Was it the cost that bothered the judge or the wordiness? In a case dating back to 1595, the court punished a claimant who did ‘draw, devise and engross’ paperwork which amounted to six score sheets of paper, or 120 pages. The court’s view was that it could have been
Ok. I’ll admit it. I have a bee in my bonnet about clauses which allow termination at will or termination for convenience. Essentially, a termination at will clause allows one party to simply change its mind about wanting to continue with the scope of the contract, and tell the other
Dominic Cummings, a UK Government advisor, was outed for an ill-conceived trip to Barnard Castle during the Spring 2020 lockdown (a place which ought to be famous for its mechanical silver swan rather than policital shenanigans). In his statement, he made a series of increasingly bizarre claims about testing his
The scandal of construction, according to the Huxtable Report (1983) is: the persistent and continuing imposition as a matter of deliberate policy… of onerous and unfair subcontract conditions. An ideal subcontract, said the Report, was which set out the rights and obligations of the subcontractor as clearly as possible, was
The 2020 pandemic is increasing the speed of digital change in construction. At a LetsBuild webinar two-thirds of respondents said that the pandemic would accelerate increased digitalisation and investment in technology. As ‘Digital by Default: Construction After Covid-19‘ notes: …rapid change is the reality of the current COVID-19 crisis –
In the light of the Covid-19 pandemic, parties have been burrowing into the depths of their small print like never before. I am not convinced this is the answer. For once, I am NOT alone! The UK government has issued guidance for parties to public sector contracts (PPN 02/2020) and
I have been researching how other countries are adapting to digital contracting. In Sweden, Skye Contracts promote contracting based on: They are interested in tremendous templates, clarity of thinking, data-driven decision-making as well as using processes that work for your business. As they state in their e-book: The new world
In English law, most contracts do not need to be in writing to be valid. However, not every conversation leads to a contract… so how do the courts draw the line? Tell-tale signs After a telephone call between two businesses, one claimed £1m in fees from the other for services
Let’s be clear, taking a contract that is not fit for purpose and digitising it will not magically create a smooth, effective contracting process. It is not about the technology. Digital contracts are legal. But they also need to be simple – contracts should be read, understood and used. Online
Although you can agree pretty much anything you like under freedom to contract, there are some restrictions on that freedom: legislation: laws can mandate minimum requirements, outlaw certain terms and allow others only within specific parameters contract: a contract can restrict the parties’ rights in the future on a specific