Category: construction industry

20 years of statutory adjudication – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted May 16th, 2018 in construction industry, dispute resolution, enforcement, news by tracey

‘The Construction Act 1996 turned 20 this month, which means that for the last 20 years the UK’s construction industry has been subject to its statutory adjudication and payment rules. I was just a couple of years out of university 20 years ago, so I’ve never really known a world without these things (something that Lucy Garrett QC noted in her video for Practical Law). I remember doing presentations to clients in the months leading up to May 1998 on the implications of the Act and, in particular, the payment and withholding notices regimes. It seems a long time ago now! Looking back, a lot has happened since May 1998 and I thought that I would highlight just a few aspects of adjudication. Given the volume of case law and the limited space I have here, this is by no means a comprehensive review.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 15th May 2018

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Council wins High Court battle over viability and amount of affordable housing – Local Government Lawyer

Posted May 1st, 2018 in construction industry, housing, local government, news, planning by tracey

‘A Planning Court judge has ruled in favour of the London Borough of Islington in a long-running dispute over a major development which it has said will provide insufficient affordable homes.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 30th April 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Cash flow tensions in adjudication enforcement – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted April 27th, 2018 in construction industry, dispute resolution, enforcement, freezing injunctions, news, stay of execution by tracey

‘Much has been written about Fraser J’s judgment in Gosvenor London Ltd v Aygun Aluminium UK Ltd, with both Tim Sampson and Abdul Jinadu discussing various issues on this blog. What I thought was interesting about the judgment was how it illustrates the tension between adjudication and the principle embodied within it of keeping cash flowing, and how a successful challenge on enforcement may stop it. Ironically, this is often at a time when a party most needs cash to keep flowing.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 24th April 2018

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

An unplanned surprise: Implied planning obligations – Clin v Walter Lilly – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted April 13th, 2018 in construction industry, contracts, news, planning by tracey

‘Recently, in the course of reviewing a proposed building contract for an employer, I had cause to consider how responsibility for obtaining planning consents had been addressed. Or rather, whether it had been addressed at all. Jean-François Clin v Walter Lilly & Co Ltd is a forceful reminder to effectively deal with this issue. The Court of Appeal held that, in the absence of an express term to the contrary, a term was implied into the parties’ contract requiring the employer to obtain planning permission for redevelopment of the property and, generally, making the employer responsible for obtaining necessary consents.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 11th April 2018

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

“I’m forever blowing bubbles” but I’m biased! – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted April 10th, 2018 in bias, construction industry, judiciary, news, recusal by tracey

‘Bias and apparent bias is a subject that has cropped up many times on this blog, whether it was an adjudicator “phoning a friend“, an arbitrator (allegedly) being appointed too many times by the same referring party (although that isn’t one of mine!) or a judge getting upset over his lost luggage (who wouldn’t be?). It seems anyone involved in court or tribunal work is vulnerable to an accusation of it. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that I’m commenting on another example of behaviour that gives rises to the charge.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 10th April 2018

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

English court delivers landmark judgment on project insurance coverage – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 29th, 2018 in construction industry, contracting out, insurance, news by tracey

‘The High Court has handed down a judgment deciding that a sub-contractor on a construction project was not entitled to coverage from the project insurance policy.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 28th March 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Witness “was not a reliable historian” – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted March 27th, 2018 in construction industry, evidence, news, witnesses by tracey

‘I like reading Fraser J’s judgments. Where else would you get phrases such as “banter in a public house during consumption of a gallon of ale (or lager)” and “quite apart from any illumination of the wisdom (or otherwise) of discussing (still less agreeing) incentive payments of such extraordinary size at an evening of drinking in the Horse & Groom”, nestled in among legal analysis? (He was talking about Blue v Ashley, which I’m sure was an interesting informal business meeting!).’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 27th March 2018

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Court casts doubt on who bears risk of obtaining planning permission – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 23rd, 2018 in construction industry, contracts, news, planning, time limits by tracey

‘The employer under a standard form construction contract is not under an absolute obligation to obtain planning permission or conservation consent before the works can go ahead, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 22nd March 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Metropolitan Police admits role in blacklisting construction workers – BBC News

Posted March 23rd, 2018 in construction industry, London, news, police, trade unions by tracey

‘Scotland Yard has admitted Special Branch officers passed information to a controversial network that blacklisted construction workers. It follows a six-year battle to find out if the Metropolitan Police supplied the intelligence on trade unionists.’

