‘Most construction contracts contain termination clauses which give parties the right to terminate in certain circumstances. Fewer construction contracts entitle a party to suspend the performance of its obligations.’
OUT-LAW.com, 6th December 2022
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
‘When the courts are faced with questions of contractual construction there remains a tension in the approach they should take.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 2nd December 2022
‘The Illegality Defence after Patel v Mirza, The Professor Jill Poole Memorial Lecture 2022 – Lord Burrows”
Supreme Court, 24th October 2022
Source: www.supremecourt.uk
‘Earlier this year I acted as adjudicator in four related adjudications that ran simultaneously, and I thought it would be worthwhile sharing my experience as I think there are some interesting points for parties and their representatives who might be considering using adjudication for multiparty disputes.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog , 23rd November 2022
‘The Court of Appeal for England and Wales has ruled that a switch of the currency in which payments were made in a ship charter contract would count as ‘reasonable endeavours’ and would avoid the contract not being fulfilled because of a force majeure event.’
OUT-LAW.com, 22nd November 2022
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
‘The Law Commission has launched a call for evidence asking users and other experts for information about how decentralised autonomous organisations – DAOs – can be characterised, and how the law of England and Wales might accommodate them now and in the future.’
Law Commission, 16th November 2022
Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk
‘Investors behind the construction of two data centres could not claim Enterprise Zone allowances (EZAs) on the expenditure they incurred because it was deemed to have been incurred under a contract entered into outside of the statutory window for claiming the allowances.’
OUT-LAW.com, 11th November 2022
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
‘The case of Breakshore Ltd v Red Key Concepts Ltd, as heard in the TCC earlier this year, reconfirms the court’s position in respect of when it is appropriate to use Part 8 claims to resist adjudication enforcement hearings.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 11th November 2022
‘All commercial contracts contain a number of “boilerplate” clauses, which are often seen as standard add-ons to the main terms and conditions of the contract.
One such boilerplate clause relates to jurisdiction and choice of law, and although these can be relatively straightforward when both parties are based in the same jurisdiction, they deserve proper consideration – particularly when the parties to the contract are based in different jurisdictions.’
OUT-LAW.com, 27th October 2022
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
‘At the end of last year, Jonathan discussed the Court of Session’s judgment in D McLaughlin & Sons Ltd v East Ayrshire Council, where Lord Clark looked at the conclusiveness of a final certificate under a Scottish Standard Building Contract with Quantities, 2011 Edition (SSBC, 2011 Edition). That case has popped up in the law reports again, this time in the Inner House (also called D McLaughlin & Sons Ltd v East Ayrshire Council), where three lords (Carloway, Woolman and Malcolm) have considered the Council’s appeal against Lord Clark’s judgment. In a rare occurrence these days, that judgment split the house.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog , 26th October 2022
‘English law has, to put it mildly, a fractious relationship with the concept of good faith. There is a deep-rooted scepticism towards it that has often manifested as outright hostility: Lord Ackner famously described the duty to negotiate in good faith as “inherently repugnant to the adversarial position of the parties” (Walford v Miles). Indeed, the Supreme Court has recently confirmed that there is no general principle of good faith in English law (Times Travel (UK) Ltd and another v Pakistan International Airlines Corp).’
Practical Law: Construction Blog , 19th October 2022
‘Recent case law has shown how careful parties need to be when drafting a liquidated damages (LDs) regime. The case of Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd v Peel L&P Investments and Property Ltd provides yet another example of what can happen if there is any ambiguity in the drafting.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 5th October 2022
‘In recent years, digital assets including cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have commanded considerable media attention. Speaking extra-judicially in the foreward to the UKJT Statement on Crypto-assets and Smart Contracts in November 2019, the Master of the Rolls, Sir Geoffrey Vos, has stated that: “In legal terms, cryptoassets and smart contracts undoubtedly represent the future”. To what extent should the law of the future grant property rights in respect of crypto assets? Will the inalienable right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions apply to tokens existing only on the blockchain? Or to NFTs residing only in the “metaverse”?’
UK Human Rights Blog, 16th September 2022
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Football clubs in the UK have been warned that they may be underpaying tax owed in respect of player contracts in cases where agents have represented both them and the player in the contract negotiations.’
OUT-LAW.com, 19th August 2022
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
‘Getting the notice right is important for all construction contracts and NEC is no exception. Failing to issue a notice as required under the contract can have serious consequences and in NEC this is often an issue that arises in relation to the obligation to notify compensation events within an eight week period (clause 61.3 of NEC4 ECC). Another key issue arises in respect of the obligation to issue a notice of dissatisfaction within 28 days of an adjudicator’s decision, as a failure to do so will mean that such decision becomes final and binding, and cannot be challenged by referring it to the tribunal (clause W2.4(1) of NEC4 ECC). Three recent decisions have considered notices of dissatisfaction under NEC, highlighting the importance of getting it right.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 10th August 2022
‘Judith Hopper and William Cursham analyse a recent ruling where a High Court judge awarded a housing association substantial damages in a claim relating to defective cladding.’
Local Government Lawyer, 4th August 2022
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Cladding disputes have been ubiquitous in recent years. They are a consequence of the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower in June 2017, which led to a wave of inspections, investigations and scrutiny across the UK as building owners sought to ascertain whether or not their buildings were similarly defective. That process has resulted in numerous disputes relating to all sorts of different buildings – whether residential or commercial, old or new, publicly owned or private developments – which have kept practitioners extremely busy over the past five years.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 28th July 2022
‘Construction companies contracted to design and build cladding systems for buildings may have to pick up the cost of replacing those systems in light of a new ruling by the High Court in London.’
OUT-LAW.com, 25th July 2022
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
‘The problem of what happens when parties do not act in accordance with contractual formalities is a hardy perennial in commercial disputes. Certain instances of the problem are peculiar to the construction industry, notably absent or inadequate notices of events giving rise to time and money, or absent or inadequate payment or pay less notices. Each of these has given rise to complex caselaw. Other instances are common to all commercial contexts. One is the practice of including a “no oral modification” clause in a contract, but then informally agreeing an amendment. This situation has proved sufficiently difficult to require a thorough review and restatement of the law by the Supreme Court in MWB Business Exchange Centres Ltd v Rock Advertising Ltd.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 13th July 2022
‘Sometimes it feels that, as an adjudicator, you are damned if you do and are also damned if you don’t. In this case – Liverpool CC v Vital Infrastructure Asset Management (Viam) Ltd (In Administration) – it was both what the adjudicator did do and what he didn’t do that led the judge to issue a declaration that his decision was unenforceable. But how did the judge, HHJ Stephen Davies, arrive at this point?’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 21st June 2022
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