All articles by Tony Bingham – Page 27
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Features
Fighting for one’s clause
Tolent Construction has a home-made clause in its subcontract agreement that is supposedly designed to deter spurious claims , but is it a case of the pot calling the kettle black?
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Can you sue the referee?
In its subcontracts, Mowlem insists that a barrister from a particular chambers is used. When the other party put its own man in, Mowlem threatened to sue him. What happened next?
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Coming to blows
All contractors, large and small, get into disputes at one time or another. This multimillion-pound struggle shows how overconfidence and haste can get even the biggest into a pickle.
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How much of what?
When you send your builder a notice saying you aren t going to pay the full amount asked for, do you have to say what you re withholding the money from? Well, it depends on the contract
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Pebbles that spell trouble
Remember the shoe borrower s act from last week? An ambitious attempt to protect the rights of third parties, it can hinge on opinions about intention and that could be a problem.
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Shoes made for walking
Once upon a time a third-party beneficiary was unable to sue. Not any more. The implications of the “shoe borrower’s act”, in terms of supply chain litigation, for instance, could be far reaching.
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Making up the rules
Adjudicators may find themselves forced to decide whether they have the power to make a decision, even though parliament never intended that they do so. Here s what they should do
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Undercutting is over
The new best-value regime promises to put creativity and innovation back into the local authority tendering process, but, as commentators point out, it may come as a shock to the established system.
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Named and blamed
This is a horror story for clients. It begins with Mr Steve Catton’s firm entering into an ordinary contract with a builder, and ends with a judge telling him that he is personally liable to the tune of £200 000 …
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Features
Don't forget to write
Does the Construction Act apply if there is only an oral agreement? The act seems to say yes, but the judge in a recent case said no. Clearly it's an urgent case for treatment.
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Home From Hell
The combination of an incompetent trainee surveyor, two wrongly issued certificates and a difficult "domestic" client resulted in 11 years of legal and financial nightmares.
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Stop right there!
If someone brings an adjudication against you when they have no right, do you have to go through the motions and hope to get it overturned later, or can you get a court to halt it?
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Column inches
Four men were crushed to death when a three-storey office collapsed on them in 1995. Five years later the truth has come out. The lessons we can learn should last much longer than this building did.
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Take notice!
The industry does not always seem to take the payment provisions in the Construction Act completely seriously. The latest court ruling on adjudication shows this to be an unwise attitude.
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The right stuff
At last, the Human Rights Act has made its way into UK law. It may not be something many of us have to think about on an everyday basis, but by Jove, it's going to affect us all.
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Features
Dangerous choices
Be wary of being named as an arbitrator or adjudicator before a dispute has arisen – you could fall foul of the European Convention on Human Rights, which is about to be incorporated into English law.
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You cannot be serious, ref!
So, the case is closed, the verdict is in writing – only the referee has slipped up and written the result down wrong. It’s a simple case of correcting the mistake, right? Ah – not so fast.
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Features
Boundary disputes
A recent case concerning pipework on a pharmaceutical site has focused attention on whether an adjudicator has the right to hear certain cases. Wouldn't it be sensible to sort this out early on?
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Features
Housewives' choice
The JCT deserves a pat on the back for its new domestic works contract. It s eight pages long, easy to use and could save a lot of trouble when Mrs Bingham hires a contractor to build an extension.
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Features
Naughty contracts
It has come to our attention that there are certain firms attempting to evade the Construction Act. Mr Raynsford is very cross about all this, and if anyone is found guilty they’re in hot water …