A dispute was referred to me recently that involved an alleged repudiatory breach of contract and an alleged wrongful suspension of work. I had to decide whether these matters, which the contractor argued were central to the dispute (and the parties’ resultant entitlements), were within the scope of what had been referred to adjudication and therefore fell within my jurisdiction. Continue reading
Be wary. It is not easy to escape from an unprofitable contract (or “bad bargain”).
Unprofitable contracts
The construction industry may now be leaving its own long recession behind (or it may not). Whatever your particular experiences of the recession, it may have left you with contracts that are unprofitable (or, at least, less profitable) to perform.
Outside of the sphere of construction and engineering, one of the reasons for the sale of The Independent newspaper for just £1 was that its long-term print contract cost the paper’s owners more than the newspaper was able to generate in returns. Continue reading
The draft amendments to the Scheme for Construction Contracts 1998 were published last week. Although they have been a long time coming, having now read them, I’m not sure it’s been worth the wait. They are, in my view, a “damp squib“. Continue reading
