Legal views – Page 106
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CommentBattle tactics
For subcontractors the day when crippling paid-if-paid clauses are outlawed cannot come too soon, but in the meantime here’s how to launch an effective counter-attack
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CommentA family affair
The man who defrauded the Millennium Dome of £4m has just been sent down, but suspicions were first aroused in a little-known adjudication case back in 2001
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CommentWar of the words
A letter of intent is meant to be a stop-gap before the contract kicks in, but all too often it sparks a dispute – in this case over the words ‘loss and expense’
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A tragedy, not a crime
The Hatfield defendants were innocent, and would have been under a reformed law. If you want a villain in this piece, look at past and present governments
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Spoilt for choice
At last we have a contract that caters for third-party rights, but this extra option in the new JCT design-and-build contract could pose a problem
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CommentA happy compromise
A trial before a judge or arbitrator is one thing; negotiations facilitated by a mediator is a horse of a different colour. So what would happen if we crossed them?
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CommentAll too human
Arbitrators, adjudicators, even judges, all have unconscious bias. You can’t change that – but you can make sure that you don’t help them to direct it against you
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How to haggle
At last, premiums for professional indemnity insurance have started to fall, so now is the time to find a broker and shop around for a better deal
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CommentOffensive manoeuvres
A decision reached by an adjudicator can be overturned in court, one reached by an arbitrator cannot – unless the claimant establishes that he is incompetent
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CommentMy slip, your fall
The NEC Third Edition has been hailed as a friendly partnering contract, but one particular clause seems to tip the balance against contractors
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CommentA wardance
The ordinary way that contracts are entered into provides a natural breeding ground for disputes, as vividly demonstrated by this recent Appeal Court case
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CommentIt’s … Robo-adjudicator!
Dispute resolution is no job for have-a-go amateurs. So five chartered bodies have teamed up to turn adjudicators into contract law enforcement machines
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CommentFractal law
As with the coastline of England or the Mandlebrot Set, the closer you look at standard forms of contract, the more complexity you find. Take this example …
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CommentThe death penalty
In its next session, parliament will decide if the Corporate Manslaughter Bill becomes law. Some of its proposals should be amended before that happens …
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CommentA six-year stretch
By the time that Henry Boot vs Alstom reached the Court of Appeal, £60m was hanging on the definition of when the clock starts ticking on the six-year rule …
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CommentGo ask Alice
How can you miss a deadline if you’re a day early? Very easily, if you’re in the Wonderland world of the law, where words mean just what the contract says they do
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CommentWhose side are you on?
It’s taken 20 years to decide whether the project manager under the NEC contract has a duty to be unbiased. Now, thanks to Mr Justice Jackson, we know
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Watch the skies
Under a proposed EU directive, construction employers could face hefty claims from outdoor workers if they fail to protect them from the effects of the sun
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CommentAsking for it
If you lose an adjudication to an opponent in poor financial health, can you decline to pay up? Happily, the courts have just laid down clear rules on this
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CommentWriggle room
A developer tried three arguments to get round an adjudicator’s order to pay its contractor £170k. This is what the court said about them