It was only to be expected. Hard on the heels of FAC-1 (the framework alliance contract published by the Association of Consultant Architects, the group responsible for PPC2000) comes a guidance note from the NEC brigade, issued in liaison with the Infrastructure Client Group. It patiently explains that NEC3 offers an “ideal” (translation: “better than FAC-1”) contract model for creating an alliance. But does this claim stand up in practice? And how well does NEC3 address the very specific challenges posed by an alliance model? Continue reading

A brave new world? Implementing “alliancing” using NEC3

My 2017 wish list
No doubt we’ve all now had enough of reading about the annus horribilis of 2016, so I’m not going to dwell on that. Rather I want to set out my 2017 construction law wish list. Continue reading

Welcome to 2017
Arnold Bennett:
“The chief beauty about time is that you cannot waste it in advance. The next year, the next day, the next hour are lying ready for you, as perfect, as unspoiled, as if you had never wasted or misapplied a single moment in all your life. You can turn over a new leaf every hour
if you choose.”
As one year ends, so another year begins. Practical Law has been reflecting on events in 2016 and looking forward to 2017. Continue reading

December 2016 digest: e-filing and Canary Wharf
Shakespeare, Sonnets:
“How like a winter hath my absence been from thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year! What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen! What old December’s bareness every where!”
December is often a quiet month in current awareness terms, and this month was no exception. The government’s appeal to the Supreme Court on Article 50 dominated the news while it was being heard, although we will not know the outcome until early next year. There was still plenty of other Brexit news, including a call for evidence on what transitional arrangements ought to apply. Continue reading

October to December 2016 case review for construction practitioners
Oscar Wilde, The Ballad of Reading Gaol:
“I know not whether Laws be right, or whether Laws be wrong; All that we know who lie in gaol is that the wall is strong;”
We have seen a number of interesting decisions affecting construction and engineering practitioners during the fourth quarter of 2016. Continue reading

Christmas quiz 2016
Our festive quiz is back again, so take some time off from that ambush adjudication and have some fun. Continue reading

As we are all in the process of opening our annual referral notice Christmas presents, I thought you might welcome a brief distraction by considering whether anyone will be able to enforce the pending decision in the New Year. Perhaps surprisingly, 2016 has seen some developments on this front that practitioners need to bear in mind. Continue reading

Who are the parties to a contract?
Reading the judgment in Dacy Building Services Ltd v IDM Properties LLP, it reminded me of just how tough it can be being an adjudicator, albeit you may not know this when you accept an appointment. At that stage, you have only seen the notice of adjudication, so you only have one party’s take on the dispute you are being asked to decide. Things are seldom clear cut and will often change, as the adjudicator discovered in this case. Continue reading

You can recover (some of) a claims consultant’s costs (some of the time)
Parties often choose to be represented by claims consultants during the adjudication process. If the unsuccessful party in the adjudication does not pay up, it is often the case that a consultant’s involvement will continue beyond the adjudication proceedings.
The question of whether the costs of such involvement may be recovered in court proceedings was recently considered by Jefford J in Octoesse LLP v Trak Special Projects Ltd. Continue reading

FIDIC Rainbow Suite: what do the new editions hold in store?
There was a full house at the FIDIC International Contract Users’ Conference 2016 which took place in London on 6 and 7 December 2016.
The FIDIC conferences always attract a large international audience. However, this year there was an additional draw; a special pre-release version of the second edition of the FIDIC Yellow Book was unveiled. Continue reading