Practical Law

Some breaches of contract do not become apparent until many years have passed. This is especially true where the result is a defect. Recently, our colleague Charlotte Mears blogged on limitation periods under contract. But what happens after the limitation period under a contract has expired? This blog explores the extent to which an answer … Continue reading Limitation period for a tortious claim: when does it end? →

Cash-flow management remains one of the main problem areas in construction and engineering projects. Issues in getting paid, serious enough on their own, are often an early warning sign for a project heading into wider difficulties. There can of course be a number of culprits for cash-flow difficulties. A few weeks’ ago, my colleague, Yousef … Continue reading Payment down the chain →

“Documents create a paper reality we call proof.” (Mason Cooley, American writer, 1925 – 2002) Construction and engineering projects, and the disputes that sometimes arise from them, throw up a great deal of paperwork and data. While that is probably true of the majority of joint enterprises that continue over a substantial period, it is … Continue reading Document production on construction projects: A reality called proof →

Construction and engineering contracts often contain provisions specifying that, within a particular time, one party (traditionally the contractor) must notify the other (the employer and/or the contract administrator) of a claim or the likelihood that it might advance a claim. Sometimes these “time-bar” notice provisions are elevated beyond being merely an obligation, to the status … Continue reading Time bars under FIDIC 2017 – are more notices the answer? →

Some of the world’s most iconic buildings were conceived as a result of architectural competitions. You may be surprised how often such competitions result in controversy. Jorn Utzon submitted his winning concept for the new opera house in Sydney in the mid-1950s. He walked away from the project 11 years later (7 years before its … Continue reading When design competitions go bad →

The FIDIC Client/Consultant Model Services Agreement (fourth edition, 2006) – usually known as the White Book – was a rather frustrating form for lawyers. Happily, the new White Book (fifth edition, 2017) addresses some of the frustrations and is a more balanced starting point. The form was particularly frustrating for those advising employer clients, who … Continue reading FIDIC White Book: A step in the right direction →

Beware of clauses which seek to limit the engineer’s authority as they may be more trouble than they’re worth. Under most of the FIDIC forms, and a number of other construction and engineering contracts, many of the key obligations fall on someone who is not a party to the contract. In the case of FIDIC, … Continue reading Supervising the engineer under a FIDIC contract →