Posts by James Levy

  • Delay: you cannot be serious!

    Delays frequently occur in construction projects. Therefore, many construction contracts make delay, or rather a failure to proceed regularly and diligently, a default event giving rise to the right to terminate. However, what happens when there is no express right and the project falls into serious delay? Does the injured party have a right at … Continue reading Delay: you cannot be serious!

  • Penalties: the debate continues

    For almost 60 years (most recently in Cadogan Petroleum Holdings Ltd v Global Process Systems), courts have been asked to consider what happens to money already paid by way of instalments in relation to a contract if the contract is rescinded and the seller retains the property that is the subject matter of the contract. In … Continue reading Penalties: the debate continues

  • Do liquidated damages survive termination?

    In Selby Hall and Philip Shivers v Jan Van Der Heiden, Coulson J rejected the suggestion that the defendant contractor’s liability to pay liquidated damages came to an end when its employment under the building contract was terminated as a result of its breach.

  • Excuses, excuses… sometimes they really do work

    The statutory right to suspend performance of all contractual obligations for non-payment was granted to contractors when the Construction Act 1996 was brought into force, more than 10 years ago.

  • 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, … Continue reading Why can’t we stay together?

  • Duty to warn

    “Timber!” However loud or often I say it, will anyone really listen to the warning? Site can be a dangerous place. Much of what goes on in or around a construction site is, or at least has the potential to be, dangerous. There is a lot of heavy, powerful equipment being moved around, used and … Continue reading Duty to warn