Construction Disputes

First legal case raises more questions than answers The first case on liability for the costs of replacing flammable cladding provides little comfort to lessees.  The call by a first tier tribunal for the introduction of a warranty scheme to meet the repair costs was made after acknowledging that litigation on this issue is unlikely to […]

The Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (Act) grants the right to refer disputes relating to construction operations to adjudication.  However, a number of operations under section 105(2) of the Act are excluded from this right. The recent decision of the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) in Equitix v Bester[1] offers helpful guidance on […]

In the recent Court of Appeal judgment of Okpabi v Royal Dutch Shell Plc[1], the court examined the issue of whether there was an arguable case that Royal Dutch Shell (Shell), as the UK parent company of a Nigerian subsidiary, owed a duty of care to those affected by oil leaks from pipelines and associated […]

What do you do when your architect designs something that is way beyond your budget? That was the issue in the recent case of Riva Properties v Foster + Partners. Oliver Tobin reports. A recent decision of the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) has considered the scope of an architect’s duty of care, specifically in […]

Against the backdrop of Carillion, parties need to keep in mind issues of payment upon termination of a construction contract. A recent Court of Appeal decision has confirmed that section 111 of the Construction Act applies to payments due after termination of a contract. A party must give a pay less notice if it wants […]

What do contractors need to be aware of when considering limitation periods, and how can it affect the claims they make? Claims arising from construction projects often require consideration of the law of limitation. Limitation periods are statutorily prescribed windows within which claimants must commence claims. These periods do not, however, sit naturally against the nature […]

On 15 January 2018 Carillion PLC and a number of its subsidiary companies (Carillion) went into liquidation, with the High Court appointing the Official Receiver as liquidator and six partners of PWC as special managers. Those clients who have contracts with Carillion or who are owed money may find the following guidance useful: Check carefully […]

Fladgate LLP has continued to be highly rated by Chambers Guide to the UK Legal Profession 2018, with a number of the firm’s partners ranked as leading individuals. Construction: Purchaser Lawyers ranked Gillian Birkby, Alan Erwin, Alan Woolston What the team is known for Well-regarded practice with a purchaser-side focus. Advises on high-value transactional and contentious matters […]

A recent case relating to offshore windfarms might not have caught the imagination of parties involved in other sectors, but contractors and developers should take note as the implications resonate more widely. Much has been said already about the recent Supreme Court case of MT Højgaard v E.ON. A critical issue, relevant for present purposes […]

A recent TCC case has highlighted the pitfalls associated with trying to ignore adjudication proceedings A recent Technology and Construction Court case illustrates the risks to a responding party of not participating in adjudication proceedings. The facts of Lobo v Corich & Anor [2017] EWHC 1438 (TCC) were straightforward, if a little unusual. Facts of […]

A recent case has clarified when a party may be able to raise a substantive defence to adjudication enforcement. The courts have long made it clear that they will enforce adjudicators’ decisions save in the most exceptional circumstances. In the context of enforcement proceedings, the courts are not concerned with whether the adjudicator got the […]

Given that most high-profile competition law actions tend to involve the decisions of large-scale regulators following heavily-protracted investigations (such as the recent seven-year EU commission investigation into Google’s online shopping offering), small businesses and consumers could be forgiven for thinking that redress in competition law is not a realistic proposition. It was, however, with this […]