Like many, I was keen to see what the Government would do once the consultation period for the Construction Contracts Bill ended earlier this year. After all, they didn’t draft a Bill the industry wanted the first time around – it was universally criticised – and were said to be having a second attempt at it.
I found out last week, when the latest amendments had their first reading in the House of Lords. Continue reading
Mixed emotions: love it or hate it, the new Construction Contracts Bill is coming our way. Continue reading
The comments made by Coulson J in Jacobs UK Ltd v Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP (that relate to a summary judgment application in the Technology and Construction Court) struck a chord with me in relation to adjudication. Continue reading
In the construction industry, more than any other industry, there is a tendency for works to be carried out on the basis of unsigned contracts and letters of intent. While there are often legitimate commercial pressures to start work before all the contractual terms have been agreed, two recent cases have highlighted the risks in not getting this right:
I recently attended a seminar held by Lewis Silkin LLP on construction security, focusing on bonds and parent company guarantees.
Key points arising from the seminar include: Continue reading
There is an old joke: how many lawyers does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: what do you mean by “change”? We are often accused of pedantry but it is actually important to know what a contract means.
Mr Justice Akenhead has recently refused an application for summary judgment to enforce an adjudicator’s decision, partly on the basis that the contract was not “in writing”.
At first blush the case appears unremarkable, but the judgment is worth reading as it provides important guidance on what “in writing” actually means. Continue reading
You have let a construction contract. All seems to be going well, albeit progress is a bit slow. A couple of subcontractors then come to see you: they say that the main contractor has not paid them for a while and they are thinking of suspending or leaving the site.
Alliancing matters to clients, contractors and professional consultants. It can deliver what was once thought undeliverable, but it can also exclude innovative SMEs (small and medium enterprises) from projects that they might otherwise transform.
Well, it looks like we might finally be getting the amendments to the Construction Act 1996 that we were promised by Gordon Brown over four years ago. After a review by Sir Michael Latham and two consultations, a draft Bill was eventually published by DBERR in July 2008 (July 2008 Bill) (see Legal update).
Many interested parties (such as the Society of Construction Law (SCL), the Technology and Construction Solicitors Association (TeCSA) and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)) hurried away to study the July 2008 Bill and prepare their comments.