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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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Rochford Construction Ltd v Kilhan Construction Ltd [2020] – Importance of clear payment provisions and dangers of linking the final date for payment to an invoice date.
October 2020The recent case of Rochford Construction Ltd v Kihan Construction Ltd reinforces importance of clear payment dates and suggests that fixing the final date for payment by reference to an invoice (as is the case in the NEC4 PSC) is inconsistent with the Construction Act. Background On 3 August 2018 Rochford Construction Ltd (“Rochford”) and… Read More >
Reports from the Courts
October 2020Our regular round up of cases of most interest to construction comes from Andrew Croft and Ben Spannuth, focusing on one that highlights the importance of defining design life requirements within contracts; and a Supreme Court ruling that means insolvency practitioners can use adjudication to pursue claims. To read the full article please click on… Read More >
Solicitors’ Professional Indemnity Insurance update: a hardening market and the steps being taken to keep premiums down
October 2020Many law firms renewing their professional indemnity insurance (PII) on 1 October this year were faced with higher premiums and a reduced choice of insurer. This would have been unwelcome news given that the profitability of many of these firms would have declined over the past seven months or so due to the current pandemic.… Read More >
Global Vantage: UKSC's Recent Impact on International Contracts
October 2020The UK Supreme Court published their decision in the case of Enka Insaat ve Sanayi AS v OOO Insurance Company Chubb [2020] UKSC 38 on Friday, 9 October 2020. The decision will undoubtedly influence drafting decisions on international contracts going forward, and cause parties to live contracts to pause and consider their next steps. This… Read More >
JRT Developments Ltd v TW Dixon (Developments) Ltd: When enforcement is 'manifestly unjust'
October 2020In the recent case of JRT Developments Ltd (JRT) v TW Dixon (Developments) Ltd (TWD) [2020] the TCC has shown that parties seeking to enforce “smash and grab” adjudication awards will not be able to do so in circumstances where it would be manifestly unfair. In this article, James Vernon explains the background to this… Read More >
Insolvency and adjudication – the next instalment: John Doyle Construction Limited (in liquidation) v Erith Contractors Limited
October 2020Adjudication by insolvent parties is an issue that has greatly occupied the Courts of late. Much consideration has been given to the arguable conflict between set-off under the Insolvency Rules 2016 on the one hand, and the adjudication process on the other. In this article, James Vernon considers the case of John Doyle Construction Ltd… Read More >
Covid-19 – Its impact on the new academic year
October 2020Students returned to education this September after facing huge disruption to teaching in the 2019/20 academic year. To minimise the risks posed by Covid-19 dramatic changes have been made to the way Higher Education Establishments teach courses in the 2020/21 academic year. In this article, Giles Tagg and Sarah Hinton look at what the ‘new… Read More >
Sign at your peril
October 2020The EWS1 form was meant to offer reassurance about fire safety, but in liability terms it’s a significant risk for consultants. In this article, first published in Building Magazine, Sheena Sood explains how this has impacted the construction industry and the professional indemnity Insurance implications that have followed. To read the full article, please click… Read More >
"The Show Must Go On" – The insurance broker's position following the FCA litigation
October 2020The recent High Court judgment in the FCA Business Interruption (BI) test case (The Financial Conduct Authority v Arch and Others) has been the subject of extensive media coverage. In this article, Joe Bryant explains the immediate consequences of the judgment and what action brokers and their clients should be taking pending the seemingly inevitable… Read More >
Global Vantage: Engineering without the EIB: Infrastructure funding Post-Brexit
October 2020Whilst the Government has indicated an intent to maintain a relationship with the European Investment Bank (‘EIB’) post-Brexit, concrete plans for how it intends to do so have yet to be announced. Antony Smith considers the impact that loss of EIB membership could have on the UK construction industry in our latest Global Vantage article.… Read More >