All articles by Tony Bingham – Page 16
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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
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CommentThe big squeeze
When the Bechtel boss told his people to do everything they could to disallow contractors’ costs, the contractors went to court. But was this the right move?
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CommentIdeal for multiple injuries
It’s hard to introduce a new defence in the middle of a trial, but in adjudication – being a quick first-aid for two parties in a punch-up – it’s the very opposite
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CommentThe Dickens of a case
Mr Bumble had a point when he said the ‘law is a ass’ – as was borne out recently by a High Court battle that could have been settled with a phone call
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CommentBang out of order
When a dodgy builder was jailed for fleecing customers, he got an ASBO into the bargain. What the dastardly felon also got was a dose of rough justice
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CommentToo much to ask for?
Be warned: there’s an extremely architect-friendly clause hidden in RIBA SFA/99. So friendly, and so hidden, that it has been ruled ‘unusual and onerous’
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Comment28 days later
We all know that the key selling point of adjudication is its 28-day time limit. But that’s no good if the rules don’t agree on when the clock starts ticking
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CommentDevoured by their house
This is how a simple house extension turned into a simple dispute, which turned into a bitter dispute, which turned into a very expensive legal case. And for what?
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CommentA tense situation
Can the party defending an adjudication give new answers after proceedings have begun? Well, it seems that depends on the language used in the question …
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CommentIt’s a Pope thing
Pope Urban Vlll took a cavalier attitude to evidence in his dealings with Galileo, but things have moved on since – as this Court of Appeal judgment shows
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CommentHow to be a good dog
What does an adjudicator do if a ‘litigant in person’ is up against a multinational represented by a top lawyer? Ensure that the proceedings are fair, that’s what
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CommentAway with the fairies
The DTI thinks that, with a sprinkling of fairy dust, adjudicators can rewrite laws and be made impartial. Believe that, and you might as well believe in Tinkerbell
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CommentDirections to Dartmoor
Two solicitors have published a document listing 47 common practices in the industry, all of which are also criminal offences. It’s a real eye opener …
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CommentSort out your attitude
Being a member of the awkward squad can cost you, even when right is on your side. These days it pays for both sides of a dispute to co-operate with each other
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CommentFor your eyes only
It is commonly believed that documents marked ‘without prejudice’ must not be read by a third party. In fact, it all depends on what they say
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CommentShock and or
It happens all the time – a contractor thinks the spec means one thing, the client another. In this case it ended in a judge’s interpretation of the word ‘or’
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CommentException to the rule
If you win a case against a limited company that goes bust usually you can’t pursue the owners for costs. But in this case that’s exactly what did happen …