to settle without recourse to litigation. They should therefore not be discouraged from entering into settlement negotiations if there is any possibility that...
The facts of Rooney v CSE Bournemouth Ltd are straightforward: •Rooney owned an aircraft; •CSE carried out work on the aircraft; •Rooney claimed that CSE’s work was carried our negligently; •CSE said its T&Cs limited its...
In Traditional Structures v HW Construction HW asked TS to quote for structural steelwork and roof cladding for a development it was bidding for. TS sent a fax and at the bottom of the page provided a price for each, with a total value of about...
In Aldgate v Unibar the Court considered a loss of profits claim following a fire which scuppered a future development. Aldgate was a family run developer which pursued, for reasons of economies of scale and efficiency savings, a business model under...
Tolent clauses (following the decision in Bridgeway Construction v Tolent Construction) are the ones which require one party to pay both parties costs of an adjudication regardless of the outcome. They will be outlawed once the amended Construction Act comes...
The case of Gold v BDW Trading (formerly Barratt Homes) concerns a Development Agreement entered into in August 2007 for the development of houses and flats under which Gold (the land owner) and Barratt (the developer) would share the revenue, subject...
The case of William Hare Ltd v Shepherd Construction (Court of Appeal) discusses the effectiveness of “pay when paid” clauses. S.113 of the Construction Act prohibits “pay when paid” clauses except where a third party employer is...
In Mentmore v Packman Mentmore engaged Packman as project engineers. In December 2007 the works were suspended due to planning issues. In April 2009 Packman commenced adjudication proceedings in respect of unpaid fees up to the date of suspension. As...
In the first decision, Eribo v Odinaiya , Mr Odinaiya agreed, in June 2005, to substantially refurbish Dr Eribo’s London property including decoration, upgrading fixtures, fittings and services, and installing the “PlayNest” system...
In Shaw v MFP Foundations the Court had to consider whether the issuing of a Statutory Demand was an appropriate way to enforce an Adjudicator’s Decision. MFP adjudicated against Mr & Mrs Shaw, and obtained a Court Judgment in respect of the...
The facts of Enterprise v McFadden Utilities are a little convoluted, so bear with us. Enterprise had a contract with Thames Water. Enterprise sub-contracted some of the works to Tony McFadden Limited. When the contract between Thames Water and Enterprise...
A legally binding contract requires offer and acceptance. However, it is not unusual for commercial transactions to be negotiated by a series of documents (e.g. request for quotation, quotation, purchase order, acknowledgment of purchase order etc.) each...
