Category: Risk

Essential 10: Limits

There are two key ways to limit the supplier’s liability for claims arising from a project. First, the contract should clearly define the extent of your supplier’s obligations, so both parties really understand what your supplier is responsible for. Secondly, your contract can include limits – in time or money

Read More »

Essential 7: Risks

There is no such thing as a risk-free construction project. You may not work in construction or engineering, but there is no such thing as a risk-free project in any sector! Each project team, scope, parties, end-user, location, specification and so on is unique. No-one can guarantee what will happen

Read More »

Can you suspend works or services?

If you don’t get paid or your client is in breach of contract, can you just stop work? It can be exceeedingly expensive to get this legal issue wrong! Stop or continue? Under English law, and assuming there is no express term or statutory provision* which allows suspension: the innocent

Read More »

Unacceptable terms

Build UK has set out its list of six unacceptable terms for UK construction contracts: fitness for purpose – should not be included except in the process sector [where it is modified by testing and limits on liability] unquantifiable risks – certain items should not be a contractor risk where

Read More »

Limits, insurance and what is reasonable

One of the most common misconceptions I come across, when delivering contract awareness training to consultants or contractors, is the belief that an insurance policy limits your liability to your clients. It doesn’t. Insurance is merely an asset against which your clients could bring a claim. The impact of the

Read More »

Simple remedies – pre-agreed damages

One of my 10 essentials for a construction contract is to agree the remedies one party will have if the other breaches the contract. A common remedy for construction contracts is to agree damages payable for a specific  breach. Typically these are the employer’s remedy for delays to completion, but

Read More »

What’s it worth?

Construction disputes are a great source of lessons for everyone in the sector. But we must remember that those stories may be tragedies for the parties, especially individuals. As a lawyer, I am often asked to comment on friends’ issues and, having listened to their litany of woes – my

Read More »

Assess risks carefully

It is quicker, cheaper and easier to learn from the mistakes of others, than to make you own. After a hot oil popcorn factory burnt down, the courts reviewed the risk analysis that the designers/installers and owners carried out when contracting for a fire suppression system. They were not impressed!

Read More »

Liability linked to commitments

At a recent event, one of the delegates stated “liability has to be proportional to the commitments being made.” This is otherwise described as risk v reward. What we know – from the World Commerce and Contracting Most Negotiated Terms Report – is that limits on liability are the most

Read More »

What is risk?

This is the best definition of risk I have ever come across: Risk provides us with opportunities while exposing us to outcomes that we may not desire Diversity Dashboard Risks are not simply negative outcomes – bad things that may occur – risks are also positive outcomes – good things

Read More »