Can it really be true? Can there really be settled law in the vexed area of the tortious liability of building contractors?
Ever since the House of Lords’ decision in Murphy v Brentwood in 1991 there has been much debate, case law and ink spilt on this question. Cases in the TCC go one way and then the other, and case law in other areas is regularly brought into play by analogy to justify one or other of the opposing views. Continue reading
How a party finances litigation is usually a matter between it and its solicitor. It may simply agree to pay the costs incurred by its solicitor and the legal team, in the usual way, or it may enter into some form of conditional fee agreement (CFA) that affects the level of those fees, depending on the outcome of the litigation. Nowadays, a party may also consider after the event insurance (ATE insurance). Continue reading
There have only been a couple of TCC cases reported since the new year, so I thought I’d use the lull to revisit the subject of meetings in adjudication, and specifically some of the questions that parties might ask about them.
I have referred to the slip rule in adjudication on a number of occasions, most recently following Ramsey J’s judgment in O’Donnell Developments v Build Ability. It is a handy implied term for those occasions when adjudicators make a mistake.
Akenhead J’s judgment in Redwing v Wishart provides yet another example of an adjudicator getting his maths wrong and then fixing the problem using the slip rule. (I looked at the reasons point last week.)
I’m reading a futurology book at the moment. The author says that the way to predict the future is to understand the causes of events by reference to underlying influences.
He says that politicians (and other powerful people) do not control the world as much as we think. Many of the decisions that they make are the inevitable result of these underlying influences.
One example is geography. Maritime nations have always tended to trade internationally and to prosper because of that trade. Demographics is another underlying influence. Population reduction (and an aging population) in developed countries will influence events and social trends in those countries, resulting in politicians and others inevitably and predictably making certain decisions. Continue reading
What are Eurocodes?
The Eurocodes are a flexible, pan-European set of standards for use in structural design. They are divided into ten areas, the first two of which act as the common foundation for the detail that follows: Continue reading
The Bribery Act 2010 is expected to come into force in April 2011. It completely overhauls the UK’s fragmented and antiquated anti-corruption regime, replacing it with a modern and comprehensive one, fit for use in today’s global market. Notwithstanding the current cloud of apprehension, the message is clear: be prepared and be corrupt free.
In construction, the employer is usually more fearful that the contractor will go bust than vice versa, hence the whole panoply of security that usually surrounds a construction contract, such as bonds and parent company guarantees.
However, occasionally the boot is on the other foot, particularly if the employer is in straitened financial circumstances or is perhaps a new company with no trading record. In these circumstances, an escrow account may be used.
Last year I wrote about the Scottish judgment of WH Malcolm Ltd and Lady Smith’s finding that the adjudicator’s views on a particular issue (SMM7) were not part of her decision, they were just part of her reasons.
Just before Christmas, Akenhead J looked at a very similar issue in Redwing v Wishart. Continue reading
Alfred, Lord Tennyson:
“Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true.”
At the start of the new year, PLC Construction has been reflecting on events in 2010 and looking forward to 2011. Continue reading
