Last week, Lindsay Collett of Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP reported on Edwards-Stuart J’s presentation on e-working in the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) to the TeCSA and TECBAR annual joint conference. Akenhead J, the Judge in charge of the TCC, also reported more generally at the conference on TCC news.
On 11 May 2011, the Court of Appeal turned down the application from our client, Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings Ltd, for permission to appeal against its conviction for corporate manslaughter and its sentence (in the first prosecution under the new corporate manslaughter legislation).
HHJ Waksman QC’s judgment in Lanes v Galliford Try looks set to change adjudication practice. It isn’t often we get a TCC judgment that I can say, hand on heart, will potentially impact on some adjudicators’ approach to decision making as much as this one is likely to.
This is the position that Mr Harooni recently found himself in, after his business was destroyed by fire (Farzad Harooni v Rustins Ltd).
Mr Harooni had a warehouse in a large industrial block of warehouses. Mr Harooni’s next door neighbour (Rustins) stored paint and other flammable material in its warehouse. One night a fire began that spread throughout the complex, destroying various warehouses, including Mr Harooni’s warehouse. Unfortunately Mr Harooni did not have valid insurance in place. He sued Rustins, the owner of the paint warehouse. Continue reading
Last Thursday, members of TeCSA and TECBAR came together at their annual joint conference to discuss the subject of “E-disclosure and e-working in the TCC”.
The excellent line-up of speakers included included Mr Justice Akenhead, who delivered an update from the TCC, and Mr Justice Edwards-Stuart, who reported on e-working in the TCC. This post summarises the highlights of Mr Justice Edwards-Stuart’s talk and related questions from the floor. Continue reading
The Adjudication Society, in conjunction with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, has recently published guidance for adjudicators, Jurisdiction of the UK Construction Adjudicator.
I welcome the guidance note. It is an interesting and helpful document, which highlights that ensuring “an adjudicator has the jurisdiction to decide the dispute referred to him is of utmost importance to the adjudication process”. Given the number of reported decisions on jurisdiction over the years, I doubt many would disagree with this opening sentiment. While the intended purpose of the note is “…to provide practical guidance to adjudicators…”, it will undoubtedly also be of assistance to party representatives, both before, during and after adjudications. Continue reading
In March 2011, Edwards-Stuart J gave a talk to the Scottish Building Contract Committee and the Society of Construction Law (SCL) in Edinburgh. The SCL has now published his paper for the benefit of all those unable to attend that meeting. The paper, When the adjudicator gets it horribly wrong, refers to the fact that adjudicators make mistakes and that sometimes, those mistakes are fundamental mistakes. It goes on to suggest possible solutions and makes interesting reading. Continue reading
Every few years the RICS carry out a survey of which contract forms are being used. In the previous survey, the RICS describes it as:
“…the single most authoritative survey of construction contracts used in the UK market”. Continue reading
Solon (630-555 BC), Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Emminent Philosphers:
“Laws are like spiders’ webs: if some poor creature comes up against them, it is caught; but a bigger one can break through and get away.”
The first half of 2011 has seen a number of important decisions affecting construction and engineering practitioners. Continue reading