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BBC News, 23rd March 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Oral construction contracts and issues in adjudication enforcement – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted March 21st, 2018 in construction industry, contracts, dispute resolution, enforcement, news by tracey

‘Two recent judgments illustrate the difficulties that oral contracts can cause in adjudication enforcement proceedings. The first was Jefford J’s judgment in Hart v Ideal and the second (although actually the first in time) was Fraser J’s judgment in Dacy v IDM (which had also been before Jefford J a couple of years earlier).’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 20th march 2018

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Trading standards team at Royal Borough secures its longest-ever sentence – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 16th, 2018 in construction industry, fraud, news, sentencing, trading standards by tracey

‘The Trading Standards team at the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead has secured its longest-ever sentence after a rogue builder was jailed for six years.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 16th March 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Reminder that adjudicator’s appointment lapses if no decision – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted March 15th, 2018 in arbitration, construction industry, contracts, fees, news, remuneration by tracey

‘Some judgments seem destined to be blogged about (at least by me) and Baldwin v J Pickstock Ltd is one such judgment. It’s all about the adjudicator’s decision (or lack of), whether there was an extension of time for reaching that decision and whether the adjudicator had properly resigned and should be paid for the work he did (even though he did not reach a decision). It’s not quite Cubitt Building & Interiors v Fleetglade, but it does demonstrate how adjudicators need to be alive to banana skin tactics, even those coming from the referring party!’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 13th March 2018

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Law firm that should have warned property investor clients of “Mafia risk” fails in Supreme Court bid – Legal Futures

Posted March 9th, 2018 in appeals, construction industry, contracts, duty of care, law firms, news, sale of land, Supreme Court by tracey

‘A law firm with offices in Italy and England has reached the end of the line in challenging a ruling that it was under a duty to warn British and Irish property investors of the risks of investing in a part of Italy associated with organised crime.’

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Legal Futures, 9th March 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Does Grove v S&T herald the dawn of a new regime for payment notice disputes? – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted March 8th, 2018 in arbitration, construction industry, contracts, news, notification, remuneration by tracey

‘Unless you have been hiding under a rock (or have been on holiday somewhere), you can’t have failed to notice that Coulson J has handed down his last substantive TCC judgment. So much has already been written about Grove v S&T and what it means for the construction industry that there’s barely been room for anything else on my Twitter and LinkedIn feeds. There really is nowhere to hide from all the commentary.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 6th March 2018

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Smash and grab adjudication ‘essentially over’ after TCC judgment – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 2nd, 2018 in construction industry, contracts, delay, dispute resolution, enforcement, news by tracey

‘A well-reasoned judgment by Mr Justice Coulson could put an end to the trend of “smash and grab” adjudications, where the payee pursues the other party for the full amount where no valid payment or pay less notice is served.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 1st March 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Regulator begins new sector-focused crackdown on cartels – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 28th, 2018 in competition, construction industry, financial regulation, news, whistleblowers by sally

‘The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will target “industries that are at a greater risk of cartels forming” as part of a new campaign to crack down on anti-competitive behaviour.’

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OUT-LAW.com, February 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Interpretation of PFI contracts: the long and winding road – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted February 27th, 2018 in construction industry, contracts, local government, news, private finance initiative by tracey

‘Do long-term contracts need to be construed in a particular way? Do contracts that require the parties to work together and cooperate over a period of many years have their own special rules? Do they demand special treatment when it comes to questions of contractual interpretation? Those are some of the questions raised by the judgment in Amey Birmingham Highways Ltd v Birmingham City Council, in which the Court of Appeal had to grapple with the complexities and oddities of a PFI contract.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 27th February 2018

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Harbour View, contractor insolvency and the importance of a guarantee expiry date – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted February 21st, 2018 in construction industry, guarantees, insolvency, news, time limits by tracey

‘One of the interesting features of the recent decision of Coulson J in Ziggurat (Claremont Place) LLP v HCC International Insurance Company Plc is the effect on a guarantee of a contractor becoming insolvent many years after a construction project has been completed. In Ziggurat, the amended ABI model form of guarantee bond had not yet expired. This allowed the employer to make a claim under the guarantee arising out of the contractor’s insolvency, notwithstanding the fact that the contractor’s employment had already been terminated and the project had achieved practical completion.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 21st February 2018

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Planning policy consultation to finally begin a year after Government housing paper was published – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 12th, 2018 in construction industry, consultations, housing, news, planning by tracey

‘Changes to England’s planning policy could finally come into effect this summer, more than a year after initial legislation was published, as housebuilders pin difficulties getting more homes built on the complicated system.’

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Daily Telegraph, 12th February 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Deliberate breach of faculty conditions – Law & Religion UK

Posted February 6th, 2018 in Church of England, construction industry, ecclesiastical law, news, repairs by tracey

‘In 2014 we posted “Ignorance of the Faculty Jurisdiction Rules is no excuse…”, and expanding on this theme, “Risks of disregarding the faculty jurisdiction” in June 2016. The recent case Re St Peter & St Paul Pettistree [2017] ECC SEI 6 concerned a “deliberate and avoidable” breach of the terms of the faculty by a professional on the list of DAC-approved architects.’

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Law & Religion UK, 6th February 2018

Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com