The recent case of Urang Commercial Ltd v Century Investments and another, has caused concern that it is difficult to reconcile with the existing authorities, particularly those where the adjudicator has taken too narrow a view of his jurisdiction.
In my view there is no conflict with this line of authority. The case instead shows that, no matter how summarily an adjudicator dismisses a counterclaim, his decision is still a decision. Continue reading
On 11 May 2011, the Court of Appeal turned down the application from our client, Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings Ltd, for permission to appeal against its conviction for corporate manslaughter and its sentence (in the first prosecution under the new corporate manslaughter legislation).
Last Thursday, members of TeCSA and TECBAR came together at their annual joint conference to discuss the subject of “E-disclosure and e-working in the TCC”.
The excellent line-up of speakers included included Mr Justice Akenhead, who delivered an update from the TCC, and Mr Justice Edwards-Stuart, who reported on e-working in the TCC. This post summarises the highlights of Mr Justice Edwards-Stuart’s talk and related questions from the floor. Continue reading
Every few years the RICS carry out a survey of which contract forms are being used. In the previous survey, the RICS describes it as:
“…the single most authoritative survey of construction contracts used in the UK market”. Continue reading
Infrastructure in the New Era is published by Constructing Excellence and Pinsent Masons.
Over the past twelve months, together with Constructing Excellence, we have been examining how the infrastructure sector has made better progress than many other sectors in reforming, improving and modernising its approach to the delivery of major infrastructure assets.
We sought the views and opinions of over 70 chief executives and other senior executives from clients, consultants, contractors and suppliers, including Infrastructure UK (IUK) and the government. Continue reading
We are often asked by clients whether an NHBC warranty and a collateral warranty or third party rights (TPRs) provided by a contractor offer the same protection. They don’t and here is why.
There may have been some dissenters when cost management initially came to the fore during Jackson LJ’s far-reaching civil litigation costs review, but the majority view now seems to be that cost management through the courts is to be welcomed. After all, cost uncertainty and the fear of unmanageable costs represent some of the biggest concerns for clients who are involved in litigation.
Therefore, it came as no surprise when the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) announced that the Birmingham cost management pilot was being extended to all TCC and Mercantile Courts from October 2011. If anything, the surprise was that:
The European Commission considers that differences between national contract laws may entail additional transaction costs and legal uncertainty for businesses in the European internal market that, in turn, could lead to businesses being reluctant to engage in cross-border transactions. Therefore, in July 2010, the Commission published a Green Paper setting out its policy options for progress towards a European Contract Law for consumers and businesses.
In my last post I discussed what you do when you receive an offer which is too good to be true. But what if the contract terms are too good to be true. Can you take advantage?
The Court of Appeal seems to be saying that it all depends on how you behave…
…while ING Bank NV v Ros Roca SA is not a construction case, it is a recent decision by the Court of Appeal which makes some good points about how to interpret a contract and the importance of being honest.
How do you verify the identity of an overseas company, whether it has power to enter into the contract and who is authorised to act on its behalf? Does it matter if you don’t know the difference between a Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung and an Aktiengesellschaft?
Individuals travelling overseas with any frequency are used to having to prove their identity by the presentation of a passport, but there is no equivalent proof of identity available to companies. Continue reading
