The more things change, the more they stay the same – Hardwicke Chambers

‘Every time we think the courts might have given defendants in adjudication enforcement proceedings slightly more latitude in raising their dissatisfaction with an adjudicator’s decision, the court brings us back down to earth with a bump and reminds us that, in fact, no matter how hard done by our clients feel, they will have to “pay now and argue later”, save in the rarest of cases.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 27th March 2017

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

‘Reverse VAT charge’ proposed to tackle construction sector labour fraud – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 29th, 2017 in construction industry, fraud, news, VAT by sally

‘Contractors could become responsible for accounting for VAT on construction labour services that they purchase under plans put forward for consultation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).’

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OUT-LAW.com, 27th March 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Latest draft legislation on interest restriction more helpful for infrastructure and real estate, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 24th, 2017 in bills, construction industry, interest, news, taxation by sally

‘Amended draft legislation to restrict tax relief for interest payments includes changes to a new ‘public infrastructure’ exemption which will be helpful for infrastructure and real estate companies, according to a tax expert.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 21st March 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Paying your fair share: when can an adjudicator decide more than the notified sum must be paid? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted February 7th, 2017 in arbitration, construction industry, contracts, housing, news by sally

‘Judgment in the case of Kersfield Developments (Bridge Road) Ltd v Bray & Slaughter Ltd, handed down on 19 January 2017, is a new authority in the line of case law providing guidance on the provisions governing interim payments in Construction Contracts in the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, as amended (“the Act”).’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 2nd February 2017

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

JCT updates design and build contract, but uncertainty surrounds new loss clause, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 24th, 2017 in construction industry, contracts, news by sally

‘Changes to the Joint Construction Tribunal (JCT) standard form ‘design and build’ contract introduce new uncertainties for contractors around loss and expense claims, an expert has warned.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 24th January 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Property developer ordered to pay £55k over listed building offences – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 19th, 2017 in construction industry, costs, fines, historic buildings, local government, news by sally

‘A property development business, a director and a site manager have been ordered to pay more than £55,000 between them after removing historic fixtures in every room of a grade-II listed house in Lincoln without consent.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 17th January 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Works and quiet enjoyment – Nearly Legal

Posted January 5th, 2017 in construction industry, covenants, landlord & tenant, leases, news, noise, rent by sally

‘Timothy Taylor Ltd v Mayfair House Corporation & Anor [2016] EWHC 1075 (Ch). It is a commercial property case, but has interesting elements on the way in which building works may be reasonably carried out.’

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Nearly Legal, 4th January 2017

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Tribunal: ‘public interest’ need for social housing justified breach of covenant – OUT-LAW.com

‘A tribunal has agreed to a property developer’s request to modify a restrictive covenant preventing the use of land for anything other than car parking, even though the developer had already built social housing on the land in breach of that covenant.’

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OUt-LAW.com, 6th December 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Insurance surgery: A call to action over construction costs – New Law Journal

Posted November 29th, 2016 in construction industry, insurance, news, reports by sally

‘How can losses incurred from construction & engineering disputes be avoided, asks Paul Lowe.’

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New Law Journal, 23rd November 2016

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Developers fail in judicial review challenge over permission for recycling facility – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 10th, 2016 in construction industry, costs, local government, news, planning, waste by sally

‘Two developers have lost their attempt to judicially review Hertfordshire County Council’s grant of planning permission for a recycling site.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th November 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Beware the dangers of uncertainty with letters of intent – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted November 9th, 2016 in arbitration, construction industry, contracts, news by sally

‘Alexander Nissen QC’s recent decision in Spartafield Ltd v Penten Group Ltd brings a degree of finality to the long-running dispute between these two parties. It comes after multiple adjudications and previous proceedings in the TCC. Back in March, my colleague Ebony Alleyne discussed what was then the most recent judgment, dealing with the enforcement of an adjudicator’s decision.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 2nd November 2016

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Kilker Projects Ltd v Purton (trading as Richwood Interiors) – WLR Daily

Posted October 31st, 2016 in construction industry, contracts, news, repayment, service by sally

Kilker Projects Ltd v Purton (trading as Richwood Interiors) [2016] EWHC 2616 (TCC)

