Legal Comment – Page 101
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CommentErrors of judgment
Tony Bingham Half a dozen Appeal Court judges have recently gone on the record to explain what adjudicaton is all about. What a pity they all got it wrong...
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CommentThreatening behaviour
Expert witnesses are immune from being sued for anything said or done in legal proceedings. One judge wanted to extend this principle, but the Court of Appeal disagreed
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CommentMake time wasters pay
At the moment there is no bill for court costs but action needs to be taken against defendants who insist on playing silly games and pile up court costs on the way
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CommentThe times they have a-changed
Tony Bingham It used to be seen as bad form to adjudicate negligence claims against professional gentlemen. On the other hand, that does seem to be what parliament intended...
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CommentDances with gorillas
The ODA manifesto for building the 2012 Olympics talks about delivering on time, to a tight budget.But if that is to be done, novel ways of thinking are needed
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CommentWhat rights does a tree have?
If a neighbour’s tree is damaging your property you have a right to remedy the situation by chopping it down. Except if it belongs to the council, in which case it’s a lot trickier
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CommentTarred with the same brush
A bitumen cartel got stung by the European Commission when it was caught flouting competition laws. But it was the parent companies that got their knuckles rapped hardest
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CommentHelping the poor struggler
An arbitrator or adjudicator may feel tempted to redress the scales of justice if they believe one of the parties is poorly represented and needs a leg up. But is this really on?
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CommentDo you want to know a secret?
A leaked letter from the DTI is very revealing as to the latest government thinking on reforms to adjudication, particularly its apparent disregard for the construction industry’s views
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CommentRead them and weep
Letters of intent are often used inappropriately in the construction industry and, as such, they should be employed with a good deal of caution – or not at all
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CommentCertifiable adjudicators
Like the umpires in last month’s ill-fated test match, adjudicators test the dispute against the rules and make a judgment – unfortunately some construction folk, and one or two lawyers, haven’t quite grasped that they can’t tamper with the ball either …
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CommentCertifiable adjudicators
Like the umpires in last month’s ill-fated test match, adjudicators test the dispute against the rules and make a judgment – unfortunately some construction folk, and one or two lawyers, haven’t quite grasped that they can’t tamper with the ball either …
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CommentDont touch that dial
It’s tough being an arbitrator. You’re expected to have expert skills in your field and be able to shoulder a weighty judicial burden. And one wrong move, such as making a simple phone call, will get you thrown off the job …
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CommentThe way the money goes
The insistence that a contract be ‘in writing’ before it can be adjudicated is transferring millions of pounds from one industry to another. Guess which ones they are …
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CommentThe pitfalls of DIY
Hanging the odd picture up is one thing, but once you’re into serious DIY you’re bound by the same standards as a professional builder. So if something bad happens on your property, you can end up paying damages, costs and even other defendants’ costs. Nasty
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CommentBlood on the tracks
Last year the criminal court fined Balfour Beatty £10m after it pleaded guilty to its part in the Hatfield rail disaster. Then last month the Court of Appeal lopped £2.5m off the penalty. Here’s why …
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CommentThe killer blow
The slide of Botes Building into administration has been widely reported. What isn’t so well known is that in the run up it was involved in a £300k legal battle with one of its clients …
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CommentJust call me Rambo
When did mediation get taken over by tree-huggers who refuse to discuss the merits of the case? Well, no more. If it stops daft cases ending up in court, then mediators should be free to take a more aggressive approach
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CommentThe perils of using your initiative
Imagine you’re a builder carrying out a small domestic project, and you spot a mistake in the architect’s design. Would you save everyone’s time and trouble by working out an ad hoc solution to it?
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CommentTrump that!
Everyone knows that a final certificate trumps an interim one – that’s the way a client ensures it pays the correct sum. But when an adjudicator is parachuted in to decide the interim account, that situation is reversed – as Camden council was surprised to discover