Articles
Our lawyers contribute regularly to industry and legal journals in addition to writing legal briefings, newsletters and case reports for clients and contacts. All of our articles are free to read and download here.
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Changes to Part 36 – Offers to settle
April 2013The Jackson Reforms, which came into force on 1 April 2013, have made some substantial changes to the Part 36 regime. The Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2013 (SI 2013/262) introduce a revised CPR 36.14(3) which applies to Part 36 offers made on or after 1 April 2013 and which provide an additional incentive for claimants… Read More >
Reports from the courts – April 2013
April 2013Our latest round up of the court cases of most interest to construction comes from Will Buckby and Andrew Croft of Beale and Company who focus on an appeal court ruling that confirms the dangers of agreeing an absolute obligation to complete a project by a specific date; and a case that underlines uncertainties that… Read More >
The Courts Bill 2013
March 2013On 19 March 2013, the Irish Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Mr. Alan Shatter T.D., announced the publication of the Courts Bill 2013. The Bill as published proposes reform of the monetary jurisdictions of the District and Circuit Courts in civil proceedings which have remained unchanged since the Courts Act 1991, as well as… Read More >
Budget 2013 – Government crackdown on LLP taxation
March 2013The Chancellor announced in yesterday’s Budget plans to consult on measures to remove the presumption of self-employment from limited liability partnerships and to counter the artificial allocation of profits to partners.
Draft Safety Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013 – Ireland
March 2013A period of consultation during which the public and other interested parties were invited to give their views and comments on the draft safety health and welfare at work regulations ended in December 2012. The Regulations are due to be enacted in June 2013. This article outlines the main changes that will take place.
Reports from the courts – March 2013
March 2013Our regular round up of the court decisions of most interest to construction from Will Buckby and Ibaad Hakim of Beale and Company focuses on a case concerning liability for the failure of an under designed platform; and another where an adjudicator changed his mind.
PF2 – A new beginning for PFI?
March 2013Tom Pemberton and Pasquale Pisanelli of Beale and Company outline reforms to the private finance initiative, PF2, that are hoped to generate increased infrastructure investment. Although the new regime is in use for school building, doubts remain whether they will attract investment funds.
Alliancing Arrangements
February 2013In December 2012, Thames Water announced that a significant proportion of its AMP 6 programme (between 2015-2020) will be delivered under alliancing agreements. This appears to be part of a general trend towards the use of alliancing agreements with Network Rail, National Grid and a number of public bodies procuring infrastructure projects using the alliancing… Read More >
A likely story
February 2013The Court of Appeal considered recently – in John Grimes Partnership Ltd vs Gubbins – whether consulting engineers were liable for a fall in the market value of a development. The decision boiled down to whether that loss was ‘not unlikely’.
Implications of refusal to mediate
February 2013As required by the Court of Appeal in Dunnett v Railtrack Plc it is necessary for lawyers and litigants to consider ADR. Failure to do so may result in a costs penalty at court. In Hurst v Leeming the High Court suggested that a refusal to mediate would be justified only in exceptional circumstances.