Legal views – Page 101
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CommentCircumstances change cases
The case of Dundas vs Wimpey, which has now been resolved in favour of Wimpey after a 3:2 decision in the House of Lords, shows that the payment clauses in the Construction Act are not set in stone
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CommentHell is a very small place
This is the story of a common-or-garden domestic extension that took years to complete and resulted in a savage battle between the architect and the client that ended up in the High Court
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CommentHere’s to Tony
Our legal eagles offer up their judicious verdicts on the Blair era, with the other TB, Tony Bingham, finding himself surprisingly misty eyed at the departure of a Labour PM
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CommentYes, folks, it’s the fab follies
A client bent on scuppering an adjudication can whistle up all sorts of loony tunes – including favourites such as ‘There Ain’t No Contract in Writing’, ‘Git that Adjudicator Outta Here’ and ‘Here Come the Judge’. Altogether now…
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CommentBully beef
Did you see any of the BBC TV drama Life on Mars? Sam Tyler, modern day detective, was accidentally catapulted back to 1973, in the same job and surrounded by Sweeney-style coppers of 35 years ago.
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CommentThe percentage game
Remember Ian McGlinn? He was last seen in the High Court suing everyone in sight after ordering the demolition of his Jersey dream home. Here he is again, still in court, trying to get the other parties to pay his legal costs
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CommentSomeone to watch over me
At long last, the Lord Chief Justice has mentioned the unmentionable and laid on a 24-hour judicial helpline that will help stressed-out dispute deciders sleep more soundly at night
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CommentIan McGlinn vs everybody else
You build your multimillion-pound dream home, but there are some defects. So you leave it empty for five years, then tear it down and sue everyone in sight, apart from the builder, which has gone bust. Do you win?
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CommentFouled by your own side
If you hire somebody to do something, then prevent them doing it, then you can’t sue them for breach of contract. Let’s see how this fundamental rule applies to Wembley
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CommentThe man in black
People sometimes get the idea that adjudicators are a bit like referees on the rugby pitch. Actually, that’s the job of the parties. The adjudicator is more like the scoreboard
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CommentGetting arise out of a challenge
An arbitration case might offer a way forward for the courts when asked to decide whether ‘arising under’ or ‘in connection with’ best applies to a jurisdiction challenge under the Construction Act
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CommentIf at first you don’t succeed ...
A lot of firms seem to think that if they lose an adjudication, they can try again with a different adjudicator. Ah, but what happens when they finally win and the other side won’t pay?
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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’