Mitch Hedburg:
“My fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them.”
February has been a grey, wet month this year, with few high points, although we are sure that everyone is intrigued by the stories coming from across the Atlantic. Donald Trump may have only been the 45th President of the United States for a month, but already we have seen an immigration ban (with another one coming), a falling out with the intelligence services, the resignation of his national security advisor, more on that Mexican border wall, an administration likened to Nixon and Watergate and repeated examples of his conflict with the media.
However, we can assure you that we are not “dishonest” and there is no “fake news” here…
In adjudication, the CIC published a new users’ guide and the TCC determined that a building contract had been re-assigned to the developer, so the adjudicator had jurisdiction. Both Matt Molloy and Ebony Alleyne considered aspects of this judgment.
Elsewhere, the:
- Scottish Sheriff Appeal Court held that intention was not relevant to a default payment notice, which Jonathan Cope considered.
- Commercial Court declined to remove an arbitrator for apparent bias and the TCC dismissed a challenge to an arbitrator’s award. The TCC also rectified a waste recycling contract on the grounds of mistake.
- Court of Appeal held that a letter of credit presentation was valid and a bank must pay under a standby letter of credit, which Marcus Birch discussed.
- Court of Appeal also confirmed that an extension of time in a sub-contract was contiguous, that primary limitation periods apply to counterclaims (which both Laurence Page and Jonathan Cope discussed), the embargo on a draft judgment would not be lifted and a solicitor had not breached its duty of care when advising on ventilation works as part of a lease purchase.
- High Court considered the scope of the duty of care a professional advisor owes, whether the parties intended to create legal relations and whether copyright was infringed when a third party carried out the development.
Comment this month came in many shapes and sizes, with:
- Louis Zvesper and Matt Molloy discussing the payment aspects of Kersfield Developments v Bray & Slaughter.
- Michael Sergeant looking at the valuation of variations.
- Harry Smith highlighting that an employer could not recover overpayments.
- John Hughes D’Aeth and Dwight Patten discussing the changes to the ACE Professional Services Agreement, 2017 edition.
- Kimberley Roberts suggesting that construction management is “in vogue” again.
In other news, we saw guidance on skeletons and authorities in the TCC, revised draft payment regulations, a consultation on Heathrow expansion, a housing white paper, the NIC call for evidence, a modern slavery toolkit, a consultation on best value statutory guidance and updated transparency principles.
And finally, to continue the “fake” theme, a few final words from Radiohead:
“Her green plastic watering can, for her fake Chinese rubber plant,
In the fake plastic earth that she bought from a rubber man.”
