Legal Comment – Page 103
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CommentPulling a fast one
Tony Bingham A court in Scotland was asked to give summary judgment against a builder. The judge refused because he said it was too soon to make a binding decision. What would the adjudicator have done?
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CommentIt’s quiet – but is it too quiet?
It’s odd, says Steven Williams, but even though PFI schemes are invariably complicated and expensive, few seem to end up in court. So why is that? And how long will it last?
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CommentKeep it together
Judges often have to ‘unwind’ adjudicators’ decisions to rule on them. When they do, they must consider the whole decision, not just the bit one side wants them to, as this Scottish case shows
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CommentLet there be more darkness
Milestone though it was, the EU’s Sustainable Energy Week showed that we are still not doing simple things to cut carbon emissions – like turning lights off.
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CommentBoth ends against the middle
Tony Bingham Is it the dispute decider’s job to pick one of the warring parties’ positions and declare it the right one? Or can they come up with a solution that neither party argued for?
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CommentA modest proposal
Tony Bingham Rather than trying to sort out disputes when they occur, wouldn’t it be easier to just write clear and fair contracts so that rows don’t occur in the first place?
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CommentWriting wrongs
Just about any legal issue depends to some extent on the definition of terms – and definitions depend on who wins an argument in front of a judge. Take the vexed and exasperating question of ‘contracts in writing’
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Comment
Waste opportunities
EU watch The European commission wants a 20% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020. To meet this goal, a variety of policies and guidelines are due this year.
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CommentIt’s different this time
Adjudication is about deciding the ‘now dispute’ and moving on. But it’s not always so simple. In this case, a firm beefed up its arguments and came back for round two
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CommentA difference of emphasis
Letters of intent are paved with good intentions, but can trigger endless legal manoeuvres. A joyous time for lawyers but for nobody else. Here the couple to fall out were Skanska and supermarket chain Somerfield
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CommentWhat’s fair is fair
If you follow the gold rush to Dubai, what are your chances of surviving a contractual dispute with the client? Well, about the same as in Dorking ...
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CommentBitter fighting on the home front
Forget road rage – it’s during disputes between homeowners and builders that the claws really come out. Fortunately, there is a way to make sure that this doesn’t happen
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CommentEnd this travesty
In these topsy-turvey times subbies think they’re designers, QSs act like lawyers and architects let builders specify. Wouldn’t it be refreshing if we stuck to our job descriptions in 2007?
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CommentWorlds apart
STATE YOUR CASE — Tony Bingham says arbitrators, judges and adjudicators do the same job, but the timescale of adjudication makes the process markedly different, argues Nick Henchie
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CommentSanta’s book collection
If you’re buying Christmas gifts for an architect, main contractor, subbie, lawyer or adjudicator, then we’ve got the perfect books for them
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CommentPlaying their silly games
A court applied the law correctly when it quashed an adjudication decision that broke the rules. But perhaps it’s the rules, not the decision, that should be overturned
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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