I have recently read Ramsey J’s judgments in OSC Building Services v Interior Dimensions and PT Building Services v ROK Build in adjudication enforcement proceedings and I was intrigued by what I read. I think we may be witnessing a move away from the court’s strict interpretation of what constitutes “the dispute” referred to adjudication. Continue reading
At the moment, we are seeing three clear trends emerge in the way the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) is dealing with adjudication business, each of which is lead by one of the TCC judges: Continue reading
In the recent case of Balfour Beatty v Modus Corovest an employer argued that a contractor needed to issue a withholding notice if it did not intend to pay liquidated and ascertained damages (LADs) claimed by the employer. As far as we are aware this is the first time that such an argument has been raised.
Much has been written in recent months about the proposed amendments to the Construction Act 1996. It is not yet clear how many of these amendments will survive the next stages of the legislative enquiry.
A coalition of politicians and industry trade bodies has launched the “Get Britain Building” campaign. The campaign promotes a ten point plan: Continue reading
Adjudication is generally a non-binding interim process which leaves the door open to finally deciding the dispute by litigation or arbitration. Effectively then, a party can lose a battle but ultimately win the war.
It is only the beginning of February and already there is a new trend developing in the TCC: parties are making Part 8 applications during an adjudication. This is something I welcome (it was on my wish list for 2009). Continue reading
In the first paragraph of his judgment in Able Construction (UK) Ltd v Forest Property Development Ltd [2009] EWHC 159 (TCC), Mr Justice Coulson remarked that:
“This is an adjudication enforcement application under CPR Part 24 which raises a number of issues that are becoming a feature of these straightened times. From my particular vantage point, it appears that the current recession is providing the first real test of the adequacy of the adjudication regime introduced by the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 since the initial flurry of cases when the legislation first came into force.” Continue reading
Construction News has reported that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) from across Britain are winning work from the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). Continue reading
In a previous blog post we raised some of the practical problems that arise when trying to comply with the Pre-Action Protocol for Construction and Engineering disputes (the “Protocol”) in large multi party actions.
It would have been overly optimistic therefore to think the impending new Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct (the new Practice Direction) may address some of these concerns. Continue reading