05

Sep2017

Avoid Ambiguities at All Costs

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The UK Supreme Court have recently revisited the thorny issue of fitness for purpose (and millions of Euros depend on the answer). How can you avoid the embarrassment of publication riches afforded by a Supreme Court decision, as well as months in court (the decision was given 8 ... Read More

18

Jul2017

Storm of Showstoppers

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Showstoppers are A clause or term that could bring negotiations or your contract to a juddering halt Over the past 9 months, my newsletters [sign up] have proposed a series of tips, tools and techniques to spot and solve showstoppers. What should you do? Do you work with or for your clients? ... Read More

06

Jun2017

Review Your Contract: Indemnities

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An indemnity is a promise to pay A's losses if a trigger event occurs [read more]. But how do they pass risk on construction projects? Managing risk If someone else fails to spot your defective work, does it reduce the amount of your indemnity? No. Greenwich Millennium v Essex ... Read More

23

May2017

Apply Common Sense

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When a court or tribunal interprets your carefully crafted contract, it doesn't ask your opinion. It reviews the written terms to analyse 'what a reasonable person having all the [parties' then] background knowledge... would have understood... the language in the contract to mean'. As they are not mystics, the courts interpets ... Read More

02

May2017

Contracts Win Prizes for Clarity

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Contracts win prizes, although not in this case... It is common ground that the Deed of Variation in this case would win no drafting prizes for precision or clarity. It included errors ... which are acknowledged by both sides, and it also struggled to convey the essential agreement reached between the ... Read More

03

May2016

What’s in a Name? An Irish Letter of Intent

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When discussing letters of intent, this blog has so far focused almost exclusively on the current (dire) examples in use in the UK construction industry. These are mostly a mish mash of types of contract, cobbled together and sent with fingers firmly crossed behind the sender's back. After talks on letters ... Read More

25

Jan2016

Review Your Contract: Use STAR

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Do you have a ‘haphazard’ or ‘cavalier’ approach to the terms of your contracts? Back in 2011, the OFT found evidence that contract users did not "properly assess the transaction or deal they enter into." It is not a luxury to make sure your contract helps you do business, and the ... Read More

20

May2015

NEC3 Digested and Condensed

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Many people choose a construction contract not for its cost, nor for its fine words, but for their familiarity with the terms and conditions. Although one of the shorter standard forms, what if we could condense NEC... what should it say? No précis of NEC3 could omit its principal feature: the ... Read More

19

Feb2014

Quality: Fit for What Purpose?

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Fitness for purpose is a phrase much debated and bandied about. But what does it really mean? What your contract needs If you want your contract to provide a project which is 'fit for purpose' you need three things: a contractor responsible for both design and construction (either D&B or traditional with ... Read More

12

Feb2014

Your Contract’s Hidden terms: Implied by Statute

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However well-drafted your contract is, there are some terms you cannot avoid and which may be added into your contract. Implied terms can be added to your contract, without your knowledge. They can arise from custom, be imposed by statute (legislation, laws, rules and regulations), or from decisions ... Read More