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
How long do you have to give a recalcitrant contractor to get their act together, before you are allowed to give up and get someone else to finish your project? The issue of termination is fraught with pitfalls, but cases can help you understand your rights. Cheating on a client
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
The 2021 HKA Crux Insight Report into lessons learnt from claims and disputes highlights a number of common global causes of engineering and construction claims. The purpose of the report (according to its Foreword) is to offer: actionable insight and suggestions to help owners, contractors and the supply chain navigate
How patient are you? Frankly, I am not sure if my home was in chaos and my son was about to sit important exams, that I’d be very patient at all! But that doesn’t mean I would be contractually ‘in the right’. This lesson comes from a relatively simple refurbishment
In a recent claim for nearly £1.8m against an online betting company, the judge held that none of these features are… at first blush features of an open and fair consumer contract that is easy to access and understand. On the basis it is easier to learn from the mistakes
The UK Government’s Construction Playbook has 14 key policies for reforming and modernising aspects of public sector projects (and perhaps, with luck and trickle down, the private sector too). However, it will need some robust contract tools to bring those ideas to fruition. In a series of posts, I consider
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
Rather than blinding leaping onto the digital bandwagon, STOP! Let’s consider if you are ready for or even need digital contracts. I’ve been speaking to Mo Shana’a from Morta regarding questions he asks a company to see if they are motivated to change their current ways of working. Imposed changes
Cashflow is King. Yet getting paid is a perennial problem across all projects, sectors and countries. But do you know how bad it really is? Global data According to the IACCM 2015 Report Payment Terms: Do Large Companies Abuse their Power?: 51% companies find that negotiating payment terms is becoming