All articles by Tony Bingham – Page 6
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CommentThe Scottish enlightenment: Expert determination vs arbitration
What’s the difference between expert determination and arbitration? Is there a difference? Yes there is, and a Caledonian court spelled it out
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CommentJoint expert witnesses: Clandestine communications
There are some grey areas to being a joint expert witness, but one thing is clear: talking to one party without the other’s knowledge is not on
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CommentDon’t get your suspenders in a twist
The Construction Act says it is lawful to down tools if you haven’t been paid what you’re owed. But what happens if you get it wrong and the money isn’t owed?
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CommentPayment rules: Financial mechanics
The new Construction Act may be but a distant prospect, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make a few educated guesses as to how its payment rules will work
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CommentA contractor's survival guide
How many times have you read about contractors losing money, or going bust, as the result of a few ‘problem contracts’? So shouldn’t they do more to plan for them?
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CommentDispute over loft extension: Just how annoyed am I?
When the Court of Appeal pondered the case of a spoilt view, the judges had to imagine themselves as ordinary, sensible members of the public and ask one simple question...
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CommentAdjucation enforcement: When to use the f-word
It’s easy to bandy about the word ‘fraud’ in the hope of defeating enforcement in civil proceedings, but you’d better make sure you have sufficient evidence to back it up
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CommentIn banks we trust: Project bank accounts
One reason disputes turn nasty is that the payee suspects that the payer is coming up with spurious excuses not to pay. Luckily, there’s something we can do about this
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CommentContracts: Are you a cavalier or a roundhead?
You can have all the collaboration and co-operation you like in this industry of ours, but fundamentally the Roundheads are right: it’s all about the contract …
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CommentDubai disputes: Arbitrary judgment
Now that the only thing booming in Dubai is disputes, queues are forming outside arbitrators’ doors. But arbitration in the UAE has to be speeded up. Here’s how …
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CommentAdjudication awards: Logical deductions
If a party loses an adjudication and is ordered to pay up, can it set this sum off against anything it thinks it is owed from a subsequent adjudication award?
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Comment
OFT special: The cost of a phone call
If you don’t want the job, just ask for too much money and you won’t get it. Nobody can touch you. Phone a friend for a cover price, though, and you’re liable for millions
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CommentJCT homeowner contract: Get the picture?
The JCT’s contract for home extenders is a very useful document, not least because it turns a lot of those complicated words into drawings we can all understand
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CommentSo crazy it might be true
We’re so conditioned to looking at the world in a particular way we stop thinking about it. But what if it is, in fact, quite wrong? And what could prompt us to realise it is?
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NewsNow firms will bid high all by themselves
The Office of Fair Trading has to apply the law, has to hurt this industry
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NewsIs it still cover pricing without the phone call?
The OFT has outlawed cover pricing, but that won’t stop firms putting in high bids so they lose contracts they can’t cope with
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CommentWestfield fit-out dispute: An everyday story of building folk
This shopfitting dispute sounds hair-raising, but it is really nothing out of the ordinary. That’s because people who work in construction are like everyone else: they mess up
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CommentBook review: Last-minute booking
Forget chick lit – the best summer reads address building procurement and the JCT contract. And, gratifyingly, the authors come up with exactly the right conclusions
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CommentHow to pick a winner: adjudication
Believe it or not, it can be tricky to decide whether you’ve won or lost a legal case. How come? Well here’s an illustration from the world of horse breeding
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CommentWhy is the OFT so unfair?: Coverpricing vs bid-rigging
Question: When is bid-rigging not bid-rigging? Answer: When it’s cover pricing. And it’s about time that our competition watchdog understood the difference