As the judge in Twintec v Volkerfitzpatrick said:
As with so many things, the simplest solution is often the best
When you next write a collateral warranty, construction contract or letter of intent, keep it simple.
The survey of contract users reported in the 1995 Latham Report proposed that simple contracts would solve the industry’s problems. The then current standard construction contracts were viewed with mistrust: they were thought to stoke disputes and were accused of a lack of clarity.
In the next twenty years, little changed. My own 2014 Survey of Construction Contract Users echoed the same finding – 90% wanted simple contracts written by users for users. In 2020 the UK Government realised some of its public sector contracts had become too unfair for suppleirs to sign up to!
With all this momentum, how come the UK construction industry isn’t listening?
Case: Twintec Ltd v Volkerfitzpatrick Ltd [2014] EWHC 10 (TCC)
