As anyone who has holidayed in the UK this summer will know, we have not had the barbecue summer that the Met Office promised. July was provisionally the wettest month on record in England and Wales and it feels like August has followed suit. If only a Spanish proverb was true:
“When it rains in August, it rains honey and wine.” Continue reading
A number of recent cases have looked, in part, at adjudicators’ decisions over liability for their fees and the parties’ costs. Continue reading
We understand that the Ministry of Justice is carrying out an informal pre-consultation with members of the construction industry over the Law Commission’s proposals to reform the Limitation Act 1980. It has asked for responses by 20 September 2009. Continue reading
The question
What do you do if a professional consultant (such as an architect) changes its status, for example, if it converts from a partnership to a limited liability partnership (LLP), after its formal appointment, but before it is asked to provide collateral warranties? Who do you ask to provide the warranty, the old entity or the new entity? If the new entity, what safeguards do you insist upon? Continue reading
The principle that, even if the adjudicator makes an error of law or fact, the decision will be enforced, is well established. Equally, parties are familiar with the slip rule that allows the adjudicator to correct mistakes after the decision has been sent out. But what happens when the adjudicator’s choice of language makes the decision vague or ambiguous? Continue reading
Who would be a drafter of contracts? Not me.
I only have to read cases like Shell Egypt West Manzala GmbH and Another v Dana Gas Egypt Limited [2009] EWHC 2097 (Comm) to persuade myself that drafting is not for me.
There is no doubt that construction adjudication has become much more technical since its introduction in 1998. Those experienced in adjudication will be familiar with the nuances of pre-adjudication tactics, jurisdictional challenges, the best ways of getting time extensions and so on. Once an adjudication starts it goes at such speed that decisions regarding procedure, challenges, submissions and the like have to be made quickly. Enormous submissions are sometimes prepared in a timescale that would be unimaginable in arbitration or litigation.
Last week, I looked at how a retention of title (RoT) clause can catch a contractor out, even if it complies with its building contract. This week, I want to look at this issue from the point of view of the supplier.
I Googled “RoT” and it is (we are assured) used as a reference to “Right on Time”, in which the Red Hot Chili Peppers told us that “it’s time to get on top of this“, so here we go… Continue reading
Earlier this summer, we reported on the pilot of Jackson LJ’s “cost management” concept in Birmingham’s Technology and Construction Court (TCC) and Mercantile Court. The pilot is part of the major review of the civil litigation costs system being undertaken by Jackson LJ. Continue reading
