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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RIBA Principal Designer’s Guide
In March 2024 RIBA published a Guide on the role of the Principal Designer, which is especially helpful given the lack of substantive guidance from the government or the Building Safety Regulator. For further information about the Building Safety Act, please see links to our previous articles here and here, and explore our ‘Building a… Read More >
ENVIRONMENTAL OBLIGATIONS IN INSOLVENCY PROCEEDINGS: APPEAL SUCCEEDS IN ALBERTA’S TOP COURT
FOLLOWING OUR PREVIOUS ARTICLES ON THE QUALEX-LANDMARK TOWERS INC V 12-10 CAPITAL CORP CASE BEING HEARD IN THE ALBERTA COURTS, 12-10 CAPITAL CORP HAS NOW BEEN APPEALED SUCCESSFULLY IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF ALBERTA, WHICH RELEASED IT’S DECISION EARLIER LAST MONTH. BEALE & CO PROVIDES AN UPDATE AND FURTHER COMMENTARY ON THE LATEST DEVELOPMENT… Read More >
DLUHC secures landmark Remediation Order under Building Safety Act 2022
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has won a landmark legal challenge against the freeholder, Grey GR, by obtaining its first Remediation Order under the Building Safety Act 2022. A Remediation Order (“RO”) requires a freeholder to remedy specific relevant defects in a specified time on a building. For more information on ROs,… Read More >
JCT Minor Works Contracts 2024
The JCT published the 2024 editions of the Minor Works Building Contract and the Minor Works Building Contract with contractor’s design on 15 May 2024. The JCT has also released user checklists for the Minor Works contracts alongside updates to the Contract Administration Model Forms for the Design and Build and Minor Works contracts. The… Read More >
What’s Next for the UK Construction Industry if Labour Prevails?
Introduction Press reports are anticipating a dramatic shift in the status quo for the next UK general election, with YouGov predicting the Conservatives to only achieve c.19% of the vote[1]. In this article, we consider how the key political battlegrounds in the construction, engineering and infrastructure sectors may play out and how a new Labour… Read More >
RECENT COURT DECISION HIGHLIGHTING CONDITION PRECEDENT ENFORCEMENT DIFFICULTIES FOR INSURERS AND NO REMEDY FOR BREACH OF DUTY OF FAIR PRESENTATION
The Judgment in Scotbeef Limited v (1) D&S Storage Limited (In Liquidation) and (2) Lonham Group Ltd [2024] EWHC 341 (TCC) interest to insurers and insured entities because the Judge considered two issues at the heart of many coverage disputes: (1) inducement of the underwriter when there had been a breach of duty of fair presentation… Read More >
Part 8 Guidance: are the facts clear? ISG Retail Ltd v FK Construction Ltd [2024] EWHC 878 (TCC)
The Technology and Construction Court recently provided further judicial guidance on when the alternative procedure in Part 8 of the Civil Procedure Rules (“CPR”) can be used. Part 8 provides for a straightforward and quicker determination procedure when compared to the claims process more commonly followed under Part 7 CPR (save for adjudication enforcement business).… Read More >
Professional Indemnity and Directors’ & Officers’ Liability – ESG Trends in the USA “When America sneezes, the rest of the world catches the cold”
Ross Baker and Nathan Penny-Larter – Beale & Co Partners and FOIL SFT members We attended the extremely informative Directors & Officers Symposium in New York in March 2024 organised by the Professional Liability Underwriting Society with nearly one thousand underwriters and claims personnel (including around 60 from London) in attendance. We wanted to provide… Read More >
Modernising and cementing the attractiveness of arbitration in the UK, or further evolution? What you need to know about the Arbitration Bill
Arbitration is used as an alternative to litigation and typically provides parties with a binding means of resolving domestic or international disputes via effective, confidential, and impartial process. All parties must agree to submit the relevant dispute to arbitration via an arbitration agreement or contractual clause. The Arbitration Act 1996 (“AA 1996”) applies to arbitrations… Read More >
Is Pirelli potentially doomed? The Appeal of URS Corporation Ltd v BDW Trading Ltd
Overview In December 2023, the Supreme Court granted URS Corporation Ltd permission to appeal the earlier Court of Appeal decision in URS Corporation Ltd v BDW Trading Ltd [2023] EWCA Civ 772. The Appeal is listed for early December 2024 before 7 justices. A core question arising is whether the earlier decision in Pirelli General… Read More >