All articles by Robert Akenhead – Page 2
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CommentCome closer, my dears …
Want to know the future? Then cross our very own legal astrologer’s palm with silver as he gazes into his crystal ball and makes his predictions for 2005
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CommentBlind eyes and bloody kids
Contractors have to be on their guard against potential defects or dangers even though they aren’t covered in the contract – as these cases illustrate
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CommentDown to brass tacks
Everybody knows court cases are horribly expensive, but then so are ‘cheaper’ methods such as adjudication and mediation. So here’s a way to save money
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Lawyers, guns and money
No matter how strange foreign cultures may be, almost all are governed by the same legal principles as English law – which is good news for us all
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The big picture
If you’ll indulge us for a moment, we’ll tell you a little bit about the legal system as seen by a legal journalist – and it’s a huge and complex thing
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Exceptions rule
No, no, of course insurers don't try anything to avoid paying out on an all-risks policy. Still, just to be sure, apply a magnifying glass to that small print …
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Suing the sewers
If overflowing sewers are driving you round the U-bend, don't hold out any hope of compensation from the water company – just get yourself a good mop
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Beware of the bats
Two recent cases in the Court of Appeal illustrate how tortuous and legalised the planning process has become – especially when animals are involved
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Wily words
Simply because a warranty assigns you a few rights doesn't mean that a couple of courts won't be needed to work out if you can enforce them
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If it walks like a duck …
… and it talks like a duck and it looks like a duck (etc) then it probably is a duck. The same principle applies to contracts. Let me explain
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That old chestnut
Oh, did we promise to pay you if your employer went bankrupt? Well, we're terribly sorry, but this statute passed in 1677 says we don't have to
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The word is not enough
Oral variations to a contract are a fact of site life, but a recent decision seems to mean that if you have one, you can't take a dispute to adjudication
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Hazarding an opinion
Sometimes it makes sense for disputing parties to agree a joint expert. That's all very well until the expert says something one side disagrees with …
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Unconscionable temerity
Law and practice on contractors' bonds is tilted in favour of the employers who call on them – which they do, often without good cause. Time for a change
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What's the damage?
Assessing what damages are owed on a QS's negligent cost underestimation can be tricky enough to warrant getting the calculator out …
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Time, gentlemen, please
The new rules on limitation periods still have a loophole that means contractors could be liable – almost indefinitely – for their employees' mistakes
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The claimant strikes back
A judge may not like it when a party fails to comply with a court order, but they should think twice before striking out the claim altogether
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In it up to their necks
Water companies have largely escaped liability where sewers have caused repeated flooding but from now they'll have to fix the problem or pay up
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And that’s final
If you get into a dispute abroad, it will probably go to arbitration. All well and good, but be warned: if you lose, you’ll have trouble appealing …
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Getting out of a hole
A contractor that damages cables or pipes while digging up the road must pay for repairs – but what other costs might it face?
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