REUTERS | John Kolesidis
November 11, 2008

“Adj-Med”: a new and improved form of ADR?

What is “Adj-Med”?

In their blog posted on 29 October, PLC Construction referred to the new adjudication rules launched by CEDR Solve. These provide that, once the adjudicator reaches a decision, he may invite the parties to take part in a mediation. He does not reveal his decision to the parties, unless the mediation is unsuccessful at resolving the dispute.

Below, we look at reasons someone might consider using “Adj-Med”, and some reasons why you might be better off avoiding it, for now at least. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Jose Miguel Gomez
October 29, 2008

Are you too tired to get “contractural”?

A less than serious post to kick off this blog:

A Google engineer has developed a way to avoid random emailing late at night when you’re most likely to be “tired”. Jon Perlow’s new Mail Goggles application, built into Google’s GMail service, forces the user to answer basic maths questions in 60 seconds before a message can be sent on its way.

Should this be applied to correspondence between warring parties when construction projects get into dispute?  Continue reading →

REUTERS | Jose Miguel Gomez
October 27, 2008

Packaging construction and engineering documents

Everyone involved in construction and engineering appreciates the effort involved in planning a project and choosing an appropriate procurement strategy. All too often that work is undermined by careless errors made when compiling the contract documents into a formal agreement. The resulting disputes can be expensive and time-consuming. Here are some tips for avoiding trouble: Continue reading →

REUTERS | Ognen Teofilovski
October 24, 2008

Serial adjudications: a blight on the adjudication landscape, or an inevitable consequence of the process?

If the challenge is made early in the proceedings, before the responding party has incurred substantial costs, then I am more likely to resign.

The recent cases of Birmingham City Council v Paddison Construction Ltd [2008] EWHC 2254 and Benfield Construction Ltd v Trudson (Hatton) Ltd  [2008] EWHC 2333(see PLC’s update), (and the previous case of HG Construction Ltd v Ashwell Homes (East Anglia) Ltd [2007] EWHC 144) have reminded everyone of the dangers of trying to adjudicate the same dispute more than once. Continue reading →