Defects will occur in buildings. It is one of the great certainties in construction, the equivalent of death and taxes in life more generally Defining a defect Generally a defect is anything which renders the [works] unfit for the use for which it is intended, when used in a reasonable
When was the last time you really read your T&C? It can be a shocking experience. One of my favourite exercises, in my Contract Awareness workshop, is to ask a company to review in detail some of the potential showstoppers in typical T&C that they have signed. This often leads
You can avoid all sorts of complex, circular or meaningless arguments about what your contract means by writing down clearly and simply what you have agreed. That way, when the courts are asked to interpret it, their view should match yours! The court tends to apply a mix of the
If you are writing a contract, you should really make sure that its terms are simple and effective. You need to ask: do both parties understand what it does? what is it meant to do? does it actually do? when would it apply? how does it transfer risk? Lessons from
Given the likelihood of delays on a construction project, it makes good commercial and practical sense to pre-agree the compensation that the contractor will pay to the client if it is causes any delay to completion. These are called liquidated and ascertained damages (JCT) or delay damages (NEC). [This blog
Given the likelihood of small breaches to a contract, it makes good commercial and practical sense to pre-agree the compensation that party A will pay to party B for that breach. These are called liquidated damages: the paradigm case in which the law of penalties is engaged is where a
Which should come first: works or contract? Well you might expect me to say the contract but here’s why… The defective car park In 2001, two companies were trying to agree the terms for a long-term agreement on a variety of projects. One of those projects was in a hurry,
The Guardian’s Consumer Champion column told the story of a shopper who had been charged £70 for overstaying at a 90-minute car Aldi car park. Although I have some sympathies with the amount of this charge, the report didn’t tell the whole story of car parking charges… Are you sitting
Conditions precedent are requirements that must be met before either (1) the contract as a whole comes into existence, or (2) a specific right under that contract will apply. Your contract won’t always use the phrase ‘condition precedent’, which makes them harder to spot… Here’s a brief spotters’ guide: Examples
Ever since the first standard form contracts were published, there has been a plague on the construction and engineering industries… a plague of contracts. The first construction standard form appeared in 1879 and the first engineering contract in 1903. Fast forward 100 years and we have industries which are unrecognisable