All posts by busbyd

REUTERS | Carlos Barria
January 4, 2011

What does 2011 hold for the construction industry?

Two years ago I asked the question, “Will the dawn of the new year bring any changes to the construction industry, or will it be more of the same?”.

Over the last two years we have seen significant changes, with the on-going recession resulting in a number of high-profile insolvencies, the first coalition government since the war and the biggest cuts to public spending in decades. I thought that we would see a continued squeeze on cash flow, and an ever-increasing number of disputes. I wasn’t wrong. With the public spending cuts only just starting to bite, now is just the beginning of even more belt-tightening and, as ever, more fall-out in the construction industry. On the plus side, Crossrail and the 2012 Olympic building programme are proceeding and the Olympics at least, is on time. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Herwig Prammer
December 31, 2010

December 2010 digest: Let it snow!

In the words of “Let It Snow”:

“Oh the weather outside is frightful, But the fire is so delightful,
And since we’ve no place to go, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”

It has been a cold and snow-filled December. “Let it snow” may have been the last thing people were thinking as large parts of the country ground to a halt and people struggled to get to and from home. Meanwhile, those lucky few in Cancun who were discussing climate change not only enjoyed temperatures of nearer 20 Celsius than zero (or below), but they were also able to seal a deal. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Ognen Teofilovski
December 21, 2010

July to December 2010, a half-year case review

Plato (427 BC – 347 BC), Dialogues, Phaedo:

“The partisan, when he is engaged in a dispute, cares nothing about the rights of the question, but is anxious only to convince his hearers of his own assertions.”

In July, we reported on the notable decisions from the first half of 2010. The second half of the year has also seen a number of important decisions affecting construction and engineering practitioners: Continue reading →

REUTERS | Christian Charisius
December 21, 2010

Costs of adjudication after Tolent and Yuanda

Under section 108 of the Construction Act 1996, parties to a construction contract have the right to refer a dispute to adjudication “at any time”. Over the years, much has been written about the meaning of “at any time”, but I think its meaning is relatively clear.

Liability for the costs of an adjudication is another issue that has exercised considerable column inches, particularly in recent times, with the amendments to the Construction Act 1996 on the horizon. Generally, for the adjudicator, this issue is very straightforward.

Just occasionally, these two issues collide. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Ognen Teofilovski
December 20, 2010

A tale of leaks and complex structure theory

A full trial on liability and quantum in a construction dispute is a rare event these days, largely thanks to adjudication, but there has just been such a trial in the TCC. Following some preliminary skirmishes, judgment in Linklaters v McAlpine and others was given on 23 November 2010. Referring to the case as a tale of leaks in Linklaters’ premises makes it sound rather more exciting than it was, but the consequences of water escaping from pipework were no doubt a major problem at the time.

Continue reading →

REUTERS | Bobby Yip
December 17, 2010

E-mail arrangements over Christmas and new year

‘Twas the night before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore:

“Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.”

PLC Construction will send its last e-mail of 2010 next week, to arrive in your inbox on Thursday 23 December 2010. We are then taking a break until the new year.

The first e-mail of 2011 will be sent to arrive in your inbox on Thursday 6 January 2011. This e-mail will include reports of all developments since 23 December 2010.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

REUTERS | Navesh Chitrakar
December 14, 2010

Am I biased?

The SCL recently published a paper by HHJ David Grant, which he had presented earlier this year to a bunch of arbitrator and construction law types in Derby. The paper “Some pitfalls for adjudicators to avoid”, with its self-explanatory title, continued the themes of Coulson J’s talk “The perfect adjudicator’s decision“, which was given in May to a similar bunch of people, and which I wrote about at the time.

Both papers addressed the authors’ views on how, if adjudicators can get simple things right, their decisions are more likely to be enforceable and less susceptible to challenge on grounds of breaches of natural justice. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Jumana ElHeloueh
December 13, 2010

Payment of adjudicator’s fees in an insolvency situation

Some may ask why an insolvent party would start (or continue with) an adjudication, but it is often the case that administrators make a commercial call that there is “something in the adjudication”. For them, it may be worthwhile incurring costs if the insolvent party can recover money due to it that will help to help boost the financial pot. After all, if the insolvent party obtains an adjudicator’s decision in its favour, it is also possible that the responding party will not proceed in defending the claim any further.

Continue reading →

REUTERS | Sukree Sukplang
December 7, 2010

Who pays for an unsuccessful jurisdictional challenge?

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the timing of when adjudicator’s fees start being incurred. John Redmond commented on my piece, but one thing neither of us mentioned is which party should bear the liability for the adjudicator’s fees incurred specifically on an unsuccessful jurisdictional challenge.

We can look at this question in nice, easy stages. Continue reading →

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