REUTERS | Eddie Keogh
June 8, 2022

TCC dismisses Part 8 claim concerning validity of pay less notice

While I may sound like a turkey voting for Christmas, I acknowledge that sometimes (and only sometimes), it makes sense for parties to go straight to the TCC rather than adjudicating. In particular, where a dispute turns on the validity of a notice and there is little disputed witness evidence, then the parties may well be best off seeking a Part 8 declaration, particularly where there are significant sums at stake.

Although the case that I want to discuss this week, Advance JV and others v Enisca Ltd, involved an adjudication followed by a Part 8 application, it is difficult to see the utility of the adjudication. However, I digress because the case really concerns the thorny issue of pay less notices, and the judgment contains some important lessons, particularly for paying parties. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Yves Herman
May 27, 2022

Making headway: what to do about tower crane safety?

With yet another tower crane collapse (this time on a retirement living project in Kent – thankfully no one was injured), we must ask ourselves “is the current crane safety regime in the UK adequate?”.

Sadly, crane-related incidents in the UK aren’t rare enough. There have been several accidents with fatal consequences in the last ten years:

  • In 2014, a construction worker was hospitalised after a crane jib collapsed.
  • In 2017, three men were killed while a crane was being erected.
  • Most recently, a crane collapsed in East London, resulting in one death and a hundred people being evacuated from their homes.

With the scarcity of land and new residential or office developments literally growing upwards, cranes are an everyday sight in urban areas. They provide height and lifting capacities for constrained sites while occupying only a minimal footprint. However, working in densely populated areas also means that there can be catastrophic consequences in the event of failure. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Yves Herman
May 24, 2022

Adjudication enforcement background to successful injunction application

Since the TCC in London started transferring some of its adjudication enforcement cases to the County Court, we haven’t had as much to write about on this blog. While there may be benefits to having the more routine cases dealt with there, rather than in the High Court, it does leave Jonathan and I with a few issues regarding content and leaves us casting our net wider and wider, looking for something to share with everyone. Today is no exception, although the case I’m going to discuss – Nicholas James Care Homes Ltd v Liberty Homes (Kent) Ltd – is connected to adjudication.

It is a matter than came before O’Farrell J last week, when she was asked to continue an interim freezing injunction that had been granted a month or so earlier. While I wouldn’t ordinarily be interested in an injunction application, it is the background to this particular application that I think is interesting. I wonder if you’ll agree with me. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Eric Gaillard
May 20, 2022

How will construction products feature in future disputes about unsafe buildings?

Commentators have begun assessing the impact of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) – not least on this blog – and there is much more yet to be said. This post concentrates on construction products, in particular, new rights to pursue manufacturers and suppliers in civil actions.

Regulations controlling some construction products already exist, and a very helpful summary of these can be found here. BSA 2022 will usher in a new regime in which all construction products will be subject to at least some regulatory oversight. The proposed Construction Products Regulations 2022 are available in draft.

What are the new rights created by the BSA 2022? Continue reading →

REUTERS | Ilya Naymushin
May 18, 2022

Co-insurance and subrogation rights under the spotlight once more

The case of The Rugby Football Union v Clark Smith Partnership Ltd and FM Conway Ltd joins a growing and I believe important line of cases dealing with issues of co-insurance and subrogation. (For commentary on these cases from my colleagues, see Blog posts, Insurance and subrogation, Co-insurance and subrogation rights revisited (again!), Joint insurance and rights of subrogation revisited and A missed opportunity – Haberdashers and subrogation.) It is of particular relevance to us in the construction industry as it looks specifically at the allocation of risk between insurers and parties to an all-risk insurance policy on a construction project involving the JCT form of contract. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Christian Hartmann
May 11, 2022

EV charging infrastructure – construction, projects, planning and tax issues

In the third and final blog in our series looking at common queries on the roll out of EV infrastructure (see our previous blogs on progress and challenges and landlord and tenant issues) we focus on construction, planning and tax aspects. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Mohammad Ponir Hossain
May 10, 2022

What are the new rights of recourse under the Building Safety Act?

After many months of wrangling, both in the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the Building Safety Bill finally received Royal Assent at the end of last month. Now known as the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022), the new building safety regime that is being introduced is going to have a significant impact on many of us.

Given the breadth of change on the horizon, I’m going to focus on just a few bits of the BSA 2022 – the enhanced rights of recourse available to those affected by building safety defects – but what do I mean by this? Continue reading →

REUTERS |
May 10, 2022

Latest episode of The Construction Briefing now available

The Construction Briefing is an alternative way of learning about key developments in construction law, with the Practical Law Construction editorial team discussing some of the wider issues those developments raise. Episode 10 is now available and in it, Michelle and Yassir:

  • Highlight that the Building Safety Bill received Royal Assent and is now known as the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022). We discuss when we expect its provisions to come into force (starts at 1:12).
  • Consider O’Farrell J’s judgment in Bexheat Ltd v Essex Services Group Ltd [2022] EWHC 936 (TCC), where she reminded us that section 111 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (Construction Act 1996) creates an immediate obligation to pay the notified sum, and the right to adjudicate (under section 108) to obtain a true valuation is subjugated to that payment right (starts at 24.40).
  • Discuss Lord Braid’s judgment in Van Oord UK Ltd v Dragados UK Ltd [2022] CSOH 30, where the court held the adjudicator materially breached the rules of natural justice and so declined to enforce the adjudicator’s decision (starts at 37.25).

Did you know that you can subscribe to our podcasts from other places (like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify), enabling you to download and listen to all episodes on the go on your phone.

REUTERS | Henry Nicholls
May 4, 2022

Does the platinum jubilee bank holiday entitle a contractor to an extension of time?

An additional bank holiday has been created in the UK this year to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Does this entitle a contractor to claim an extension of time? A client recently asked this question in the context of a project using the JCT Design and Build Contract 2016. It certainly throws up a number of issues. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Dinuka Liyanawatte
April 26, 2022

EV charging infrastructure – landlord and tenant issues

In the second blog in our series looking at common questions we receive on the roll out of EV infrastructure, we focus on two queries we regularly see in the context of landlord and tenant relations. Continue reading →