All posts by busbyd

REUTERS | Amit Dave
November 17, 2009

Ask the Team: Does a contract administrator owe a duty of care to a contractor?

PLC Construction recently received an enquiry asking whether a contract administrator owes a contractor a common law duty of care.

This question is particularly relevant in the current economic crisis. More and more contractors are faced with an insolvent employer and are asking whether they can recover their losses from third parties, such as a contract administrator. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Luke MacGregor
November 10, 2009

It’s go, go, go as the LDEDC Bill gets the green light

Or is it??

In reality, it may be more of a crawl, since the draft Scheme hasn’t even been published yet and the Government is talking about an 18 month consultation period on that. In that time, at the very least, we will have a change of government and, most likely, a different party at the helm. But without changes to the secondary legislation, there can be no ‘out with the old and in with the new’. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Damir Sagolj
November 10, 2009

Why can’t we stay together?

It is usually the case that when one party serves a notice of breach, with a view to terminating the contract (if the breach is not remedied), the other party does not believe that it is in breach. As a result, it will argue that the notice is invalid and the contract cannot be terminated. Certainly, any sudden or unexpected termination of a major contract can leave the other party up the proverbial gum tree.

Continue reading →

REUTERS | Herwig Prammer
November 9, 2009

We are one!

“Through the Looking Glass”, by Lewis Carroll:

“‘I mean, what is an un-birthday present?’

‘A present given when it isn’t your birthday, of course.’

Alice considered a little. ‘I like birthday presents best,’ she said at last.”

PLC Construction is celebrating its first birthday, and what a year it has been. For construction practitioners, the past 12 months have been the most challenging in recent memory, with surprises coming, like un-birthday presents, almost daily. PLC Construction has covered the key developments, with an eye on the practical implications for the industry. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Yuriko Nakao
November 4, 2009

Ambiguity in the adjudicator’s decision

Earlier this year, I wrote about why the adjudicator should avoid idiosyncratic language in his decision. Just last week, the adjudicator’s choice of language was before the TCC again in ROK Building v Celtic Composting. This time, the court was being asked to decide whether the adjudicator was being:

  • directive, that is, requiring the responding party to pay an amount straightaway (or within a reasonable time); or
  • declaratory, that is, simply stating the amount and the extension of time that the referring party was entitled to, and which should be taken into account in future certificates. Continue reading →
REUTERS | Ognen Teofilovski
October 30, 2009

October 2009 digest: ’tis the month of Halloween

“The Witches’ Spell” from Macbeth, by William Shakespeare:

FIRST WITCH:

Round about the cauldron go; In the poison’d entrails throw:

Toad that under cold stone, Days and nights has thirty-one.

Sweltered venom, sleeping got, Boil thou first i’ the charmèd pot.

ALL:

Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

October has been a busy month for PLC Construction, with notes published on global claims, the ICE suite of contracts and the NEC3 Professional Services Contract. We also published a schedule of amendments for the JCT Design and Build Contract, 2005 edition, Revision 2 2009. Continue reading →

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