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Expert Reports
A range of reports highlighting commercial and contractual strategies or issues which affect Construction, Engineering and IT projects and businesses today.
| Title | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Overturning Contractual Limitations of Liability in the Event of Negligent Misrepresentation | The case of BSkyB Limited and another v HP Enterprise Services UK Limited (formerly Electronic Data Systems Limited) and another [2010] EWHC 86 (TCC) is important in that it shows how a customer can overturn the contract limitations of liability in the event of negligent misrepresentation. | Download >> |
| Added 10/01/2012 at 15:06 | ||
| Settlement Agreements - A Risky Business | Standard contract forms usually contain express provisions setting out the procedure and timescale for the agreement of the final account. It is, however, common practice for parties to finalise their contractual and commercial obligations under a settlement agreement. | Download >> |
| Added 10/01/2012 at 15:04 | ||
| Changes to the Construction Act | The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 (“the 2009 Act”) received Royal Assent on 12 November 2009. The relevant parts of the 2009 Act are set to repeal, replace or add to certain sections of the Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (“the 1996 Act”). | Download >> |
| Added 10/01/2012 at 15:04 | ||
| Exclusions and Limitations on Liability | It is common practice for the ‘selling’ party in a contract to require the agreement to include provision to limit or exclude its liability for consequential losses, in the event of its breach of contract. Exclusion clauses, particularly those drafted in broad terms, may however fail as a defence to liability for particular categories of Loss in the event of a breach. | Download >> |
| Added 10/01/2012 at 15:03 | ||
| Loss of Opportunity Claims (Aldgate Construction and Unibar Plumbing) | The courts are clear in their approach that any direct loss and/or expense claim requires an assessment process on a parity to that of damages awarded for breach of contract (Wraight Ltd v P H & T (Holdings) Ltd [1968] and FG Minter Ltd v Welsh Health Technical Services Organisation [1980]). | Download >> |
| Added 10/01/2012 at 15:02 | ||
| Meeting the Requirements of NEC Programme Submissions | Under the NEC the programme plays a significant role. Unlike traditional contracts where there is generally a clause requiring the Contractor to proceed regularly and diligently, instead the NEC places an obligation on the Contractor to produce a programme and to maintain it. | Download >> |
| Added 10/01/2012 at 15:01 | ||
| Differences between Abatement, Set-off and Counterclaim | To enable a contractor to fulfill its obligations under a building contract, regular payments from the employer during the course of the works is a fundamental requirement. It follows that if a contractor’s cash flow is compromised following an unjust reduction in its payment applications, this is likely to put the contractor in serious financial difficulty. It is, therefore, critical that employers do not exercise their right to reduce payments indiscriminately. | Download >> |
| Added 24/06/2011 at 14:21 | ||
| Letters of Intent - Identifying the Dangers | It is well known that letters of intent are commonly used to enable a contractor to progress initial works soon after the acceptance of its tender. This enables a situation whereby the parties can execute the contract and avoid the pressure of having to hastily agree terms and conditions in the absence of proper consideration. It could, however, be argued that a hastily agreed letter of intent may speed the parties towards a dispute. | Download >> |
| Added 24/06/2011 at 14:20 | ||
| Defects and Damages | Resolving defects disputes in construction and engineering works has always taken up a significant proportion of courts’ time and litigants’ expense. | Download >> |
| Added 24/06/2011 at 14:19 | ||
| Guaranteed Maximum Price - Fact or Fiction? | Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) contracts have been extremely popular since the beginning of the 21st Century, particularly with clients (employers or developers) who derive a great deal of comfort from entering into contracts with a maximum price tag attached. | Download >> |
| Added 11/05/2011 at 09:49 | ||
| Conditions Precedent to Recovery of Loss and Expenses Claims | There is a growing use of condition precedent clauses in contracts, which necessitate the serving of notices to an identified recipient of matters which might delay the works and/or give rise to additional cost. As set out below, where such provisions are properly drafted they are likely to be enforceable. | Download >> |
| Added 10/05/2011 at 17:03 | ||
| Design Liability in Design and Build Contracts | Under a design and build contract the contractor assumes primary responsibility for the design of the works in addition to the traditional role of providing labour, goods and materials. As such the contractor is directly responsible for delivering to the employer a complete product which it has also designed. | Download >> |
| Added 10/05/2011 at 16:38 | ||
| Concurrent Delay: The latest Position in England |
The recent decision handed down in the case of the diamond company De Beers UK Limited v Atos Origin IT Services UK Limited (2010)1 appears to have foregone the majority consensus reached in the much anticipated judgement of City Inn v Shepherd Construction (2010)2 and, therefore, has confirmed the opinion of many commentators as to the position of the English courts of justice when dealing with the age old subject of concurrent delay. |
Download >> |
| Added 10/05/2011 at 16:00 | ||
| Retrospective Claims under NEC3 |
Claiming retrospectively for additional monies and time as part of the final account is commonplace in construction. Late claims irritate both employers and main contractors and matters regularly end up in the hands of a third party to decide, often after a considerable amount of money has been spent in advancing and defending arguments that arise as much out of the failing relationship between the parties as under any condition of the contract. |
Download >> |
| Added 10/05/2011 at 15:37 | ||
