TELL THEM A BEDTIME STORY If you’re a public authority inviting tenders, you should treat bidders like small children, eager to learn how you will judge them – and for heaven’s sake make sure they do learn. THE EUROPEAN REGULATIONS FOR PUBLIC PROCUREMENT ARE TRYING TO TAKE FOOTWORK AND FAVOURITISM, EVEN PATRONAGE, OUT OF THE […]
A TCC decision last week has considered the difference between prospective and retrospective approaches to delay analysis. The decision finds that the two approaches will not necessarily lead to the same answer (contrary to suggestions made in a previous TCC decision). The decision may also provide support for the use of prospective approaches in the […]
NOTHING IF NOT CRITICAL The epic struggle between Mirant and Arup over the Sual power station has finally ended in a complete victory for Arup. The battle turned on the what delays were and weren’t on the critical path. “Witnesses were convinced that they knew where the critical path lay. It turned out that they […]
FOULED BY YOUR OWN SIDE If you hire somebody to do something, then prevent them doing it, then you can’t sue them for breach of contract. Let’s see how this fundamental rule applies to Wembley. “The new signboard up in the stand flashes ‘time at large’ and ‘liquidated damages dumped’, with a smiley face bobbing […]
Many a construction dispute turns on defects. A significant subset of those turn on whether the existence of defects prevents practical completion from taking place. It’s not surprising that these situations are contentious: contractors are keen that practical completion is certified so as to avoid or limit their liability for liquidated damages, trigger the return […]
he Claimant, Warwick University, employed Balfour, the Defendant, to design and build a National Automotive Innovation centre on its campus site under a JCT 2011 Design and Build contract. Under the contract, the works were divided into four sections and provision was made for liquidated damages in the event that the completion was not attained […]
PFI arrangements The PFI arrangement in question was for the design and construction of Roseberry Park Hospital in Middlesbrough. The Trust entered into a Project Agreement with Three Valleys Healthcare Limited (TVHL), a special purpose vehicle, in December 2007. Under the Project Agreement, TVHL would finance, design, construct and commission the new hospital and thereafter […]
Bain v Martin [2018] CSOH 83 is a cautionary tale. Parties to a verbal building contract ended up in expensive and time-consuming litigation to ascertain the identity of the contracting parties. Background Mark Bain and Pauline Bain had an ongoing business relationship with Karl Martin, who at the time worked as a builder. Discussions took […]
The Technology and Construction Court ( “TCC” ) in the recent case of Grove Developments Limited – v – Balfour Beatty Regional Construction Limited [2016] EWHC 168 (TCC) looked at whether or not a contractor was entitled to interim payments for works carried out after an agreed payment schedule between the parties had expired. The […]
Summary: An employer overpays a contractor and asks for the excess to be repaid. Surely a reasonable request? Not necessarily, said the Court of Appeal in Graham Leslie v Farrar Construction Ltd [2016], providing a welcome reminder that there is no automatic right at law to claw back an overpayment. Facts This case concerned an […]
I’m sure that you have all seen or read contracts containing wording along the lines of: “…This Agreement may not be amended, except by the written agreement of the Parties….” or perhaps more bluntly some other form of words that basically says “…No written instruction means you receive No Money…you do not pass Go.. etc […]
If my contract says I can amend it only by agreeing changes in writing with the other party, do agreed informal arrangements have any effect? The UK Supreme Court in Rock Advertising Ltd v MWB Business Exchange Centres Ltd [2018] UKSC 24 has clearly said they don’t in the majority of circumstances. This Talking Point […]