REUTERS | Brandon Malone
January 10, 2017

Caribbean dream turns to sand in luxury beach resort development

We saw a number of really long judgments from the TCC in 2016. Think Stuart-Smith J’s judgment in the Ocensa Pipeline Group Litigation as an example.

I don’t know why but it feels like I always seem to be the one that gets to cover them (even if that isn’t true). Therefore, you can imagine my enthusiasm when I saw Coulson J’s latest epic in Harlequin Property (SVG) Ltd and another v Wilkins Kennedy. I called the judgment in the Ocensa Pipeline Group Litigation a modern day equivalent of Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Therefore, at just under 900 paragraphs, Coulson J’s judgment could be called a baby War and Peace. Luckily I was stuck on a delayed train the day after I saw it on Bailii, so there was plenty of time to digest what Coulson J had written.

If you don’t do anything more, I implore you to read the first 13 paragraphs to get a feel for the case’s “startling features” and then the next 10 paragraphs to understand the witness evidence.The facts demonstrate that you can’t make this stuff up and the real world really is (sometimes) better than fiction. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Eric Gaillard
January 9, 2017

A brave new world? Implementing “alliancing” using NEC3

It was only to be expected. Hard on the heels of FAC-1 (the framework alliance contract published by the Association of Consultant Architects, the group responsible for PPC2000) comes a guidance note from the NEC brigade, issued in liaison with the Infrastructure Client Group. It patiently explains that NEC3 offers an “ideal” (translation: “better than FAC-1”) contract model for creating an alliance. But does this claim stand up in practice? And how well does NEC3 address the very specific challenges posed by an alliance model? Continue reading →

REUTERS | Russell Cheyne
January 3, 2017

Welcome to 2017

Arnold Bennett:

“The chief beauty about time is that you cannot waste it in advance. The next year, the next day, the next hour are lying ready for you, as perfect, as unspoiled, as if you had never wasted or misapplied a single moment in all your life. You can turn over a new leaf every hour
if you choose.”

As one year ends, so another year begins. Practical Law has been reflecting on events in 2016 and looking forward to 2017. Continue reading →

REUTERS |
December 30, 2016

December 2016 digest: e-filing and Canary Wharf

Shakespeare, Sonnets:

“How like a winter hath my absence been from thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year! What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen! What old December’s bareness every where!”

December is often a quiet month in current awareness terms, and this month was no exception. The government’s appeal to the Supreme Court on Article 50 dominated the news while it was being heard, although we will not know the outcome until early next year. There was still plenty of other Brexit news, including a call for evidence on what transitional arrangements ought to apply. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Michaela Rehle
December 21, 2016

Is the TCC’s approach to summary judgment in adjudication enforcement changing?

As we are all in the process of opening our annual referral notice Christmas presents, I thought you might welcome a brief distraction by considering whether anyone will be able to enforce the pending decision in the New Year. Perhaps surprisingly, 2016 has seen some developments on this front that practitioners need to bear in mind. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Rupak De Chowdhuri
December 20, 2016

Who are the parties to a contract?

Reading the judgment in Dacy Building Services Ltd v IDM Properties LLP, it reminded me of just how tough it can be being an adjudicator, albeit you may not know this when you accept an appointment. At that stage, you have only seen the notice of adjudication, so you only have one party’s take on the dispute you are being asked to decide. Things are seldom clear cut and will often change, as the adjudicator discovered in this case. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Gleb Garanich
December 19, 2016

You can recover (some of) a claims consultant’s costs (some of the time)

Parties often choose to be represented by claims consultants during the adjudication process. If the unsuccessful party in the adjudication does not pay up, it is often the case that a consultant’s involvement will continue beyond the adjudication proceedings.

The question of whether the costs of such involvement may be recovered in court proceedings was recently considered by Jefford J in Octoesse LLP v Trak Special Projects Ltd. Continue reading →