All articles by Tony Bingham – Page 19
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Pinned and needled
A client's attempts to wriggle out of adjudication on three tricky points of law were quashed by one very clever adjudicator – and he wasn't even a lawyer
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CommentGet Shorty
Disciplinary boards often resemble something between a kangaroo court and a lynch mob – as a former cabinet minister may be about to discover
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CommentA misjudgment
The parties in Tally Wiejl vs Pegram became utterly confused by the problem of which contract was in place. Now this question has foxed the Court of Appeal, too
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A salty tale
If two parties to a dispute give different accounts of what happened, courts look for something on paper. Trouble is, documents can be too persuasive
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CommentThe silent service
Adjudicators aren't private eyes – or inquiry judges – looking into every detail of a case. They're paid just to assess the arguments … then keep their mouths shut
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CommentStakes and ladders
If you skip a square at the very beginning of an adjudication you may find that at the end of it – when there's most to lose – you have to start all over again
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CommentPerformance driven
They're nice little runners – quick, reliable, easy to handle … But the only way to be sure adjudicators are roadworthy is to put them through their MOT
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CommentGripping stuff
Professional negligence claims can be damned difficult, so is it asking too much to create a breed of adjudicators capable of grasping the issues?
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CommentShadows and doubt
An adjudicator's decision can be thrown out over the merest hint of unfairness. Good news for the system's integrity, bad news for parties left in limbo
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CommentNo job for Superman
Any adjudicator who comes to a dispute too convinced of their own expertise may not be able to judge the case in an open-minded, impartial way
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Doing the twist
Judges don't like it when a party plays fast and loose with the adjudication process, shifting ground opportunistically or otherwise giving itself wriggle room
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CommentSuspect everyone
Look, it's nothing personal but I just don't trust any of you – and you'd be mad to trust me or each other. If we could all understand this, there'd a lot less grief
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CommentCheck, please
In the JCT design-and-build form, an application for payment automatically becomes the sum due. So how can an employer avoid paying an inflated bill?
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CommentGive 'em their due
Stonecarvers at the Royal Courts of Justice job in 1880 lost out when the employer withheld money. If only they'd had the Construction Act to protect them …
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The ugly duckling test
Here's some fresh case law to help us understand Carter vs Nuttall, one of last year's causes célèbres: it's all about distinguishing between water fowl
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Cos I say so
A recent Court of Appeal case clarifies when an adjudicator has the authority to decide his own authority and whether the parties have to go along with him
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A watertight sieve
It's an all-risks insurance policy! Every single risk is covered! Nothing's left out! It's completely watertight! You can't lose! Unless, of course … Oh dear …
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Beware of bunny boilers
Getting yourself out of a failed relationship with your builders can be liberating, but be very, very careful how you do it – they could take a terrible revenge …
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CommentAsk the aspidistra
The new construction minister wanted to know about the industry, so he did something rather unusual: he asked it. Here is what it replied
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CommentCruel and usual treatment
You contractors get stroppy when your subbies fail to deliver, but the culprit is often the dodgy, lazy, time-honoured ways of the good old British building industry