So what’s ahead for the construction industry in 2009?
As I see it there will probably be three main stories. In no particular order, these are:
REUTERS | Navesh Chitrakar
December 18, 2008
Construction in 2009: Time to stop talking about the credit crunch
REUTERS | Fabrizio Bensch
December 17, 2008
Reasonable skill and care vs fitness for purpose
This particular old chestnut may not be roasting on an open fire with Jack Frost nipping on its nose (as the song goes), but it has been going for years. It’s the perennial debate about the conflict between reasonable skill and care and fitness for purpose. However, there is an interesting twist to the debate which is of concern when drafting contracts.
REUTERS | Ronen Zvulun
December 12, 2008
Selling a construction company
Construction companies are complex businesses. Typically, a construction company will have entered into numerous contractual arrangements with a range of clients, sub-contractors and suppliers, as well as ancillary undertakings such as bonds, guarantees and collateral warranties. There will be a mix of ongoing and completed contracts, with potential liabilities extending for up to 12 years after completion.
REUTERS | Lisi Niesner
November 26, 2008
Letters of intent: often used and often problematic
In the construction industry, more than any other industry, there is a tendency for works to be carried out on the basis of unsigned contracts and letters of intent. While there are often legitimate commercial pressures to start work before all the contractual terms have been agreed, two recent cases have highlighted the risks in not getting this right:
REUTERS | Mike Blake
November 25, 2008
Pedantry or precision?
There is an old joke: how many lawyers does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: what do you mean by “change”? We are often accused of pedantry but it is actually important to know what a contract means.
REUTERS | John Kolesidis
November 20, 2008
Dangers of direct payments
You have let a construction contract. All seems to be going well, albeit progress is a bit slow. A couple of subcontractors then come to see you: they say that the main contractor has not paid them for a while and they are thinking of suspending or leaving the site.
REUTERS | John Kolesidis
November 11, 2008
“Adj-Med”: a new and improved form of ADR?
What is “Adj-Med”?
In their blog posted on 29 October, PLC Construction referred to the new adjudication rules launched by CEDR Solve. These provide that, once the adjudicator reaches a decision, he may invite the parties to take part in a mediation. He does not reveal his decision to the parties, unless the mediation is unsuccessful at resolving the dispute.
Below, we look at reasons someone might consider using “Adj-Med”, and some reasons why you might be better off avoiding it, for now at least. Continue reading
REUTERS | Ronen Zvulun
November 6, 2008
Time to test the late payments regime?
According to Building, the Specialist Engineering Contractors Group says that there has been a sharp rise in contractors reporting that public and private sector clients have been pushing back payments.
REUTERS | Toby Melville
October 30, 2008
Where is your retention money held?
Although we are being told that the financial meltdown has been averted and that we are “only” facing a plain old-fashioned recession now I can’t help wondering whether there will be any aftershocks in the financial world.
REUTERS | Jose Miguel Gomez
October 29, 2008
Are you too tired to get “contractural”?
A less than serious post to kick off this blog:
A Google engineer has developed a way to avoid random emailing late at night when you’re most likely to be “tired”. Jon Perlow’s new Mail Goggles application, built into Google’s GMail service, forces the user to answer basic maths questions in 60 seconds before a message can be sent on its way.
Should this be applied to correspondence between warring parties when construction projects get into dispute? Continue reading
