The topic for discussion at the last Arbitration Society lunch (which I chaired) was the TCC’s decision in Quartzelec Limited v Honeywell Control Systems Limited [2008] EWHC 3315 (TCC).
This case raised a number of interesting points: Continue reading
New builds for sale?
I think that it is inevitable that a number of relatively new buildings will have to be disposed of by the present or intended occupants. Those buildings will end up in the hands of a bunch of new people ranging from purchasers or occupiers (who have acquired them at a knock-down price) to insolvency practitioners, on behalf of insolvent companies (who would probably rather not have them at all but can’t sell them).
Defects
In some of those cases the recipients may be less than delighted with the build quality and may well end up dusting off any available collateral warranties. Continue reading
The LDEDC Bill 2008 is part way through the four days allocated for debate in Grand Committee. By Thursday morning (29 January) we should be one step closer to knowing what amendments may be made to the Construction Act 1996. Some of the changes currently suggested are entirely inappropriate for the industry. Continue reading
I agree with the recent MCMS post that 2009 is likely to see an increased use of the CPR Part 8 procedure to bring jurisdictional challenges before or during an adjudication.
In his Building column in November 2007, Tony Bingham wrote about the House of Lords decision in the Fiona Trust case. You’ll remember it: it’s the one where the House of Lords decided that the words “disputes arising under a contract” in an arbitration agreement are wide enough to include disputes “in connection with” the contract.
We recently reviewed a bond/guarantee which started with the wording above and continued in the “archaic” form that was widely criticised in the Trafalgar House case in the mid-90s.
It is now routine for the responding party to challenge the jurisdiction of the adjudicator. In my experience, once the adjudicator has confirmed acceptance of his appointment and the referral notice has been issued, it is advisable for the responding party to:
UK law currently requires most companies to pay VAT within 30 days of the end of the VAT quarter. The Financial Times recently reported a proposal to extend the payment period for smaller companies, suggesting that it could rise to 90 days. The proposal is intended to improve cash flow for small companies, who are finding it especially hard to get bank finance. Continue reading
There are many competing construction and engineering standard form contracts. Some would say too many. Continue reading
I was recently asked about the admissibility of a previous adjudicator’s decision in a later adjudication, where the parties were the same, the facts were similar but the project was entirely different. This was a new one for me. Continue reading