This blog post highlights points that an expert’s report should cover in order to help a court understand the issues in dispute. I focus mainly on cases concerning defective or poorly designed works but many of the principles are equally applicable to other types of expert reports in construction cases. Continue reading
We don’t see the section 106 residential occupier exemption appearing in the law reports all that often, possibly because the law surrounding its meaning is fairly well settled, particularly since Coulson J’s 2013 judgment in Westfields Construction Ltd v Lewis.
Therefore, I was rather intrigued by the judgment in Howsons Ltd v Redfearn and another. It dates from the summer but is an interesting read because the judge, HHJ Nigel Bird, appears to have extended the section 106 residential occupier test to cover the question of lawfulness of occupation. Continue reading
Since my colleague Eveline Strecker last blogged about modular construction, it has continued to develop in popularity. The more we see of modular, the more it becomes clear that it is a very different beast to “traditional” construction projects, demanding an evolution in procurement routes and contract content.
The problems with shoehorning a modular project into the “traditional” contract mould were aptly demonstrated by the recent case of Bennett (Construction) Ltd v CIMC MBS Ltd (formerly Verbus Systems Ltd). Fellow blogger, Jonathan Cope, wrote an excellent blog looking at this case in detail. In this blog I want to focus on what this case tells us about the new approach that modular demands. Continue reading
2020 is looking to be a year in which the tax burden of companies operating in the UK construction sector is likely to increase. This is due, first, to the delayed implementation of the VAT reverse charge (now 1 October 2020) and secondly, to major changes in the UK tax treatment of off-payroll workers. In this blog we discuss the implications of the changes to the off-payroll working rules (commonly known as “IR35”) and the steps companies affected by these changes can take. Continue reading
Last week I headed to Dublin to attend the SCL’s annual lunch where Marion Smith QC was speaking. Just by coincidence, on my flight over there, I was reading the latest International Arbitration Survey: Driving Efficiency in International Construction Disputes, produced by the School of International Arbitration at Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL) (where Marion is a visiting senior lecturer) and Pinsent Masons.
After Brexit, it is fair to say that even Dublin will be more “international” than many of us have become accustomed to, but I digress. Back to the construction arbitration survey. Continue reading
