Legal

Supreme Court turns the tables on collateral warranties

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Matthew Taylor is a partner and Aidan Steensma is of counsel at CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang  The Supreme Court last week reversed 11 years of law in relation to the existence of a statutory right to adjudicate under collateral warranties. The right depends on whether a collateral warranty is…

The importance of bonds when insolvencies are rife

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Kirsteen Milne is a partner at Brodies LLP For the past few years the insurance and bonds market has been hardening, but the headlines in mid-June that QBE Europe has pulled out of the construction market is a blow to contractors. This follows other big surety providers pulling out of…

Making the conflict avoidance process work

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Construction News talks to a client and a contractor who have used the Conflict Avoidance Process (CAP) to resolve issues which have cropped up on contracts. The CAP was established six years ago to help parties avoid expensive legal proceedings to resolve disputes. Read CN's full article about how the…

How to best allocate risk in construction contracts

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Caroline Watkins is a partner in the construction team at Thomson Snell & Passmore The benefits of getting the allocation of risk correct in a construction contract are invaluable, with external and sometimes internal influences posing considerable risk. “The effort put in at the start can offset a considerable amount…

Oiling the cogs: Do conflict avoidance agreements work?

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Hundreds of organisations have signed the Conflict Avoidance Pledge. CN examines whether or not it can make a real difference Six years ago, a group of industry figures announced their plan for helping to resolve contractual disputes without expensive legal fights. They wanted to gather as many players as possible…

JCT 2024: bold change or cosmetic surgery?

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The Design and Build element of the JCT 2024 suite of contracts was unveiled in April – but do lawyers think it represents meaningful change? It’s been eight years since the construction industry saw the launch of the previous suite of Joint Contract Tribunal (JCT) documents. At that point, events…

The three main themes of the JCT design and build changes

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Rachel Heald is a partner at Hawkswell Kilvington JCT has now published the long-awaited 2024 edition of the Design and Build Contract family. On reviewing the new Design and Build Contract (DB 2024), it is clear that the drafting changes follow three main themes: “Many of the 2024 changes are…

JCT changes: tinkering around the edges or an important refocus?

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David Lukic is a planning and construction solicitor at Weightmans The construction sector operates in a very different environment now to the one that existed just a few years ago, with significant changes to construction law and the lasting economic hangover caused by the pandemic, rapid inflation and the impact…

What you need to know about the new JCT Design and Build Contract

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Connor Guinea is an associate at Brodies LLP On 17 April 2024 the JCT published the first of its new edition of standard contracts – JCT 2024 – starting with the Design and Build Contract (DB2024). New relevant events and optional relevant matters DB2024 has extended the list of relevant…

When does a contractor have the right to terminate for late payment?

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Tim Atwood is a senior associate at law firm CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang  The recent Technology and Construction Court (TCC) decision in Providence Building Services Ltd v Hexagon Housing Association Ltd considered the JCT termination provisions and concluded that a repeated breach by a client only entitles a contractor…