‘The parties entered into an oral construction contract, to which the Scheme for Construction Contracts (England and Wales) Regulations 1998 (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2011 applied. Following completion of the works, a dispute arose as to the sums due in respect of the final account. In a first adjudication, the adjudicator, having held that no valid “payment notice” or “pay less notice” had been served by the employer, ordered it to pay the “notified sum”, as defined by section 111 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, in respect of the contractor’s final account application. The employer subsequently paid the judgment sum. In a second adjudication, the adjudicator determined the true value of the final account for the works and directed the contractor to repay the employer a sum found to have been overpaid. On the employer’s application to enforce that decision, the contractor contended that adjudicator had not had jurisdiction to determine the dispute because it had been decided in the earlier adjudication.’

WLR Daily, 22nd September 2016

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

High Court confirms distinction in law between interim and final payments – Out-Law.com

Posted October 24th, 2016 in construction industry, contracts, dispute resolution, news by michael

‘A second “valuation” adjudication confirming the value of the final payment due under a construction contract is permissible, the High Court has ruled.’

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Out-Law.com, 21st October 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

An (e)stopped clock is right twice a day: Is your engineer’s conduct a ticking time bomb? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted July 26th, 2016 in construction industry, estoppel, news by sally

‘As the deluge of smash and grab adjudications continues to percolate through the construction industry, shrewd contractors are advancing more and more creative legal submissions as a way of reviving interim payment applications that have somewhere gone awry. Twice in the past year, the TCC has been addressed on the issue of whether a contractor can rely on an estoppel to resuscitate an interim application; and in one of those cases, that estoppel was created solely out of the actions of the contract administrator. Although the TCC has yet to fully articulate all of those situations in which the actions of the engineer or contract administrator are capable of giving rise to an estoppel, construction professionals would be wise to exercise a degree of caution and be wary of inadvertently bestowing such rights upon the contractor, much to the detriment of the employer.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 21st July 2016

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Company fined £550,000 in first corporate manslaughter sentencing under new guideline – OUT-LAW.com

‘A construction firm based in north London has been fined £550,000 for corporate manslaughter offences, in the first sentencing since new guidelines were introduced in February.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 20th July 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

A balancing act: a landlord’s right to build and a tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment – Henderson Chambers

Posted July 12th, 2016 in compensation, construction industry, landlord & tenant, news, noise by sally

‘Judgment has been handed down by the High Court in the matter of Timothy Taylor Ltd v Mayfair House Corporation and another [2016] EWHC 1075 (Ch), a case which raised in an acute form the conflict between a landlord’s right to build and a tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment.’

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Henderson Chambers, 1st July 2016

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

Construction firms apologise in court over blacklist – The Guardian

Posted May 12th, 2016 in compensation, construction industry, damages, employment, news, trade unions by sally

‘Leading construction firms have formally apologised to hundreds of trade unionists for putting them on an illegal blacklist and denying them work.’

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The Guardian, 11th May 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Blacklisted workers win £10m payout from construction firms – The Guardian

‘About £10m will be paid in compensation to more than 250 building workers who were “blacklisted” by some of Britain’s biggest construction firms under a settlement to be announced on Monday.’

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The Guardian, 9th May 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The Structural Engineer’s Professional Duty to Warn and Goldswain v Beltec Ltd [2015] – Hardwicke Chambers

‘The duty to warn arises as no more than an aspect of the duty to act with the skill and care of an ordinarily competent professional. The existence of the duty recognises that in some circumstances the professional must go beyond what is specified as the desired performance in a contract (e.g. carrying out a design) and account for any risks of which he is aware by virtue of that expertise and warn others who may not be so aware.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 19th April 2016

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

To notify or not to notify: the impact of contact terms on common law rights to terminate – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted April 27th, 2016 in compensation, construction industry, contracts, damages, news, notification by sally

‘In Vinergy International (PVT) Ltd v Richmond Mercantile Ltd FZC [2016] EWHC 525 (Comm), Teare J held that the notice requirements contained in the termination provisions of a master supply agreement (the MSA) did not apply to an innocent party’s exercise of its common law right to terminate the agreement by accepting the other party’s repudiatory breach.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 26th April 2016

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk