Articles

We know that the Holy Grail, in the construction industry, is getting paid. Are we any closer to finding this legendary chalice and getting the money?

The Construction Contracts Act 2013 (the “CCA”) was passed as of the summer of 2013 but has not yet been commenced. At the time of writing this article, whilst the CCA has still to be brought into effect, substantial progress has been made.

I heard of a grumble recently regarding the use of assistants by an adjudicator.

The fourteenth annual conference of the Adjudication Society, held in conjunction with the Association of Independent Construction Adjudicators on the topic of “The rising costs of Adjudication and how to reduce them”, was held at the Radisson Blu Portman Hotel, London on 5th November 2015 in fro

Adjudication has been with us for nearly 20 years.  It has generated a fair amount of case law.  Yet Aspect v Higgins is the first time that adjudication has been considered at the highest level. Jennie Gillies, in the editorial for the September 2015 newsletter, referred to some of the consequences of the Supreme Court's decision. In this article I explore those consequences further and look at practical steps that both parties to a construction dispute might take to protect their interests.

The recruitment of the Panel of adjudicators in the Republic of Ireland, which has been referenced in this newsletter before, is presently ongoing. Dr Nael Bunni, a well known Irish arbitrator and a Door Tenant at 39 Essex Chambers in London, has already been announced as Chair of the Panel of Adjudicators. His three-year term runs from July 2015. The application deadline for those who wished to be considered for appointment to the Panel was in mid September and a number of stages of the competition have been concluded at this stage, including shortlisting and interviews of candidates, although the final appointment of adjudicators to the panel has not yet occurred and there is no clear timetable for the conclusion of this process.

This is the third article in the series concerning the implications for adjudication of the introduction if BIM into projects.

The Holy Grail is getting paid in the construction industry.

The Committee is continuing to make progress on our plans for the year.  We plan to launch the new website in time for the annual AGM and conference, so do remember to email me any thoughts you have so we can incorporate them. 

The wait for the commencement of the Construction Contracts Act 2013 continues. As has been set out before in this newsletter, the legislation was introduced as a private member's Bill back in 2010.

I usually prefer to use this editorial slot to introduce readers to the content of the newsletter.  In this, my final newsletter, I am however, going to depart from the norm and use this editorial to focus on case law.

It continues to be our experience and I am sure that of many reading this article that Contractors in the midst of pulling out all the stops to win a Contract and concentrating on the two features most coveted by Clients i.e. time and money, that the Contract document eventually signed up to is not given the scrutiny it should be. It is all too often lost in a drawer or cabinet and is generally brought back into the light of day as a reactive response to an issue.

On 1 October 2011 LDEDC Act came into force for all construction contracts made after that date. It amended the old HGCRA, not by much in respect of adjudication but it brought in a fundamental change in respect of payment.  The draftsmen of standard form contracts were on the ball and the amended standard contracts were available for the 1 October 2011 deadline.  The industry does not, however, adapt readily to change.

In considering the relationship between BIM and the standard contract documents we come up against a number of issues. First, what status should we attribute to our BIM protocols and procedures? Secondly, what status should be attributed to the information produced by those procedures? and Thirdly, what should we say about the resolution of inconsistencies and ambiguities within the information produced for BIM or between that information and other information or procedures?

Adjudication under the Construction Acts(s) in the UK is approaching its 20th anniversary and it can be anticipated, in celebration of that august event, that many reflections upon its efficacy will soon be put into print.

Following the TCC’s decision in ISG Construction Ltd v Seevic College [2014] EWHC 4007 (TCC) it did not take long for the ingenuity of practitioners to come to the fore in seeking to find a solution to what could be perceived as one contracting party gaining an unfair advantage as a resu

I set out in the previous newsletter what the committee’s plans were for the coming year and am pleased to report that progress has been made on nearly all fronts.

On 1 February 2015, the Professional Negligence Lawyers Association launched a voluntary pilot scheme for the adjudication of professional negligence claims brought against solicitors, up to a maximum claim value of £100,000 (the Adjudication Scheme Trial).

Adjudicator’s decisions under the Housing Grants, Construction & Regeneration Act 1996 (“HGCRA96”) are enforceable almost as of right.