I’ve blogged before about the advantages that adjudication and arbitration can sometimes offer over the court system. For example, last year I considered this topic after West Country Renovations v Mr and Mrs McDowell, where Akenhead J decided that claims for less than £250,000 should be commenced in county courts or other High Court centres outside London that have designated TCC judges.

I’ve recently completed an adjudication where the parties decided to use it as a means of finally deciding their dispute. Continue reading →

A couple of years ago I wrote about reasons in an adjudicator’s decision (it wasn’t the first time or the last time the topic has come up). At the time I referred to Ian Dury’s song, Reasons to be Cheerful (part 3). That song came to mind again recently, this time in the context of the judgment in Compton Beauchamp Estates Ltd v Spence.

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It was Alice Cooper that sang:

“‘Cause you are damned if you do
Damned if you don’t
Damned if you will
Damned if you won’t”

If you are wondering what an earth I’m talking about, take a look at Ramsey J’s judgment in Farrelly v Byrne Brothers. Continue reading →

Over the past 10 to 15 years, more and more construction contracts have included good faith clauses, and yet there are relatively few cases on this subject. However, over the past year we’ve had the first instance judgments in Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust v Compass Group UK and Yam Seng PTE v International Trade Corporation (albeit this concerned an implied duty of good faith), and the Court of Appeal’s view of the former case. Now we also have Akenhead J’s judgment in TSG Building Services v South Anglia Housing.

Unlike the other cases, TSG v South Anglia is particularly relevant to the field of construction law because it concerns a good faith clause in a standard form of construction contract, namely the ACA Standard Form of Contract for Term Partnering (TPC2005). Although there were some bespoke amendments to the relevant clauses, I don’t think that anything turns on this. Continue reading →

In Willmott Dixon Housing Ltd v Newlon Housing Trust, an issue arose over the service of the referral notices on the adjudicator and the responding party (Newlon) in two adjudications that had been referred on the same day, to the same adjudicator, Mr John Riches. It transpired that Newlon did not receive the referral notices until after it had served its responses. Consequently, the adjudicator was asked to confirm when he received them.

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Offshore wind farms tend to split the public like Marmite: most people seem to be either vocal supporters or vehement opposers. Unlike Donald Trump, who clearly falls into the latter category, I’m in the former camp. I think that they are essential to meet our future energy needs. However, one thing that I’ve always wondered is, how do contractors actually go about building them? The case of MT Højgaard v E.On sheds some light on how the foundations are constructed, and it’s clearly not an easy task.

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