Monthly Archives: September 2012

REUTERS | Ilya Naymushin
September 28, 2012

September 2012 digest: sun sets on sporting achievements

Elbert Hubbard:

“Know what you want to do, hold the thought firmly, and do every day what should be done, and every sunset will see you that much nearer the goal.”

The sun has finally set on an amazing summer of sport, with the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games held earlier this month. Again, British sportsmen and women exceeded all expectations, finishing third with 34 golds and a total of 120 medals.

On the legal front, September may have seemed a quiet month to some, as if everyone had stopped to watch the Games (or gone on vacation, along with the courts). However: Continue reading →

REUTERS | Jose Miguel Gomez
September 26, 2012

Liability caps: When the cap doesn’t fit

This blog post looks at liability caps in professional appointments following Ampleforth Abbey Trust v Turner & Townsend Project Management Ltd (last week we considered letters of intent in light of the same case). In Ampleforth, the project manager’s appointment contained a provision that limited its liability under the appointment. HHJ Keyser QC had to decide whether this provision was enforceable. He had little difficulty in deciding that it wasn’t.

I think most people (including professional consultants) will agree with his decision on the facts, but is the judge’s reasoning as robust as it looks, and is the decision of wider application? Perhaps not, on either count. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Tobias Schwarz
September 26, 2012

Ask the team: what is a snagging list and how should it be used?

We recently received a number of queries about parties’ rights and obligations relating to a snagging list. While all the queries related to JCT forms of contract, in practice the term “snagging list” is used in a variety of situations and can mean different things to different people. For example, a straw poll of PLC editors revealed three possible interpretations. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Christian Charisius
September 25, 2012

A guiding hand in adjudications…

RICS has recently published the third edition of its guidance note, Surveyors acting as adjudicators in the construction industry. As is usual with RICS guidance concerning dispute resolution, I should declare an interest. I am chairman of the RICS Dispute Resolution Professional Group (DRPG) and the DRPG is responsible for standards concerning dispute resolution, including this guidance note. Apologies if I therefore appear biased!

Continue reading →

REUTERS | Carlos Barria
September 18, 2012

Adjudicator’s reasons were not open to challenge

In Pihl UK Ltd v Ramboll UK Ltd, the adequacy of the adjudicator’s reasons was among the issues that Lord Malcolm had to consider. It isn’t an issue that comes before the court very often and, as with previous judgments both north and south of the border, Lord Malcolm held that the adjudicator had given adequate reasons, there was no “obvious unfairness in the decision-making process”, and he had not breached the rules of natural justice. His decision was enforced.

Continue reading →

REUTERS | Fabrizio Bensch
September 17, 2012

How to start a project

There is nothing more exciting for a lawyer than the first meeting on a new project.  Cynics would say that it’s all “downhill” from that point on, or “uphill” if you prefer the (more topical) cycling metaphor. But let’s stick with the positive. The enjoyment is twofold:

  • The pleasure of winning or being entrusted with a new piece of work.
  • A chance to start with a (relatively) blank piece of paper and come up with your most impressive, brilliant and (of course) wholly practical ideas.

But before we let the imagination run wild, there are a few slightly mundane things to deal with at the beginning of a project.

Continue reading →

REUTERS | Sukree Sukplang
September 11, 2012

£84,540 for a chocolate mousse – that’s a bit rich…

I’ll let you into a secret. While I’ve no doubt that partnering contracts can forge effective working relationships, it doesn’t follow that disputes won’t arise. I know I won’t be popular with certain sectors of the construction industry for saying so, but it’s true. Indeed, earlier this year, I was the adjudicator in a dispute under one of the popular standard forms of partnering contract.

Continue reading →

REUTERS | David Mdzinarishvili
September 11, 2012

FIDIC: the adoption of Silver Book principles in CEE countries

An Employer may be torn between using the FIDIC Yellow Book and FIDIC Silver Book. The Yellow Book, a design-build contract, may give greater flexibility and a lower tender price. The Silver Book, an EPC or turnkey contract, should provide greater cost certainty and risk transfer. That tension may lead to an Employer trying to get the best of both worlds, by shifting Silver Book principles into what is ostensibly a Yellow Book contract.

One recent example of this trend is forms of highways contracts let in Romania and other CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) States. This post considers some of the ways an Employer may try to include Silver Book principles in a Yellow Book contract.

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