Reports from the courts: May 2016

Andrew Croft and Natalie Ledger of Beale & Company Solicitors LLP review the most recent court decisions of most interest to construction, including one highlighting the problems that can arise when amending standard forms; and one underlining the importance of payment notice clarity.

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Is arbitration hindering case law?

Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd suggested recently that development of case law was being hindered by the growing use of arbitration. Ben Mellors of Beale & Company Solicitors LLP values the advantages of arbitration and suggests that adjudication may be the culprit.

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Mixing cases can cause confusion

Our contracts monitor Michael Phipps, Principal of Thurston Consultants, continues his scrutiny of the RIBA Concise Building Contract 2014. Some risks may be allocated in ways that are unfamiliar, he warns.

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Expert determination becoming more familiar

Barristers Catherine Piercy and Andy Creer of Hardwicke consider the relative merits of using expert determination over arbitration as an alternative means of dispute resolution. The former is increasingly used where a valuation has to be determined or a technical expert opinion required.

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Offers to settle might not be a safe bet

Ann Levin and Rebecca Scanlon of Herbert Smith Freehills analyse the impact of changes made to the Civil Procedure Rules last year which mean the courts will consider whether Pt 36 offers are genuine attempts to settle.

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New utilities and concessions regulations to increase clarity

The Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 and the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016 came into force on 18 April 2016. Stuart Cairns of Pinsent Masons examines the key changes brought in by their introduction.  

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Interim payments – a stricter approach?

The payment regime under the Construction Act has come under the spotlight recently with several important cases having come before the courts. Shona Frame and Greg Sibbald of CMS explain the strict approach being adopted.

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Smoothing the way for settlement

Insurance expert John D Wright of JD Risk Associates examines some issues that can arise when a claim is made under a policy. Prompt notification of claims is crucial, but over-notifying can cause problems, he warns.

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Can an adjudicator consider more than one dispute?

In our latest alternative dispute resolution series article Christopher Leadbetter of Clyde & Co reports on a ruling on whether an adjudicator can hear more than one dispute at a time.

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Comment: All aboard for open contracting

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) might not have been heard about much in construction up until now, but it is shaping up to be a significant driver of contractual relationships between central government spending departments and their suppliers, not only in the UK but across much of the world. It is to be trialled in the UK on HS2, it was announced at the recent London anti-corruption summit.

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