In March 2009 the Danish government started paying compensation to women who had developed breast cancer after long spells working nights. This followed a decision by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an arm of the UN’s World Health Organisation, to classify night working as an activity that probably causes cancer.
Should the construction and engineering industry worry about a flood of claims from employees who work nights? Continue reading
In our previous post we outlined the facts in Kent County Council v Robertson Construction Northern Limited and considered the court’s decision on the allocation of availability and performance deductions in PPP/PFI projects. Another interesting aspect of this case is the comments the court made in relation to interface agreements, which are a common feature in projects of this nature.
Whether the adjudicator should resign when invited by one party to do so is very much dependent on the facts of the particular situation. I read with considerable interest the judgment in Bovis Lend Lease Ltd v Cofely Engineering Services [2009] EWHC 1120 (TCC) and wondered what I would do if I found myself in the same situation as Mr Smith’s colleague found himself. Continue reading
After a lull since Christmas, the TCC has sprung into action again and enforced more adjudicators’ decisions. Of wider interest (both within and oustide the construction and engineering sector), the TCC also confirmed that a mediator could be called as a witness in a claim that a settlement agreement was signed under economic duress (albeit, she will be called with the parties’ consent). Continue reading
The Outer House of the Court of Session recently considered the allocation of availability/performance deductions in PPP/PFI projects and concluded that these deductions related only to failures in the provision of operational services, not failures in design or construction.
Or put another way, do contracts really mean what they say?
If you are as old as me, you may remember the Fun Boy Three singing something like that. If you can remember the Fun Boy Three, you will also remember those days in law school when you were told time and time again that the “contract is king”. Well, like so many things in life, things seem to have moved on and are no longer the way they were, or at least, the way they seemed. Continue reading
I should have realised that as soon as I suggested that the TCC appeared to have gone quiet, we’d get an adjudication enforcement decision. Good old Sir Peter! Continue reading
The JCT announced the headline changes in Revision 2 2009 to its Standard Building Contract and the Design and Build Contract on 18 May 2009. It also confirmed that it would publish revised guides to the two contracts, showing which clauses have changed from the Revision 1 June 2007 versions.
As we keep our maintained resources up to date with law and practice, we set about making sure the references to these contracts all remained correct. Nearly all of them did. However, we have noticed some small changes throughout the contracts. The question is, are they significant? Continue reading
In the last fortnight, two suites of standard forms of contract have been updated. Last week, the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) published an updated suite of professional appointments, the ACE Agreements 2009, and, on Monday, the Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) began publishing its 2009 revisions, a process that will last into August.
Anyone who is involved in construction and engineering projects has to decide whether to buy the updated forms of contract. In many cases there is no real choice, the updated forms must be purchased because the old ones will no longer be available and also because nobody in our industry wants to appear out of touch with the latest developments. This gives rise to some important questions: Continue reading
Is it just me, or is anyone else wondering what has happened to all those enforcement proceedings in the TCC, which we got so used to reading about? You may recall that there was a flurry of activity at the end of last year and at the start of this year, but in recent weeks, the TCC has been remarkably quiet. Continue reading