Provisional sums are a mystery to many construction and engineering lawyers, often thought of as the domain of quantity surveyors, rather than legal advisers. In fact, a building contract’s treatment of provisional sums can have a profound impact on the overall cost and speed of a project. Continue reading
On Tuesday evening, Kings College London hosted the KCCLA and Sweet & Maxwell Twelfth Annual Lecture: NEC v JCT – Same problems different solutions.
The lecture was delivered debate style, with Mr Justice Ramsey chairing speakers on behalf of the JCT (Peter Hibberd and Peter Aeberli) and NEC (David Thomas QC and Dr Jon Broome). The speakers battled it out to convince the audience which was the better contract, covering a variety of issues. Continue reading
It doesn’t seem that many weeks since I was writing about Edwards-Stuart J’s decisions in the TCC on adjudication enforcement. Just last week, he gave a landmark decision in Yuanda v WW Gear. This case has received a lot of coverage and, having read the judgment, I can see why. Continue reading
As the new broom in the TCC, Edwards-Stuart J has carried out some important spring cleaning and, in Yuanda v WW Gear, he has delivered possibly the most significant decision in construction law so far this year.
Given the current limited supply of development funding from traditional financial institutions, developers are looking for alternative sources, both to kick start new projects and to finish off projects where their existing credit limits have been exceeded.
A possible alternative source of funding may come from contractors. Some contractors appear willing to dip into their reserves in order to maintain work (and goodwill with clients) at the expense of short term cash flow. We have recently seen evidence in the market that both developers and contractors are actively seeking such arrangements. Continue reading
Is the cost of litigating large and complicated construction disputes getting out of hand? One only needs to look at the litigation that the redevelopment of Wembley stadium has generated for some recent, extreme examples. Continue reading
A dispute was referred to me recently that involved an alleged repudiatory breach of contract and an alleged wrongful suspension of work. I had to decide whether these matters, which the contractor argued were central to the dispute (and the parties’ resultant entitlements), were within the scope of what had been referred to adjudication and therefore fell within my jurisdiction. Continue reading
Be wary. It is not easy to escape from an unprofitable contract (or “bad bargain”).
Unprofitable contracts
The construction industry may now be leaving its own long recession behind (or it may not). Whatever your particular experiences of the recession, it may have left you with contracts that are unprofitable (or, at least, less profitable) to perform.
Outside of the sphere of construction and engineering, one of the reasons for the sale of The Independent newspaper for just £1 was that its long-term print contract cost the paper’s owners more than the newspaper was able to generate in returns. Continue reading
The draft amendments to the Scheme for Construction Contracts 1998 were published last week. Although they have been a long time coming, having now read them, I’m not sure it’s been worth the wait. They are, in my view, a “damp squib“. Continue reading
Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the USA (attributed):
“Nothing is easier than spending the public money. It does not appear to belong to anybody. The temptation is overwhelming to bestow it on somebody.”
March saw the Government deliver its (final?) Budget. As there was little in the Budget for the construction industry, the reaction to it was muted.
March was also a busy month elsewhere in the construction and engineering world: the draft revised Scheme has finally landed! In other words, the consultation on the proposed amendments to the Scheme for Construction Contracts 1998 was published this month. If they become law, the amendments will affect both adjudication and payment under construction contracts. The amendments follow the changes introduced by Part 8 of the LDEDC Act 2009. They have been eagerly awaited and, if you want to respond, you have until 18 June 2010 to do so. Continue reading