A recent Court of Appeal case has confirmed what I tell my workshop delegates, that practical completion is easier to recognise than define Whilst shying away from hard and fast rules, and confirming it is a matter for the contract administrator to decide, the Court said: latent defects cannot prevent
A contract is a legally binding agreement that creates mutual rights and obligations on the contracting parties. A contract not only obliges the contractor to provide specific works or services but also gives the contractor a right to finish those works or services. There are two mechanisms by which contracts
If you understand the principles on concurrent delay then you might also be aware of the debate whether the contract should define concurrent delay and pass its risk to the contractor. In North Midland v Cyden, the parties amended the standard JCT contract to require: the contractor to make reasonable
The retention is a separate ‘pot’ of money, which increases in line with the price paid to the contractor. Retention is the contractor’s money which the employer kidnaps and holds to ransom until the end of the defects period. According to the 2017 BEIS research paper retention is “is a
What does your contract mean? Perhaps not what you intended… Words vs Purpose The courts interpret contracts based on examining each word (the literal approach focusing on language) and business common sense (the ‘purposive’ approach focusing on practical implications). Although language should be the surest guide as to what the
Fitness for purpose clauses impose a duty on a contractor to achieve a specific result. They have come under scrutiny as a result of a series of cases in the English courts which imposed significant damages onto a contractor, in complex factual scenarios [read more]. This post considers the IChemE
Fitness for purpose clauses impose a duty on a contractor to achieve a specific result. They have come under scrutiny as a result of a series of cases in the English courts which imposed significant damages onto a contractor, in complex factual scenarios [read more]. This post considers the MF/1
Fitness for purpose clauses impose a duty on a contractor to achieve a specific result. They have come under scrutiny as a result of a series of cases in the English courts which imposed significant damages onto a contractor, in complex factual scenarios [read more]. This post considers the NEC4
Fitness for purpose clauses impose a duty on a contractor to achieve a specific result. They have come under scrutiny as a result of a series of cases in the English courts which imposed significant damages onto a contractor, in complex factual scenarios [read more]. This post considers the FIDIC
Assignment involves the transfer of complicated rights and requires you to be incredibly careful. Once you know what can be assigned, you need to look out for the traps! Historically, the courts were troubled by cases involving whether or not the assignment was subject to consent (if you failed to
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